Body modification
deliberate altering of the human anatomy for non-medical reasons
Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (e.g., common body piercing in many societies), and religious rites of passage (e.g., circumcision in a number of cultures), as well as the modern primitive movement.
Body modification is performed for a large variety of reasons, including aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, to display group membership or affiliation, in remembrance of lived experience, traditional symbolism such as axis mundi and mythology, to create body art, for shock value, and as self-expression, among other reasons.
History
Body modification is recorded in ancient practices, with the tattoos on Ötzi's mummy dating to 5300 years ago.
Cultural significance
What counts as "body modification" varies in cultures. In western cultures, the cutting or removal of one's hair is not usually considered body modification. Body modification can be contrasted with body adornment by defining body modification as "the physical alteration of the physical body [...] can be temporary or permanent, although most are permanent and modify the body forever". Around the globe, body modification has served as group ritual, rite of passage, and group membership.
Types of body modification
Piercing – permanent placement of jewelry through an artificial fistula; sometimes further modified by stretching
Tattooing – injection of a pigment under the skin
Scarification – cutting or removal of dermis with the intent to encourage intentional scarring or keloiding
Branding – controlled burning or cauterizing of tissue to encourage intentional scarring
Subdermal implants – implantation of an object that resides entirely below the dermis, including horn implants
Psychology and motivations
Factors behind body modification include group identities, reclaiming bodies, and painful rituals.
Health and safety
Complications of body modifications may include infection and allergic reactions.
The public source identifies “Body modification” as deliberate altering of the human anatomy for non-medical reasons. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Body, modification and deliberate.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q890057. The Library of Congress control number is sh85015250. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Body modification” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.