500words

  Body art, including tattoos, can be pretty, personal and whimsical, a symbol expressing a deep feeling for something or somebody important.   They are frequently beautiful examples of creativity and self-expression. This is the light, attractive, harmless side of tattoos.   The pretty flowers and birds, the unicorns and dragons, the meaningful mantras and the personal expression that represents the freedom of choice to do whatever we want with our own bodies, based on the premiss that our bodies obviously belong to us.   People tend to have a strong connection to their body art – after all it is part of their personal journey and who they are.   But do tattoos actually belong to us, even though they are a permanent inking of their owner’s largest organ? There is a whole copyright issue in relation to tattoos because it is argued that tattoo artists own the art that they create.   Cardi B is being sued for using a photograph of a tattooed person on an ...

  The beauty of the women of the Suri and Mursi people of southern Ethiopia is determined by how large their lip plates are.       The reason for the lip plates has several theories, shared by the tribal elders, and passed down through generations.   The most sensible one is that it was to make the women unattractive to slave traders.   This is a dichotomy considering the lip plates have evolved into a sign of beauty.   The process of lip stretching will be started by a girl’s mother when she reaches puberty, around 15 years old.   Before the plate process can be started, two or four teeth will be removed from the girl’s mouth.   Then the lower lip is cut to fit a small ceramic disc or peg.   This remains in place until the cut has healed – when it will be replaced by a slightly larger disc.   This process continues until the lip cut is large enough to place the first lip plate, which is around 4cm.     During the stre...