Body piercing, tattooing, painting in the galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. What does it mean to you? to others? Take our survey or start over. "There is no Excellent Beauty that hath not some Strangenesse in the Proportion." --Bacon

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I have been fascinated by tattoos since I was very small and I never associated them with being a bad-ass. It's stupid to get a tattoo because you want other people to see it and think something or other about you. Each of my tattoos have a meaning to me, they are not just some screwed up expression of rebellion, that's why I don't care that they'll still be there when I am forty. In fact, I'll probably still be getting them, probably because the needle gives me sick and twisted jollies. --Shanahan the Pink

Hello... All my piercings were not that far apart from one another...I have a total of 23 piercings... 9 in each ear(got them done over years), my tongue(July 98), eyebrow(Oct. 98), naval(Oct. 97), left nipple(Dec. 98)... I am getting about 3 or 4 more... I want to get another one in my tongue, genital area, a barbell through the cartilage of my ear and my right nipple done... I have one tattoo and it is of a dancing bear and that is on my calf muscle of my right leg on the outter part of it... I want to get one of a ying yang sign with two dolpins going through it around my naval... I am getting one of a cross on my thigh with two banners on it the one banner with my dad's name on it and the other banner with the dates he lived till he died, and later on when my mom passes away I will get her name on it too... I also want to get a butterfly on my pelvic bone, and another on my lower stomach of a butterfly and rose... I want to some day pose in the body piercing and tattoo magazines, but who knows about that, and I think I want to become a piercer now... I also can't seem to find may places that do body piercing near my town, can anyone help me out??? Hopefully very soon I will have alot of pics to show everyone... I did this cause I wanted to be myself and I always new there was a wild and crazy side to me, I proved that by getting the piercings and tattoos.... --Tammy, 19, Tamaqua, Pennsylvania

Uzma's hands with mendhi. Left hand by Uzma; right hand by her sister.

My name is lisa and i'm from north carolina, and i'm 18 years old. i'm looking for a nice butterfly design to go across my back and please let me know if anyone has one. i only have two tattoos. one is on my calf and it is a home tattoo and it sucks. if it wouldv'e been professionally done it would've been a bad ass tatt. now i have to get it covered or something. and i have a butterfly tattoo on my right shoulder. i had my right nipple pierced at one time. i got it done because i think nipple rings are sexy, but the person didn't tell me how to take care of it, so i had to take it out. and it hurt like a bitch to get it done only to take it out because of some dumbass.

I have a few piercings, labret, nipples, and several genital piercings, I also have tattoos on my back, arm, and pubic area, add to this the cutting on my arm and back and the brand on my leg and you can probably tell that I enjoy body modification. My first modification was a Prince Albert piercing, with in a day of getting this piercing I was planning my next one. I apprenticed for a while as a piercer and then became something of a guinea pig for my piercer allowing him to try out new piercings and scarification techniques on me. I chose my modifications for several reasons, I like the way they look, and I enjoy the experience of getting them. Each time I get a piercing or have a design cut into me with a scalpel I come away from the experience with a great feeling of acomplishment. I find I am able to turn off the pain, and to bring myself into a position where I can actually enjoy the experience, and if I can do this, what can I not do? Only one of my modifications is normally visible, this is for several reasons, first of all I do these things for myself, not for anyone else and I don't feel the need to show off to everyone around me, secondly I live in Nashville TN, not exactly the most acepting city when it comes to bodyart, but things are getting better, it isn't uncommon for me to have nice grandmotherly looking women tell me how much they like my labret. --george

I have two tattoos one is a jester and the second is a tribal sun. Both have a very special meaning to me. Both were thought out long and hard befor I went to the shop and had them done. I dont regret my tats but I do think some people do. It seems as though there are many people who get tats because they want to appear to be stylish etc. For example, the last couple of years has sparked a big trend in tribal tattoos. Most people around town who have tats tend to get this type and its really trendy. This loses it for me and makes me think that some tattoos are common place but then again...maybe people searching for identity is too common place rather than the tattoos. My tattos have a specific meaning both emotional and spirtual. They were thought about for a long time and the places I got them are not so revealing...Meaning no one in my office would ever know I had them. One is on my shoulder ball and the other on my leg. I dont flash them to be cool I just have them to remind me of the joker that i always have been and for the soulful experience I took while living in the south for a year just to clear my head. -G-Finis

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Body piercing, tattooing, painting in the galleries of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. What does it mean to you? to others? Take our survey or start over.