The following was a paper I wrote 22 years ago, submitted Sept 14,1997, while I was attending Hampshire College in Amherst, Ma. I have recently been going back through my original research and studies into Body Modification from an Anthropological perspective. I am going to start posting these papers as I am able to transcribe them or retrieve them from my old Zip discs. Stay tuned for more over the coming months, as well as new writings on the subject.
Introduction
Rites of Passage
The term “Rites of Passage” describes any rite or ritual which marks or induces a change in an individual’s social ppposition. These life changes include birth, puberty, initiation into social and familial groups, marriage, pregancy, childbirth and death. In most pre-industrial societies these rituals are the keys to determining the social hierarchy of the community.
In societies emphasizing technology, where life is based on individual achievement and is less dependent on communal cooperation for prosperity, such rites have become increasingly inconsequential to mainstream social life. This divergence may also be the result of a lack of a single set of spiritual beliefs within the society. For example, because there are so many belief systems in North America, there are no culturally universal rites of passage. While some pseudo rites of passage do exist, including receiving a driver’s license, going to a High School prom, and graduating from High School or College, these “rites” are not all-inclusive and are not necessarily required for participation in society.
Arnold Van Gennep’s metaphorical description of society as “a house divided into rooms and corridors” (Van Gennep, 26) may also aid in explaining why our more complex society lacks the rites of passage that are so crucial to smaller and less complex societies. He explains that the more complex the society, “the thinner are its internal partitions, and the wider and more open are its doors of communication. In a semi-civilized society, on on the other hand, sections are carefully isolated, and passage from one to another must be made through formalities and ceremonies” (Van Gennep, 26).
In our society, everyone is steadily exposed to people of various cultural and social backgrounds who are part of the same general community. In addition, there is a large amount of public space (that is, land or buildings that are not open exclusively to a single social or cultural group or family). Because of these and other circumstances unique to our social world, complete cultural isolation is nearly impossible. Isolation seems to be especially impractical when one must acquire food and clothing, and obtain a culturally acceptable amount of education.
Because the hierarchy in our society is based primarily on monetary and vocational achievements, and rites of passage no longer play a role in the determination of an individual’s social standing, the rite of passage has evolved primarily into a testimonial, recording important events in life as defined by the individual. Some rites of passage, e.g. birth, marriage, and funeral rites, still exist which change one’s social position, but their performance varies depending on people’s spiritual beliefs. Because contemporary rites of passage have become extremely personalized, there really can be no culturally universal rites of passage.
Body Modification and Rites of Passage
In a number of pre-industrial societies modification of the physical body demonstrates changes in the social or spiritual body. In some cases these physical changes are thought to actually create such spiritual and social alterations. In today’s society, body modification also plays a part in the rites of passage created by certain individuals. Not all individuals who chose to modify their bodies do so for this reason, and many do not consciously modify their bodies as a rite of passage.
My interest in the motives of individuals who modify their bodies, especially in cases where the modification may not be culturally acceptable has led me to explore websites containing essays describing personal experiences of body modifiers. There I have found evidence that many people consciously or unconsciously modify their bodies to mark the advent or conclusion of important events and times of their life. Through my internet research and use of sources such as interviews, articles found in periodicals, and books on popular culture, I have discovered quite a range of circumstances which lead individuals to mark their bodies in contemporary rites of passage. Circumstances range from children deciding what their hair styles will be for the first time or a parent allowing a child to get their ears pierced in elementary school, through modifications made by the individual to demonstrate their adult status. Circumstances also include the marking of the body as a person leaves behind a particularly difficult part of life in order to substantiate the personal strength and growth that was gained through the experience. Because each rite of passage is highly individualized and each situation is different, there will not be complete correlation with each event that I perceive to be a rite of passage. However, because they all contain the important element of alteration of the body, they are comparable enough to document the use of body modification in contemporary rites of passage.
Body Modification and Commemoration
The most obvious use of body modification in rites of passage is to mark the body with a permanent reminder of an important event or stage in and individual’s life. Tom Brazda, owner of Stainless Studios in Toronto, explained this when he was interviewed by Raven Rowenchilde: “‘Adornment connects you to the internal images,’ says Tom, ‘Like a doorway to the self. Piercing and tattooing helps to release energy,’ which he says helps the memory to be stored in the body” (Rowenchilde, 3). Because individuals see the decorations on their bodies every day which commemorate important times in their lives, they will never forget it, and will also probably never for get how these times felt to them. Because this is such a strong reminder, many individuals choose to mark themselves as a reminder of times of their lives to which they hope never to return. In one article on the internet entitled Modern Primitives, there is a story of a woman named Elizabeth, who had been in an abusive relationship for about a year. Discussing the time when she finally escaped from the relationship, she says:
Emerging from that, I saw myself as a warrior, but I had no lasting
battle wound that would serve me as a reminder of what I had been
through. My nose piercing is my wound, and I feel that is has
allowed me the strength to move forward away from the pattern of abuse.
