The Prevailing Art and Tradition of Intentional Dental Modification in Prehistoric Southeast Asia | Ang Namamayaning Sining at Tradisyon ng Intensyonal na Modipikasyon ng Ngipin sa Sinaunang Timog-Silangang Asya

Since prehistoric times, humans have changed select characteristics of their bodies, such as tattooing, hair-dyeing, cranial and feet deforming, and teeth modifying. Teeth are some of the most well-preserved remains in the archaeological record, with which we can study past cultural and ritualistic beliefs. Previous publications on dental modifications in Southeast Asia are mostly limited to the mainland, thus this paper reviews modifications observed in prehistoric sites across Southeast Asia, identifying common techniques and motivations. Findings show occurrence of dental ablation, filing, plating, and coloration, which began in the Neolithic, disappeared in the Bronze Age, but reappeared in the Iron Age, although the absence may be due to sampling shortage. Modifications have been associated to aestheticism, group identity, rite of passage, practicality, and medical benefit, but whether these all ring true remains uncertain. It is recommended that future research expand scope for better data representation, analyze modifications with context of community profiles, and investigate the significance of migration in the prevalence of certain techniques and patterns as part of understanding the cultural aspects of past humans’ lives, and assess the cultural (dis)continuity of these traditions into modern-day forms of body modification, art, healing, self-expression, and identity. Magmula sinaunang panahon, maitatala ang mga pagbabagong pisikal sa katawan, tulad ng pagtatato, pagkukulay ng buhok, at pag-iiba-anyo ng ulo, paa, at ngipin. Nabibilang ang ngipin sa mga lubos na napepreserbang artepakto sa arkiyoloji, at sa gayo’y magagamit pang-aral ng mga nakalipas na kultura at ritwal. Kasalukuyang limitado sa mainland ng Timog-Silangang Asya ang saliksik sa intensyonal na modipikasyon ng ngipin, kaya tatalakayin dito ang mga sinaunang modipikasyong nabanggit sa buong rehiyon, at tutukuyin ang pagkakatulad sa mga teknik at motibasyon. Nagsimula ang paglaganap ng sadyang pagtatanggal, pagliliha, pagkakalupkop, at pagkukulay ng ngipin noong Panahong Neolitiko, naglaho noong Panahong Tanso, at bumalik muli pagsapit ng Panahong Bakal, ngunit maaaring iukol ang paglaho sa kakulangan ng datos. Hindi pa tiyak, pero pwedeng ang mga modipkasyon sa estetisismo, pakikisama, pagriritwal, praktikalidad, at benepisyong-medikal. Inirerekomendang palawakin sa susunod na saliksik ang sakop para sa mas mabuting representasyon ng datos, suriin ang mga modipikasyon sa konteksto ng komunidad, at imbestigahan ang kahalagahan ng migrasyon sa paglaganap ng mga partikular na teknik at padron habang inuunawa ang mga aspetong kultural ng sinaunang panahon, at tasahan ang pagpapatuloy (o hindi) ng mga tradisyong nabanggit sa kasalukuyang modipikasyon ng katawan, sining, paggagamot, pagpapahayag ng sarili, at identidad.

A philosophy, a methodology, and a gender identity

Mixed methods research (MMR) based in a pragmatic research philosophy involves the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods to triangulate research findings and strengthen interpretations. This especially holds for complex research questions and/or data. Non-binary focused sociolinguistic research often deals with multiple complexities, including dynamic and contextually dependent ways of identifying and variation in body modification affecting speech production. While echoing prior calls for researchers to apply, when appropriate, a pragmatic/MMR framework (Angouri 2010), I uniquely argue that it can empower non-binary researchers and research collaborators, ultimately generating positive social change. My objective in presenting non-binary focused sociophonetic research is to demonstrate the framework’s advantages. These include foregrounding non-binary voices and experiences to generate rich, nuanced research questions, data, and analyses. These elements, as well as demonstrable ecological validity and multiple (collaborative and/or cross-discipline) perspectives are the hallmarks of transformative research which focuses on fostering social change.

The Effects of VR Use on Pain Experienced During a Tattoo Procedure: A Pilot Study

One of the most socially impactful applications of virtual reality (VR) is its use as a non-pharmacological remedy for both acute and chronic pain. Yet, despite robust findings establishing the analgesic effects of VR, use cases almost exclusively involve (a) patients with acute/chronic pain, which are often difficult to access and vary widely in terms of pain location/severity, or (b) experimentally induced pain, which can have low lab-to-life generalizability. One understudied pain context that may reconcile these limitations is body modification, specifically tattoo procedures. Examining the use of VR during a tattoo offers several benefits to VR and pain research. First, tattoo recipients as a participant pool are more accessible. Second, tattoo pain is presumably more standardized and uniform as it is administered by a machine at a consistent force. Thus, to test these assumptions and expand the scope of VR applications in this domain, we present a mixed-methods investigation testing the effects of VR on pain experienced during a tattoo. Leveraging qualitative interviews with tattoo artists and customers, a 3-month on-site field experiment at a tattoo parlor was conducted. Customers' self-reported pain ratings (N = 16) were collected during 1-h tattooing sessions and compared between a treatment (VR) and control group. As expected, VR significantly reduced pain ratings during the procedure, and increased pain resilience. By suggesting that the analgesic effects of VR extend to volitional pain during a tattoo, we argue that tattoo pain warrants attention by both VR content developers and researchers interested in studying how immersive content influences real-world pain perception. The study also yields specific guidelines to help designers create and deploy VR experiences for this context. Overall, the results suggest that tattoo sessions present a promising context worthy of further investigation across a variety of VR research programs.

