I believe that you can change your outer self by changing your inner self. I mean, even if you just look at the little things that happen when you get a piercing or something. A) You most likey get way more attention. I got my tongue pierced, and I had many people comment to me about it... both negative and positive comments. The positive comments made me glad that I did it, and the negative comments made me EXTREMELY glad that I did it. It allowed me to stand up to certain people (i.e. my uncles, aunts, grandparents) and say "ya know what? It's my body, and I like it how it is, and if I wanna change it, then I will... cuz it's MINE!" It made me more confident. Plus, it was a fun way to get attention from guys! :)

--Megan

Yes, if you become too obsessed with the out side you become vain on the inside. Yet on the contrary I think the outside should be an expression of what's going on inside and shouldn't be a facade!

--LittleRedHenUK

No, I don't think so. I have changed quite a bit physically this year. This was not caused by cosmetic surgery or anything like that. It was more a question of the stresses and strains of life in general. Have I changed? No, not really. I'm still exactly the same person inside. Our bodies are just a shell and represent the autobiography of our life.. how we've felt, what we've felt etc.

--Mickie

The answer to that question is kind of complex and it kind of depends on the individual, I will answer it with my own personal knowlege and experience. Our outer self is our shell, we use it to express ourselves in very dramatic and extreme ways at sometimes and other times we are quite comfortable just being ourselves. If you are like I am, you know that your comfortable side is the same side as your extreme side, "my true self". Yes I am an extremist, I know this, I know am addicted to extreme forms of self-expression. It is not only a love of the rush that comes from my endorphins and my adrenalin shooting up, it is also a spiritual journey for me. It has changed the way I look at the world and the way I look at myself. Sometimes it is almost a therapy for me as well, it is a great stress release. I realy do think it changes a person inside as well as outside, but it is what you make of it. You have to think "what does this really mean to me?". "Am I just trying to shock, or is this really for myself and no one else?". I don't expect everyone to understand where I am coming from, nor should you if you are an extremist like myself, people fear what they do not understand. The good thing is that people like the ones funding and working with this subject at the university are all helping others to not fear us and more or less understand where our interest stems from. I comend them for taking up a noble cause such as this, as well as diging into the past to find out the true history behind our fascination. I am a professional piercer and a tattoo apprentice as well as a body mod enthusiast.

--unlucky13lady

I think that no matter what you do to your body you are still the same person on the inside but I do think an outside change can influence your self confidence.

--Lilly

I dont think that changing our outerselvs changes our inner selvs, but I think its more of a reflection of change. Sometimes modification is done at a turning point in someones life, or as a reward, or to show a change in their ideas. Its also still done as a rite of pasage, claiming that body as theirs, and marking it accordingly. Or to show a strong idea that person believes in. I personally have symbols and artwork projects started on my spine. These symbols and art dont change who I am, but more or less show who I am. For example I have symbols for 'human,' and 'a nice lady lives here at present' - two things that are improtant to me. I'm adding artwork by my friends because art is my life and symbols of hope peace and freedom to name a few.

--Nikki

Maybe we're changing our outer selves to fit our inner selves...

--thayme

Body art or piercing does not change the person as much as it is another form of allowing the person to express themselves. This outward change is only a representation of the inner self that already existed.

--Emily

You are what you feel, and how you feel has a lot to do with how you look.

--Brian

If you want to change something about yourself, the easiest changes are visual -- quick,easy and fairly obvious; this does not change who you are, it might simply be the particular image you want to present. I think its sad that so many people are strung out on judging others by their looks, and that our society has become so caught up in these ridiculous standards of beauty and fashion that we vainly try to maintain. Doesn't anyone remember -- don't judge a book by its cover, as its what inside that counts if you'd only take the time to find out.

--cdwinser

Sometimes we have to change our outer selves first before the inner self, and self confidence becomes strong. Changing your clothes can change your image in others' eyes, and help to strengthen and bolster your self confidence. And soon that strength within will take charge.

--Catherine

With our everchanging new technologies of electronic communication and ever increasing non-verbal society, it is still within human nature to establish some form of communication albeit primitive to let others know who we are. Though to some this may appear as becoming commonplace, changing our outer selves not only changes how we feel internally about belonging and acceptance, but also creates a form of non-verbal communication about who we are as we circulate within that non-verbal atmosphere. This may be either to avoid verbal confrontation or to communicate that this is who we are or want to be no matter what form of
cover that verbal communication dictates. Changing the outer self tells others who we are or wish to be at a non-verbal level even if verbal communication can be truth or lies. Within our long established societies, history has shown us that it is commonplace to lie about who we are in the business politics of our workplaces or daily social interaction in order to be accepted within a so called majority that appears or gives credence only to those that would believe those lies in order to belong to that particular transaction of the moment, but our truest identity becomes a form of ritualistic marking on the outside of our bodies that is permanent in most cases either publically or privately and sends a non-verbal message of primitive truth which I believe is inherant within our core.

--Joseph

In most cases, a body modification is a memorial for that which has already changed...but yes, I believe that the reinforcement caused by the feel of the ink, or the presence of a ring in your flesh can indeed be used as an effective nmemonic to focus an individual through a time of personal transformation. Try it. Get your upper ear pierced the same day you quit smoking. every time you think tobacco, tweak that piercing. It will definately remind you. chances are you will stay quit longer than you keep the piercing!

--Ina