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Body Modifications
By definition, body modification is pretty self explanatory by it's name alone.
It means to modify one's physical body from it's original state. Whether or not
you choose to plump up your lips and defy age a little longer to add a few years
to your career or you adorn your body from head to toe with tattoos, you are modified
by definition. There are several ways to accomplish this task and readily available
means to do so.
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Some sources of controversy stem from the notion of attempting to artificially beautify
the natural form of the body, often leading to charges of disfigurement and mutilation.
Extreme forms of Body Modification are occasionally viewed as symptomatic of body
dysmorphic disorder, other mental illnesses, or as an expression of unchecked vanity.
Unlicensed surgery {i.e. the plastic surgery field} performed outside of a medical
environment can often be life-threatening, and is illegal in most countries and
states.
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"Disfigurement" and "mutilation" are terms used by opponents of body modification
to describe certain types of modifications, especially non-consensual ones. Those
terms are used fairly uncontroversially to describe the victims of torture, who
have endured damage to ears, eyes, feet, genitalia, hands, noses, teeth, and/or
tongues, including amputation, burning, flagellation, piercing, skinning, and wheeling.
"Genital mutilation" is also used somewhat more controversially to describe
certain kinds of socially prescribed modifications to the genitals, such as circumcision,
female circumcision, castration, and surgeries performed to conform the genitals
of individuals with intersex conditions to those of typical males or females.
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Breast implants are also a part of this controversy, mainly for their known
health risks and documented complications. Some women experience breast pain, breast
hardness, and numbness in the nipple; sometimes, these conditions persist the rest
of the patient's life. Due to these complications and documented ruptures post-surgery,
the FDA has approved breast implants only for women over 22 years old.
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