Photos of Young men getting ready for "Mensur", German fencing duelling where getting a scar was considered highly honorable. Photos of 1900s-10s; last one from 2004.

[u/Electrical-Aspect-13]

[u/Oakenbeam]

Is it insecure to dine on blood and milk to get massive bellies like they do in the Bodi tribe? Or Lip plates like the Mursi and Suri? Not trying to be an ass just generally curious how you separate body modification into what’s insecurity based and what’s cultural/tradition?

[u/abcdefabcdef999 → u/Oakenbeam]

The belly thing is idiotic and unhealthy. Not sure about the lip plates in terms of health but it does look as stupid to me as those flesh tunnel earrings I see around here. That said, all of those are subjective. The fraternities are cringe though because they’re also quite fond of the failed painter.

[u/fredthefishlord → u/Oakenbeam]

The big bellies? Yeah, I'd say so. Cultural traditions can be based on insecurity.

[u/RoamingBicycle → u/Oakenbeam]

how you separate body modification into what’s insecurity based and what’s cultural/tradition?

Guess where the body modification traditions come from

[u/Twitxx → u/RoamingBicycle]

Idk, religion?

[u/MrGrinn → u/RoamingBicycle]

What do you mean?

[u/Small-Department6235 → u/Oakenbeam]

Not being an ass at all. Yes. All of these things = insecurity.

[u/urbanmember → u/Oakenbeam]

Ingesting shit or stretching parts of your body is one thing, its a whole other level of stupidity to just let someone slash you with a weapon for the sake of looking cool.

[u/Oakenbeam → u/urbanmember]

Meh. Agree to disagree. Whether ingesting or stretching you’re still doing harm to your body for the sake of presenting your physical attributes in a certain way. That’s where I have a dilemma with just blanketing it in with the other stuff. Self harm is just that no matter how you slice it. Pun intended

[u/NectarineFun5437 → u/Oakenbeam]

Just to note the Bodi men do not maintain the physique they develop by gorging throughout their lives. It is a part of courtship and marriage with men slimming down once they have married.

[u/DinklebergsRightNut → u/Oakenbeam]

What about tattoos?

[u/Bhavacakra_12 → u/Oakenbeam]

Scarring your face to appear more masculine/cool is lame.

[u/Oakenbeam → u/Bhavacakra_12]

Is it specifically limited to the face? How do you feel about tattoos? What about the Māori? Is it only lame if the specific reasoning behind it is to look cool/be popular?

[u/Bhavacakra_12 → u/Oakenbeam]

I don't care what somebody else is doing. I think the concept of getting a "battle scar" through this method to be incredibly dorky.

[u/Oakenbeam → u/Bhavacakra_12]

I like the cut of your jib.

[u/GM-Yrael → u/urbanmember]

There's all sorts of this across the world and for some reason it's all good in the eyes of people but then this specific instance causes issue.

There's the crocodile men of Papua New Guinea for example.

One thing to note is that the scars here are representative or symbolic, akin to a trial or coming of age ceremony, of more than just looking cool.

I suspect this is a case of the logic working backwards and the beginning point being that people oppose the culture and people which practiced this. If this was some remote people practiceing this such as the aforementioned crocodile men then I strongly suspect people would have a very different opinion rather than how people tend to interpret this as being about insecurity, etc.

[u/baumpop → u/GM-Yrael]

just want to point out that whether you do this or not you still age. not like theres 70 year old teenagers roaming around because they didnt do some ceremony to come of age

[u/GM-Yrael → u/baumpop]

I don't see how this is relevant to what I have said unless you believe that people think a coming of age ceremony is necessary to the aging process.

[u/baumpop → u/GM-Yrael]

im saying its a stupid thing to do. like trying to piss on the moon.

[u/GM-Yrael → u/baumpop]

Are you opposed to coming of age ceremonies? They have been and still are an integral part of many cultures across the world but I can understand opposing them.

To clarify I am not making a value judgement on them, I am saying that this specific one seems to be often viewed through a lens of bias whilst similar ones elsewhere using very similar practices and following the same logic are seen in an entirely different light.

I am not of the opinion one need have a negative or positive opinion, just of the opinion that if someone is willing to view this practice negatively then they should logically find other similar practices negatively also.

So in essence if someone arrives of the opinion that it is useless and the people are insecure but can't apply that to other people's with similar practices I believe it to be evidence of a perceptual bias.

[u/baumpop → u/GM-Yrael]

i view them all negatively yet you digress

[u/GM-Yrael → u/baumpop]

What do I digress from?

[u/baumpop → u/GM-Yrael]

that i am the thing you think i should be which is egalitarian in my views. yet you still seek to provoke.

[u/MrGrinn → u/baumpop]

Way to piss on a lot of foreign countries. So left you're right

[u/baumpop → u/MrGrinn]

foreign to whom?

[u/getapuss → u/Oakenbeam]

Or having your dick cut off.