[AnotherUnixGeek]

The body modification stuff can become a real fetish for some. As biotechnology progresses, it's only going to become more extreme. One hundred years from now, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that people can modify themselves to have dragon wings.

And people are welcome to do it, as far as I'm concerned. We have to be the final arbiters of what we do to our bodies. Just as long as I'm not pressured to pretend that a human is really a dragon, or a man is really a woman, do whatever you want to yourself.

[pepsi_junkie]

I don't care what people do to themesleves, whatever. That said, I saw a TV show once that went to a tattoo convention or something like that and found a ton of extreme body modification people, ones with implants and head to toe tattoos and plastic surgery to their faces and all that. All of them ... ALL of them ... in isolation (not a group interview) said that they did it because it gave them a feeling of control, that they could control their own bodies. I feel that's a clue to what's really driving this. It's not just 'I think it's cool and I don't care what you think', it starts with a feeling of lack of control over their lives, probably some sort of depression.

Note that I'm referring to the extreme people, like this dragon lady or the infamous tiger man or that male model guy who got a skull tattooed on his face (and later committed suicide). The sailor who gets an eagle tattooed on his arm or the girl with a heart on her ankle or even the biker with tats all up both arms are not what I'm referring to. People who got surgical implants and tattoos over their entire face, stuff like that.

[Tax-chick]

Just as long as I'm not pressured to pretend that a human is really a dragon, or a man is really a woman ...

You already are pressured to pretend a man is a woman. If you live long enough, denying the dragon will be a hate crime, too.

[wastedyears]

There will be people that invent body mods to actually enhance some functions, or give them mobility that they didn’t have before, such as those born without limbs or paralyzed.