Tattoos, piercings and body modifications: why?

[Farseer]

Though, at the moment I'm making a concerted effort to grow them because I want them long and paintable for my annual trip to Whitby Gothic Weekend in 4 weeks time. They're going to be a vibrant red to match my outfit.

A photo would be wonderful, if you would be happy to share, fool-ish - it sounds fantastic!

I know that I have somehow taken a hold of this thread with my 'nails' posts but there really is an incredible pressure to have false nails these days, and false nails could even more firmly come under the 'body modification' banner than natural ones?

It was only during the weekend just gone that my son had to wait AN HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES for his girlfriend to have false nails done to match her black, red and white-themed outfit to go to a race meeting. They were the long, square-ish kind with decorative tips/sparkles. Whenever I leave our cattle station and enter into public spaces, I feel like an alien walking the land...I am definitely in a minority in that I have never and would never find that attractive on myself.

Even more, it is a practice that is as popular with middle-aged women as it is with teenagers and young women...and a very expensive practice at that, especially when you change them each time you want to match an outfit. It is a trend that is ever increasing and I must admit my dismay and total lack of understanding of it, particularly when it is done as part of an important day eg wedding, formal, deb, valedictory etc and not as part of some costume-y ensemble. That having been said, I fully understand that so many others would be dismayed by my dismay... ...beauty truly IS in the eye of the beholder.

Amazing how quickly things catch on though when they become 'cool'.