United States

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Normalization through modification has been a long-standing goal in body modification practice. In Utah, for instance, mommy makeovers are hugely popular among young, Mormon mothers who have had several children at a young age and now want their bodies to return to what they were before. Renato Saltz, a Salt Lake City plastic surgeon, insists that “Utah has some of the most beautiful people in the world, and they like to remain beautiful as they grow older.” Typical mommy makeovers include various combinations of breast augmentation, breast lifting, tummy tuck and liposuction. According to Dr. York Yates, another Utah plastic surgeon, about 95% of his patients are female and about 80% come in for at least one of the mommy makeover procedures. These makeovers, however, are not seen as vain or purely cosmetic, but rather restorative. What does that tell us about what relationships these women want to form?

Clearly, women who undergo mommy makeovers want to be seen as beautiful again after their various childbirths. Therefore, they have put on a mask that helps them better assimilate within their own community. With such a tightknit social network to work in, these women are under a lot of pressure to “keep up with the Joneses” as they say and use their masks to further their own positions in the network. They want to maintain a certain look in order to remain authentic within their community and uphold their social standing among other ward members and friends.
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Today, technology allows for more efficient and cleanly body modification procedures. Mechanized tattoo needles have drastically cut creation time. Gauging of piercings can even be done at home thanks to the introduction of layman’s kits and online forums. But even more revolutionary, is the cyberpunk subgroup of the extreme body modification subculture. This niche group encompasses those who are interested in functional body modifications, combining the strength of the human imagination with the capabilities of modern-day technology. To biohackers (as they call themselves), extreme body modifications are a way to enhance human nature and create a new, more prepared species. One of the more common biohacking procedures consists of implanting a rare earth magnet into the modifier’s finger which allows them to feel the electromagnetic fields around them. What do these behaviors tell us about biohackers? Well, they use modifications like phone apps for their bodies. This tells their audience that firstly, they can afford to undergo these procedures (the magnet operation costs about $400) and secondly, that they are striving to achieve higher existence. Therefore, when interacting with others, they want to clearly emphasize their forward-thinking lifestyle. Biohackers’ goals are not exactly the same as the goals that Cristerna or the moms in Utah have, because they aren’t using modification in a cosmetic sense that accepts or rejects cultural beauty ideals. Due to the functional approach to extreme modification, cyberpunks/biohackers take on a different story through their bodies.


In this room, I want a suspension artist to take up the middle of the room. That way, he/she cannot be ignored, but there will also be other artifacts around him/her. After the performance is over, maybe they can do a Q&A with some audience members to get an inside look at the process.

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