(Modern Primitives, 2)
I have found this story to be a very common one. In a conversation I recorded with a friend, in March 1997, she discussed a similar reason behind a self-cutting she had done:
I know that when I cut myself last year it was because I wanted to
remind myself of something I did wrong and every time, and this
is when I cut myself with M, too, like two years ago, I wanted to
remind myself how awful I was, and what I did wrong, and the
pain will always remind me and the scar will always remind me
of that, and so I will never do it again.
(March 1997)
Sander Thomas explains the popularity of the use of body modification in rites of passage such as this one as a “means of spiritual, mental, and emotional cleansing.” He says that “the idea of voluntary pain induction as a spiritual ritual is highly cathartic and often symbolizes the death of an unpleasant memory or part of one’s’ life” (Thomas, 3)
While some of these modifications mark bad times in an individual’s life, many mark events that are not negative. Many women get their labia pierced after childbirth, or get their nipples pierced after weaning their baby from breastfeeding (Rowenchilde, 2). One woman in James McAlexander and John Schouten’s study of hairstyles, spoke of her change in hairstyles with regard to dating experiences:
Every time I start going out with a guy he always wants me to
grow my hair out. So I do. Then when we break up the first
thing I do is to cut it all back off.
(McAlexander and Shouten, 60)
She used her haircut to state her independence from the past relation and to aid her in moving on to future prospects. Short hair is commonly a renunciation of sexuality, and this idea follows with the pattern of growing her hair back out to demonstrate her new status as involved with a new love interest.
Some people mark their bodies in a rite of passage because they need to “move on to a higher plane of existence” (Gargulinski, 2). It does not mark any event in particular, but it is hoped that the ritual will begin a new period of the individual’s life.
Essentially, these marks tell the story of the individual’s life. As one author wrote in an essay found online: “I chose to scar my body, not because I hate it but because I love it. The experience helped me to connect to myself and it reminded me who I am and what I’m capable of” (Jyni, 1). Another woman said “‘My tattoos reflect who I am and where I’ve been. I’m a hundred percent me, I just wear it on the outside’” (Modern Primitives, 3). The people that mark their bodies in this way are not only reminding me of what the marks symbolize, but also the experience of receiving the marks, which makes the memories that much stronger.
Because of the powerful nature of the experience, many people also use it as a way to memorialize the loss of loved ones in a pseudo funeral rite. In one article I found online the author writes of the loss of a very close friend to cancer. She felt that she needed to keep a part of her friend with her, so she decided to get a tattoo in her memory. She spent a long time searching for a symbol or design that would be “worthy” of her friend and finally decided on a Celtic symbol called the triskelle, a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. She discusses the actual day she received the tattoo:
Getting the actual tattoo was more of a ‘spiritual’ experience than
any of my other tattoos or piercings. I went with another girl who
had been a close friend of Carol’s and spent a few hours before
the appointment talking about our memories of Carol. While
having the the tattoo done I found myself in an almost meditative
state. I felt very quiet and at peace, I never felt any of the light-
headedness that I have had at other times. It seemed to take a
very short time, and when it was done I felt very happy with the
results... It has given me great pleasure to remember my friend
in a way that is now a part of me.
(Memorial..., 1)
This is actually a very common story; I found many on the internet. Another particularly moving story was from a man whose brother died from alcoholism and drug addiction. He brought his brother’s ashes on a bicycling trip he had been meaning to go on when his brother was alive, and felt as though his brother was “watching” his back throughout the trip. When he returned home he got a tattoo in memory of his brother, using some of his brother’s ashes in the inks to create the shading in the design. He will truly carry his brother around with him for the rest of his life (He Ain’s Heavy..., 1). The experience of receiving a tattoo and the permanence of the design seems to be a very powerful, spiritual way in which to immortalize loved ones and to honor their memory.
Body Modification and Issues of Control
Another use of body modification in rites of passage is as an instigator of change in an individual’s life. These modifications aid the person in achieving a new sense of self and a new perspective on life. One of the most common examples of body modification being used as a catalyst is when someone is trying to gain control over his or her life.
