Kim Hewitt

In the following excerpt from her book Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink, writer Kim Hewitt argues that body modification possesses a significance greater than mere adornment. Hewitt writes that actual pain of getting a tattoo or a body piercing carries importance, marking the process as an initiatory experience. She also notes that participants are in effect stigmatizing themselves in order to demonstrate their defiance against societal norms and to openly claim a public identity. The author wrote this book in response to her struggle with self—scarification in her youth.

TATTOOING AND PIERCING ARE NOT JUST ADORNments added to the body surface like jewelry or cosmetics they penetrate the flesh. Piercing is a quick process followed by several weeks of tenderness while healing. Tattooing is a tedious, painful process followed by...