"a scalpel heated by a blow torch & no anesthetic"

[Rooster_Ties]

( The 'topic description' was supposed to read "Holy fucking OUCH!!!!!!!!!!, Batman". )

Tongue splitting latest piercing rage (CNN)

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 Posted: 0543 GMT ( 1:43 PM HKT)

James Keen got his tongue split in December by a

piercer who used a scalpel heated by a blowtorch.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Ears with two, three, even five piercings are ancient history. Studs in tongues and navels are, for many, no big deal. And who doesn't have a tattoo? These days, the attention-grabbing look is tongue-splitting: cutting the tongue to make it forked.

Some say the practice, still relatively uncommon but edging up in popularity, is nothing short of mutilation. Lawmakers in Illinois are considering regulations that would all but outlaw it.

And earlier this year, several branches of the armed services banned tongue-splitting. Officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina say one airman had the tissue in his split tongue reopened and sewn back together in February to avoid being kicked out of the service.

Those who've had their tongues split call it a body modification, and see it as an enhancement.

A few do it for shock value. Others describe the experience as spiritual. And many say they simply like how it looks and feels.

"When I first saw it, I thought tongue-splitting was the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life," says James Keen, a 19-year-old from Scottsville, Kentucky, who got his tongue cut by a local body piercer in December after a surgeon declined to do it.

Keen, who now speaks with a slight lisp, says most people don't know he's had it done unless he shows them.

When he does, he demonstrates how both forks of his tongue can move independently. And it's a plus, he says, when it comes to kissing.

"People are very curious about how it feels," says Keen, whose parents gave him their blessing -- and the $500 it took to do it.

He says the cutting was done in three sessions with a scalpel heated by a blow torch and no anesthetic.

Keen's story is exactly what Illinois state Rep. David Miller, who's also a dentist, had in mind when he authored a bill requiring that tongue-splitting be done by a doctor or dentist, and only for medical reasons.

The bill passed nearly unanimously in the Illinois House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Last summer, state lawmakers in Michigan narrowly defeated a similar bill. "Ultimately, it came down to an individual rights issue," says Tom Kochheiser, a spokesman for the Michigan Dental Association, which supported but did not introduce that state's unsuccessful measure. He says the association has no plans to pursue the issue further.

Miller, a Democrat from Chicago's south suburbs, says he understands the notion of personal freedom. "But I'm not sure the people getting this done understand the risks," he says. "We're choosing safety over cosmetics."

One of the main worries, Miller says, is risk of infection from bacteria in the mouth. He also says a person's speech could be affected by scar tissue and the splitting itself.

Essie Hakim, a 30-year-old New Yorker who had her tongue split by a surgeon in 1998, says she did have to learn how to speak again. But she enjoyed the process, and says she knew what she was getting into.

"I'm an adult making a decision that's not harming anybody. And I'm not harming me," says Hakim, who believes piercing and tongue-splitting are no different than plastic surgery.

Beauty, she says, is simply in the eye of the beholder.

"People get breast implants. People do body building," Hakim says. "People do so many things that are never questioned."

She and others believe the Illinois bill, if it passes, will actually do more harm by making it difficult for the most qualified people -- doctors -- to do the procedure.

Shannon Larratt, a 29-year-old Canadian who had his tongue split by a surgeon, worries that many people will simply go to "underground" parlors to have it done in unsafe conditions.

"It means only the hacks will be left doing it," says Larratt, editor of the Body Modification E-zine, a Web site he publishes from a farm in rural Ontario.

While Larratt estimates that only about 2,000 people in the Western world have split tongues, that's "almost commonplace, as heavy 'mods' go," he says, using the abbreviated term for body modification.

And curiosity about having it done is growing, says Scott Jania, a senior piercer at Progressive Piercing in Chicago.

Jania says he now gets seven to 10 inquiries a week from customers who want to know if he'll split their tongues. But, afraid he'll hurt someone or get in trouble with city regulators, he turns them down flat.

Says Jania: "My career is far too important to risk it."

Edited May 14, 2003 by Rooster_Ties

[Dan Gould]

I guess since the law and common decency keeps people from getting shock value from their genital piercings, they have to find something new to do.

I'm waiting til someone decides that spikes through the nose or, even better, temple, is the newest "new thing" in body "modification".

[Rooster_Ties]

Oh, and since I couldn't include larger text in the 'topic description', let me restate the obvious...

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!

Edited May 14, 2003 by Rooster_Ties

[Noj]

CRIKEY!

Funny what usually isn't mentioned about these tongue-enhancements (piercing, splitting, etc.): it is done specifically for the purposes of oral sex.

[Rooster_Ties]

Keen's story is exactly what Illinois state Rep. David Miller, who's also a dentist, had in mind when he authored a bill requiring that tongue-splitting be done by a doctor or dentist, and only for medical reasons.

Oh, that's what those unspecific "medical reasons" were.

[RDK]

While I think it's pretty stupid, I certainly have no problem with it being legal for adults to get their tongues forked (it's a different story for anyone under 18). Heck, if someone wants to cut off their arm if it will make them feel better (or improve oral sex ) more power to 'em.

