Body Modification Practices and Societal Perceptions

Body modification encompasses a wide array of intentional alterations of the human form, including tattooing, piercing, scarification, cosmetic surgery and implant procedures. Once largely confined to specific cultures or subcultures, many techniques are now visible across age, gender and social strata, reflecting evolving notions of identity, self-expression and bodily autonomy. Motivations for these interventions range from commemorative and spiritual functions to assertions of uniqueness and resistance to normative standards. Research has examined body modification through lenses of deviance, risk and health, as well as fashion, credibility and employability. Societal perceptions have shifted from viewing certain modifications as markers of abnormality to recognising them as mainstream self-fashioning tools. Nevertheless, stigma persists in professional contexts, mental-health settings and public institutions, influencing interpersonal judgments and policy debates. Interdisciplinary studies highlight the importance of understanding both individual psychological drivers and broader cultural narratives, with implications for healthcare practice, workplace regulations and social inclusion worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent scoping work has synthesised psychological literature on tattooing, piercing and related practices, identifying key thematic categories that frame body modification as matters of risk, health, identity, credibility and aesthetic expression. By systematically coding almost a hundred studies, this research reveals a historical shift within psychology from pathologising bodily alteration towards more nuanced social-psychological approaches that account for meaning-making and cultural context. The review emphasises how identity construction and concerns over employability intersect with fashion-driven motivations, and calls for methodological innovations to capture the complexity of motives and outcomes associated with modern body modification.

Body Modification Practices and Societal Perceptions publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in body modification practices and societal perceptions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Body modification: Deliberate alteration of the body’s surface or structure through techniques such as tattooing, piercing or scarification.

Tattooing: Technique of injecting pigment into the dermis to create permanent designs on the skin.

Piercing: Perforation of body tissue to insert jewellery for decorative or symbolic purposes.

Scarification: Intentional scarring by cutting or branding to form raised or recessed patterns as a form of adornment.

Non-suicidal self-injury: Deliberate harm to one’s body without suicidal intent, often linked to emotion regulation and psychological distress.

References

1. Deviance as an historical artefact: a scoping review of psychological studies of body modification. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2023).
2. The association of childhood abuse and neglect with tattoos and piercings in the population: evidence from a representative community survey. BMC Psychology (2022).
3. In between Birth and Death, Past and Future, the Self and the Others: An Anthropological Insight on Commemorative and Celebrative Tattoos in Central Italy. Religions (2022).
4. Body modifications in borderline personality disorder patients: prevalence rates, link with non-suicidal self-injury, and related psychopathology. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation (2023).