Breaking the Rules: Zodwa Wabantu and Postfeminism in South Africa

Zodwa Wabantu, a South African celebrity recently made popular by the <em>Daily Sun</em>, a local tabloid newspaper, is notorious as an older working-class woman who fearlessly challenges social norms of feminine respectability and beauty. Her assertion of sexual autonomy and her forays into self-surveillance and body-modification, mediated by the <em>Daily Sun</em> and other tabloid and social media platforms, could be read as a local iteration of a global postfeminist subjectivity. However, the widespread social opprobrium she faces must be accounted for: Using Connell’s model of the gender order together with a coloniality frame, I argue that northern critiques of postfeminism omit to consider the forms of patriarchy established by colonialism in southern locales such as South Africa. The local patriarchal gender order, made visible within the tabloid reportage, provides the context within which the meaning of Zodwa Wabanu’s contemporary postfeminist identity is constructed. I examine a range of Zodwa Wabantu’s (self)representations in <em>Daily Sun</em> and other digital media in the light of this context, and conclude that a close examination of the local gender order assists in understanding the limits of postfeminism’s hegemony.

Are Tattooing Indicators of Dark Personalities? An Analysis of Body Modification within the Framework of Dark Triad of Personality

There are several displays commonly labeled as body modifications, including body piercings, scarification, tattoos, cutting, etc. In this study, we were focused on one distinct form of body modification, namely tattoos. The current exploratory study investigated the connection between body modifications (BM) and Dark Triad personality for a sample of 77 university students with BM, compared to a control group of 77 non-BM individuals. Three self-administrated questionnaires were used to collect the data: Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form, Mach-IV scale, and Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The findings suggest that subclinical psychopathy is most strongly connected to body modifications. An increased number of tattoos was also significantly correlated with a higher level of anti-sociality. Participants with visible body modifications had significantly higher affective callousness and overall self-reported subclinical psychopathy levels, compared with individuals with non-visible alterations.

MOTIVATIONAL BODYBUILDING VIDEOS AS A COMPONENT OF DISCOURSE INFLUENCING PERCEPTIONS OF MASCULINITIES

The cult of a slim and beautiful body is no longer characteristic only for women. The male body is becoming more frequently subjected to the pressure of modelling. The use of different regimes increasingly intends to fulfil the requirements of attractiveness and physical perfection, also among men and boys. The discourse of disciplining the male body and its expectations also influence socially acceptable ways of performing gender. Employing a qualitative analysis of bodybuilding motivational films’ content, the author points out the key elements of the body project image in such materials. The possibility of identifying bodybuilders with experts in body modification, resulting from the specificity of the discipline, allows one to believe that the regimes and training tools presented by them can influence the perception of the body modelling process by men. The author presents four elements used to develop an image of the male body project – (1) conditions necessary for the project, (2) tools used in the project, (3) ways of controlling and evaluating the project, (4) side effects of the project. Based on them demonstrates how motivational bodybuilding films can affect changing ways of performing masculinity.

When personality gets under the skin: Need for uniqueness and body modifications

Do individuals modify their bodies in order to be unique? The present study sought to investigate need for uniqueness (NfU) subcomponents as possible motives for modifying one’s body. To this end, the study obtained information from 312 participants about their NfU (using the German NfU-G global scale and three sub-scales) and their body modifications (tattoos, piercings, and extreme body modifications such as tongue splitting). By analyzing the three subcomponents of NfU, the study was able to investigate the differential relationship of the sub-scales with the outcome measures, which facilitated a fine-grained understanding of the NfU–body-modification relationship. The study found that tattooed, pierced, and extreme-body-modified individuals had higher NfU-G scores than individuals without body modifications. Moreover, it seemed that individuals with tattoos took a social component into consideration while lacking concern regarding others’ reaction toward their tattoos, although not wanting to cause affront. Pierced and extreme-body-modified individuals, contrarily, tended to display a propensity to actively flout rules and not worry about others’ opinions on their modifications. However, although statistically significant, the effect size (d) for the NfU-G differences in the tattooed and pierced participants’ mean scores was small to medium in all three subcomponents. The extreme-body-modified group presented medium and medium to large effects. Further, the study observed that the number of body modifications increased with an increasing NfU in tattooed and pierced individuals. These findings demonstrated multifaceted interrelations between the NfU, its subcomponents, and the three kinds of body modifications investigated in the present study.