BUT, don't let these kids start screaming about discrimination when they can't find an employer who will hire them because it might freak out the vast majority of their customers....

[Soulstation1]

hey

anyone what to see my "jolly roger"?

[RDK]

hey

anyone what to see my "jolly roger"?

We are talking about forked tongues, aren't we?

I hope...

[Use3D]

Props to mutilation!

[Rooster_Ties]

Props to mutilation!

Sounds like a great title for an album, although probably not a jazz album.

[RonF]

A couple of years ago it occurred to me that the only few remaining directions for our young rebels will be mutilation and partial or full amputation. Looks like we're getting closer.

In high school, I made my big statement by wearing a Bob Dylan work shirt and black engineer boots. Damn near got expelled.

[tonym]

isn't there an important artery flowing into the tongue (i know they are all important), somewhere along the middle?

i seem to remember reading about people who had had their tongue pierced only to find the bleeding wouldn't stop. AT ALL!!!

much as i like the pierced look though, the 'forking' does nothing for me.

i'm sure marilyn manson will be blamed.

[Jim Dye]

I found this article I read last year...yuk.

Never underestimate the market for any surgical operation which leaves its recipients with a badge attaching them to the permanent underclass.

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,52052,00.html

02:00 AM May. 06, 2002 PT

Shopping around for birthday gifts? How about a decorative pair of of wings that can be grafted on to your back? Part pig, part human, this biologically-engineered accessory could give you that angelic look you've been seeking.

That particular piggy product hasn't yet made its way to market, but artists Guy Ben-Ary, Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts are engaged in the process of redefining the word bizarre by creating a new artistic palette using tissue engineering and stem cell technologies as the medium for their sculptures.

Their project, Pig Wings, which will be presented as part of the Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth (BEAP) this August, will showcase wing-shaped objects made from living pig tissue, wings that will be animated using living muscles grown from rat cells.

An extension of the Tissue Culture and Art project, whose goal is to create a vision of futuristic objects that are partly artificially constructed and partly grown/born, the semi-living pig's wings explores the area of xenotransplantation -- the transplantation of cells, tissues or organs from non-humans. The artists are experimenting with the state of-the-art, including genetic mainpulation and insertion of human genes into the animal genome for better compatibility.

"Tissue engineering offers a possibility to change our own design as well as create a new breed of 'things,'" says Ionat. "Presently, scientists are trying to mimic nature. However, how will we look when we decide to improve nature? Are we going to see fashion driven neo-organs? Are we going to completely objectify living matter?"

Though the pig wings that have been developed now are only about an inch long, Guy sees mainstream treatment to replace whole complex organs in general, as being only around 10 to 15 years away.

Experimenting with different kinds of ideas, the artists have grown tissue over representations of technological artifacts such as cogwheels, bombs, surgical instruments, pre-historic stone tools and cultural artifacts (Guatemalan worry dolls and found glass objects). In Oculus Latus, tissue was grown over an eye retractor to give an idea of a future where living biological matter interacts seamlessly with constructed systems to create semi-living tools.

Fish and Chips, an undertaking of SymbioticA, University of Western Australia, aims to create a "semi-living artistic entity" assembled from fish neurons grown over silicon chips. Part of the Biofeel exhibition, the goal here is to explore how "arty" this being can get over time by inspiring it with music and other external inputs, with its responses being decoded into drawings and music.

"Semi-Living objects consist of constructed elements and living parts of one or more organisms assembled and sustained by humans," says Oron. "These entities we create might become our 'naturalish' companions, our machines and even our dwelling."

The artists are working on a new project in which they will grow a steak made out of the muscle cells of a sheep that is still alive and kicking. They plan to eat the steak, while the animal from which the cells originated is in the vicinity. "The vision of not needing to kill animals for protein production really fascinates us, but on the other hand, highlights the ambiguity of dealing and caring for living biological systems for human-centric activities."

The projects of the TCA aim at highlighting what is possible when medical technologies are used for purposes other than strictly saving life. "These semi-living entities are our own creation and we do carry the responsibility for their survival and well being," says Oron. "We hope that most people who interact with our work realize that they are presented with something that their belief systems are not able to deal with.

"We want people to recognize that the tools of modern biology confront us with a need to start to formulate a new moral framework to deal with what we know about life and our newly acquired ability to manipulate it. Frankenstein (ran) away when he was faced with his own creation. I hope we, as a society, will be wiser."

[Guest Mnytime]

There are guys who have their penis pierced and that is done without anesthetic. Why anyone would want to pierce things like their genitalia, tongue or bellybutton is beyond me to understand. Never mind splitting your tongue. The rates of infection in those areas are so high and the time that is needed to heal can take up to 6 months. I had a patient who got an infection that ended up damaging his heart. Some people have had parts of their ears cut off because of infections. Even if they don't get infections they might end up with damaged or deformed ears if not done properly.

Edited May 14, 2003 by Mnytime

[RDK]

Wasn't there a rabid Star Trek fan who had his ears bobbed like Spock's?

[Jazzmoose]

Speaking as an ex-sailor who doesn't even have a tattoo, I'm simply in shock...

[JSngry]

Is this some kind of arcane and/or ancient practice that's being rediscovered?