Whereas, in some cases, people use body modification for normalization, quite often modification can help set people apart. This method uses spectacle to send a message to the audience. Rather than try to fight the stereotypes, these users steer right into the skid and embrace their deviations. In her analysis of the cultural politics of body modification, Victoria Pitts argues that “standards of beauty…define precisely the dimensions of [a woman’s] physical freedom” (Pitts, 52). Since women are usually expected to undertake a wider variety of body projects and spend more time on their appearance, body art is seen as a way to undermine the social control of norms and “the victimization of the female body” (Pitts, 50). One person who uses spectacle to make a statement is Maria Jose Cristerna or the Vampire Woman who’s before and after modification photos are pictured below. Cristerna began modifying her body after her divorce with her abusive ex-husband. She claims that her horns symbolize strength and her tattoos represent freedom. To Cristerna, it’s not about how many modifications she can fit on her body. Cristerna says that “the motive for this is not just my skin, but what is inside me." Her modifications frame her interactions with her audience: the public, her friends, and her family. Cristerna’s horns, tattoos and gauges tell her audience about the relationship she has with her own body and communicates her desire to enlighten her audience with her experience.
Since I am focusing on the Vampire Woman, it would be fantastic to have her as the representative in this room. She has made appearances before and has actively discussed her motivations behind her modifications in the media before, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to invite her to attend the exhibit as a guest speaker.