The body has been used for centuries as a place upon which demonstrations for control of the individual by those in authoritative positions have been played out. The tattooing of criminals in medieval Japan and in Russian prisons are two examples of this type of confrontation. The government’s message to the prisoner and to everyone who may see the marks is “‘Your body belongs to us. We can do this to you, too.’” (Trachtenberg, 163-164).
This struggle for control often takes place between parents and children as the later mature and begin to desire more personal control. Often the body is used as a gauge for who has control. This conflict generally begins very young, perhaps in elementary school, when children decide for the first time how they would like their hair cut. It is also around that age that children first begin to chose their own clothing. These events are very important in a child’s life and can affect parent-child relationships for many years, depending on how parents deal with their children’s desire to choose for themselves.
In a study in the lat 1980s entitled “Hair Style Changes as Transition Markers,” James H. McAlexander and John W. Shouten discuss the issues of parental control and children’s decisions to decide on their own hair style. If a parent does not approve of a child’s hair style decisions it could cause great amounts of stress and be the source of may conflicts (McAlexander and Shouten, 58-59). An example of this type of conflict is a story an acquaintance of mine related to me a few weeks ago concerning the time he was forced out of his parental home. He had his hair cut so it was long on the top, but shaved in the back and on the sides. When his father saw his new hair style, he was immediately asked to leave the house. This hair style and his refusal to change it to something more acceptable to his parents forced him into the next stage of his life: independence from his parents.
The issue of personal style continues to play a part in parent-child relationships as the child matures. Later this may include more than hair styles and clothing, piercing of ears and other body parts and wearing makeup often become major issues as the child passes through junior high and senior high school. Many times parents would prefer not to see their child as maturing as rapidly as they are, and would choose to stunt that growth by prohibiting the child from participating in decoration which may be too mature or grotesque in the parent’s eyes and possibly sexual. By prohibiting this they believe they can prevent their child from growing up, but children often proceed with their intentions, denying their parents control.
If a young girl, for example, wants to wear makeup and is prohibited, she may do so behind their parents’ back, perhaps putting it on as she arrives at school or at a friend’s house before going out. This choice to decorate their bodies and to disregard their parents’ wishes is a personal rite of passage— a conscious choice to portray themselves as adults within their peer group.
More extreme, permanent body modifications are now becoming popular among high school and college age Americans. These more drastic modifications serve as rites of passage for many as they establish themselves as adults. By piercing and tattooing their bodies they show they are beginning to establish their own identities and they force their parents to see them as separate entities (Howard, 1). Because many tattooing and piercing establishments will not modify anyone under the age of 18 (the legal age of adulthood in the United States), these body modifications can become a permanent way to mark this official change in status; the modifications declare that they, as adults, are in control of themselves and their bodies. Many of my own acquaintances have gone to get pierced or tattooed shortly after they reached their 18th birthday, in order to declare their adulthood, to their parents, but also to the world. Joan Jacobs Brumberg describes this in her book The Body Project:
For those struggling with autonomy and independence, maternal
distaste for the piercing aesthetic is no deterrent. Piercing proves,
in a public way, that your body is your own. (‘I-can-fuck-up-my-
body-if-I-want-to!’ seems to be a common refrain).
(Brumberg, 134)
Although I agree with Brumberg’s statement, I do not believe she gives the convictions of many in the tattooed and pierced community credence by discounting their actions as hostile and derogatory towards themselves in the phrase “fuck-up-my-body”. Many of the community believe this decoration is a beautiful addition to the blank canvas of their skin, and simply do not care whether anyone else approves of their choices in bodily adornment.
These control issues go far beyond parent-child relationships, however. Many people modify their bodies in these unconventional ways (in the context of our contemporary society), in order to claim control over themselves from society. “Some pierce their bodies in order to demonstrate their bodies are exclusively theirs instead of an image painted and manipulated by society” (Thomas, 3). This decoration rejects the societal norms of what is attractive and what a “good” person should look like. They are rejecting the conservatism of their parents’ generation (Thomas, 2) and are separating themselves “from bourgeois society and mainstream youth culture. (Brumberg, 134), which connects them to an alternative youth culture that they feel more aligns with their lifestyle and beliefs.
