body modification

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Job Prospects & Embodiment

I grew up with a very laid back mom.

Read more: Job Prospects & Embodiment

She allowed me to gauge my ears in middle school, and I got my first tattoo, a large forearm piece, in high school (which I do sometimes regret). To this day, I still seek out that thrill of body modifications. It was yesterday that I stretched my ears to the next size up, 9/16″, just a few away from my goal of 3/4″. I have a helix and some facial piercings, and I only plan on getting more. The same can be said for tattoos. I have a list of ones I want, and my following list on Instagram is filled with artists who I want flash pieces from.

Some people ask about things like professionalism and job prospects with my visible tattoos and stretched ears, but at the end of the day, it’s all me. I don’t want to let some corporate entity control how I feel most at home with myself. I’m realizing more and more as I grow into myself that there are so many things that are inherent to me as a person, and tattoos and piercings are some of those things. They’re a part of my identity at this point. They’re how I embody myself.

All of that is to say, I think there is an art of making yourself your own. Creating your body and molding it how you please is a part of the human experience. It isn’t just our limbs that are extensions of ourselves – hair, mobility aids, tattoos, piercings, surgical scars – they’re all extensions of who we are. Piercings and tattoos are how I express myself, and my gender as a trans person. I am reclaiming a body that, as an AFAB individual, has been claimed by society.

There are a lot of ways people make their bodies their own. I think it’s very human, and very beautiful (regardless of job prospects).

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Bodybook™

If you spend time sifting through the hundreds of shitposting meme pages that have monopolized Facebook content, you may be able to find the occasional gem. Facebook groups have established online communities that often foster emotional support, validation, and advice from online strangers and internet friends. Many of these groups have “secret” security settings, meaning the group can only be accessed if one is personally invited, allowing for a sense of trust and community among its members. These groups exist in many different forms that fulfill a variety of purposes, one group being a place for members to share photos and stories that all pertain to their bodies. Continue reading →

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Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder?

Nowadays, we often find ourselves letting society define what is acceptable/not acceptable, or what is beautiful/ugly, e.t.c. So a while ago I was speaking with my friend and she tells me that she wants to go for a swim, but that she can’t go because of the fact that she has a lot of stretch marks on her thighs and stomach. She is not the first person that I have come across that talks about how they feel ashamed and ugly because they have stretch marks. I have also come to realize that this thought process is often associated with women.

In my opinion, this is absolutely nonsense/absurd, just like scars I find stretch marks to be rather beautiful and I feel like it’s one of the things that defines you as a person. This to me also shows our cultural differences because in my country (Nigeria), a woman having stretch marks is actually celebrated. To Nigerians it’s a sign of wealth and healthy living. Society (mostly men) needs to do a better job in giving people the opportunity to be themselves. No one should be insulted/attacked/harassed for having stretch marks because if anything, stretch marks enhances a persons beauty.

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The Most Common Augmentation

While attempting to define what a cyborg is in class, I was struck with inspiration for a discussion topic on the blog. Fast forward two weeks and I had completely forgotten it, racking my brain for what I wanted to write on. I knew I wanted to write on cyborgs and how people don’t realize how common they are, but I couldn’t remember the specifi-It was memory!


http://www.putlearningfirst.com/br/grape/cyborg1.jpg 

Continue reading →

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Intersex Bodies and Patient Care: Who Chooses ?

I had never heard of the term, “Intersex” or never really knew that people could be born with both male and female genitalia. It wasn’t until when I took a human sexuality course that I got to learn about the intersex bodies. Intersex bodies seems to be this secret that people are too afraid to talk about, due to the gender identity gap that is associated with it. A lot of people who are intersex find it very difficult to speak about their body, because from an early age they were told not to talk about their body. Continue reading →

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Has it gone that far?

My aunt and cousin were trying to lose some weight for a couple of years, but kept seeing no progress. So about 8months ago they both engaged in a surgical process called Gastric Bypass. Gastric bypass is surgery that helps you lose weight by changing how your stomach and small intestine handle the food you eat. After the surgery, your stomach will be smaller. You will feel full with less food. This process is done to help people who are struggling with weight loss. Since after the surgery both of them have lost a substantial amount of weight. 

I just want to say that I have no problem with people who decide to do through these procedures, but while it is good news to see/hear that they are losing weight, I can’t help but ask how far would you go just to look good? What ever happened to personal willpower? Why do we have to rely on all these different surgical processes to lose weight. I can understand if you have a thyroid condition, but if you do not have any condition, then I strongly suggest that you trust on your own self will and power. Losing weight is an experience, it is something that you should be proud to tell others about. No one ever said its going to be easy, but if you have a good diet plan and you make even just a little effort to workout, you will definitely drop some weight. If you have been trying for a while and it is not working, then you need to take a step back, try to do somethings differently and then be patient.

Blue Pills
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Blue Pills

I went on estrogen almost four months ago. I don’t really pay attention to it much –I had to check to see if that was even right. As someone who is on HRT I think there is a serious gap in the discussion.

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Heartbreak and Lazy Bodies

depressedgirl

I guess we all know the feeling of being heartbroken. The nonstop crying, the headache, the baggy eyes, the hate, the loneliness and the list goes on. Most of us associate heartbreak with only the psychological effects, and forget how much of a tool this can have to our body. See, being heartbroken has so much more to do then just going into depression. Continue reading →

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I Really Like Your Boobs

In 2010, I lost 50lbs. With a weight loss such as this, my boobs hit the ground. I had never had any intention of getting a breast augmentation before, despite working and loving the beauty industry. I preferred a more natural look for myself. However, when facing the choice of the condition of my breasts after the weight loss, I decided to go with breast augmentation. Continue reading →