Why Do We Body Mutilate Ourselves?

Note: This week’s column contains an image that may not agree with all of you.

I don’t believe in body mutilation. FGM is a barbaric female practice, just as much as I think male circumcision is a draconian horror.

Diehard fans of Quinten Tarantino’s 1994 movie, Pulp Fiction, will be all too aware of the quote by Jody (Rosanna Arquette) which, went along these lines. “All of my piercings – 16 places on my body, all of them were done with a needle. Five in each ear, one through the nipple on my left breast, one through my right nostril, one through my left eyebrow, one in my lip, one in my clit and I wear a stud in my tongue.”

‘Body mutilation’ is big business and people mutilate themselves for various reasons. For example, some women pierce their nipples because of an ‘enhanced sexual arousal created by the nipple and areola stimulation’. Others, like Younger Generation, they do it because of the pressures heaped on them by society to ‘fit in’. If not, they want to be like the stars they idolise - Rihanna, Lady Gaga or Black Chyna. Closer to home and perhaps fuelled by the desire to grace the pages of Kampala Sun, Daughter cottoned on that you only get into those pages for being outrageous and shocking - like leaking nude selfies or exposing piercings in places that would make Porn Cop - Father Lokodo, squirm, start ranting and calling for legislation on where earrings can and can’t be worn. 

Tattoos are not a new fad, while nipple piercing – at least in the Western world, dates back to the 14^th Century. In my growing up era, girls only had two piercings on their bodies – one on each of their ear lobes to be precise, while we boys, we had nothing – not even a tattoo because it would not meet parental approval.

But in today’s world order, Parent has resigned themselves to seeing Daughter (and Son) ears full of bling. Worse, Daughter and Son are also piercing eyebrows, tongues and lower lips. And if that’s not enough, Daughter has a ‘bull ring’ in her nose and she so proudly struts around town showing it off like she is the prized cow at the Jinja Agricultural Show. Seriously, for the life of me, I can’t figure out how a bull ring enhances sexual desire – unless it’s some macabre sex thing?

Eyebrows and tongues aside, wait for this shocker. Daughter – and Son are also into mutilating things ‘down there’. Looking at some of the images of Daughter and Son who have mutilated ‘down there’, all I can say is, ouch, it looks nasty, it’s a turnoff and it must have really hurt.

Not all women are mutilators and perhaps we ought to spare a thought for that geek, so not streetwise, naïve and closeted Daughter who went to Gayaza High School. In all her outings to Senga, and the awkward lectures she got on what to expect on her wedding night, I don’t think that she (Senga) would have told her that Hubby-to-be might have had himself mutilated – and we are not talking just about circumcision, but that his thingy might be covered in more bling than the actor Mr T has round his neck. If not, he might have had it tattooed with the words: ‘TNT Dynamite’ running all the way down. Or up? 

But hey, if that’s how Sista and Bruv get their kicks, it’s cool with me but will say, stretched ear lobes, bull rings, rings in noses, eyebrows, tongues, mouths and down there, is not sexy. Its morbid. And Sista and Bruv, if you don’t mind my asking this: “Don’t the rings and studs on ‘things down there’ rip the condom to shreds? What about the ammonia in the susu, won’t it bring about some about corrosion that will lead to an infection?” 

Pictures: Internet