Body Modification as an Initiation
Those who choose to modify their bodies through piercing, tattooing, scarification, and in other ways that are not acceptable to mainstream culture, are distancing themselves from that mainstream American culture. In doing this they are joining a group of those who are similarly minded, who disregard societal norms. When people pierce, tattoo and scarify themselves for the first time, they go through an initiation process similar to the initiations of many pre-industrial societies. Arnold Van Gennep separates rites of passage into three phases: rites of separation, rites of transition, and rites of incorporation (Van Gennep, 11). He further divides initiation into a dual series of rites based on these three: first there is a rite of separation from the subject’s usual environment, next is the period of transition, the subject is then separated from the sacred environment, and is incorporated into their usual environment, as a new person (Van Gennep, 82). The act of being tattooed, pierced or scarified follows a similar pattern. People are separated from their usual environment, by entering tattooing or piercing establishments with the intention of modifying their bodies. The majority of mainstream society would not enter such a place, and those who do so generally enter because of curiosity not with the intention of receiving a piercing or tattoo. There is further separation from society as one enters the area designated for the process of tattooing or piercing, which is the “sacred” place. The tattoo artist or pierce acts somewhat like the shaman, priest or elder, welcoming novices into the “sacred” place and explaining the process to them, answering questions they may have before they commit to modification. This interaction incorporates them into the sacred environment, making them feel comfortable with the situation and relaxing them for what is to come. The actual process of modifying the body is the transitional stage. As one’s flesh changes with the addition of each new color or piece of metal, or with each strike of the knife or brand, so too does the individual change. The pain experienced during this transitional period is also a very common element in pre-industrial initiation. The pain symbolizes death of the former self, separating one from one’s previous life. When the procedure is complete, the subject is now marked as one of the pierced or tattooed community. The tattoo artist or piercer explains how to care for the new adornment, which ends the experience and begins the separation from the “sacred” environment. The individual then leaves the tattooing or piercing establishment, completing the separation. Finally, one enters the everyday world of mainstream America, a new person, marked as separate from conventional society with a new adornment.
Conclusion
The practice of modifying the body is a common rite of passage in contemporary American society. The rite of passage can be as simple as wearing makeup in junior high in order to declare independence from parent’s and take control of oneself. Piercing or tattooing can be a way for people to mark themselves as adults in our society, with the ability to control what they do to their bodies. It can also become part of a pseudo funeral rite, memorializing loved ones who have passed on. Tattooing and piercing help individuals to reclaim their bodies from abusive relationships and other traumatic events, helping them to move to the next stage of their lives. Body modification helps people to mark significant times of their lives and inspires them to proceed to the next stage of their life.
The process of modifying the body conforms to the pattern of a rite of passage, as described by Arnold Van Gennep. It begins with a rite of separation from the everyday world, which could include entering a piercing, tattooing, or hair dressing establishment or entering a anthropomorphic to put on makeup. Following this is a rite of incorporation into the sacred world, preparation for the “ritual.” Next is the transitional rite, when the act of modifying the body actually takes place. Then is the rite of separation from the sacred environment, which could include instructions for the care of the modification or cleaning up the area that was used, putting away makeup and hair styling implements. Lastly is the rite of incorporation into the usual environment, going back out into the world as a “new” person.
References
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. (1997). The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. Random House: New York.
Gargulinsiki, Ryn. (1997). Body Piercing in Brooklyn. [Online] available HTTP: http:/www.brooklyn-online.com/Neighborhoods/stories/piercing.html
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother (Memorial Tattoo Experience). (1997). [Online]. Available HTTP: http://www.bme.freeq.com/tattoo/heavybro.html
Howard, Dylan. (November 10, 1995). “Holier than Thou...” The Yale Daily News [Online] Available HTTP: http://www.cis.yale.edu/vdn/paper/11.10.95storyno.CAal.html
Jyni. My self-branding. (August 28, 1997). [Online]. Available HTTP: http://www.bme.freeq.com/scar/082897/self response.html
McAlexander, James H. And John W. Schouten. “Hair Style changes as Transition Markers.” Sociology and Social Research, v.74 n.1, October 1989: 58-62.
Memorial Tattoo Experience. (1997). [Online] Available HTTP: http://www.bme.freeq.com/tattoo/concert.html
Modern Primitives. [Online] Available HTTP: http://www.nets.com/site/scribe/modprim.html
Rowenchilde, Raven. (1995). Tom and Shannon. [Online] Available HTTP: http://www.bme.freeq.com/people/tomshan.html
Thomas, Sander. (1997). Body Piercing: Reclamation, Enhancement and Self-Expression. [Online]. Available HTTP: http://www.bme.freeq.com/pierce/reclaim.html
Trachtenberg, Peter. (1997). 7 Tattoos: a memoir in the flesh. Crown Publishers, Inc.: New York.
Van Gennep, Arnold (1960). The Rites of Passage. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
