Case Study Paper Example on Body Modification of Maria Jose Cristerna

Introduction

Maria Jose has almost 90 per cent of her body covered in tattoos and other subcutaneous implants. At first, it hits that the "Vampire woman" is only on a TV show but the ideal thing is that she has undergone body modification. The tattooed skin, piercings on the body and the great transformation all make her look extremely stunning even to people who are familiar with these extreme modifications. Maria has so far been a famous person, appearing regularly on TV shows and also events. Body modification is a practice that is old and it consists of alteration of the human body and these alterations vary immensely in the meaning, purpose, design and also technique used with the related social repercussions. For Maria, her transformation is a form of body art which to her do not only create an appearance but also seek effects (Mccrum, 2015). The way people present themselves or how they get perceived by others is a thing of matter and also important in the components of visuality. There are reasons for the Vampire Woman to extremely modify herself and there are benefits she gets from the same. It could be a construction for self-identity and there are impacts to the society.

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Why She Transformed Her Body

Cristerna decided to transform her body to create quite a unique appearance and also seek effects. She gained fame for featuring in several videos on the Television and people liked her because she was amazing. In that case, it was also her aim to impress and so render themselves attractive (Synnott, 1993). People are amused to see how stars modify themselves, be it temporarily or permanently and this is the case for the "Vampire Woman" as she wanted to be outstanding and attract her viewers. It is also a way of giving strength, assurance and also poise.

The simple things that Cristerna does make it quite an ordeal like any action of going out maybe to the market of taking out garbage. She never goes unnoticed, one thing that has made her famous and land in various roles on the Television. She has been the center of attention. One major thing for "Vampire Woman" is that she has had many star tattoos on her body which are a representation of her mother. She says that her mother's advice has been her source of intimacy and comfort in the daily routines.

Consequences of her Surgery

The Vampire Woman has cause different opinions from different people on the benefits and impacts of having to tattoo her body that much. Her body modifications have made her a celebrity that everyone asks for autographs and selfies with her whenever she is out in the public. She has even been listed in the Guinness World records website where she has been said to have forty nine total body modifications which are inclusive of significant tattoos, transdermal implants appearing on her forehead, on the chest and arms, many piercings in her eyebrows, lips, nose, tongue and nipples among others (Guinness World Records, 2016). Her being famous is perceived as a freak for the society.

Advantages of Mutilation (Body Modification)

The advantages of body modifications for the Vampire Woman are that it is a form of expression. Every other design on her body is significant to her and it helps to form a permanent impression of how she wants situations to turn (Timming, 2017). The implants on her head express the kind of roles she would like to play in general art. Talking about self-expression, the designs reveal her belief and the joy that she cannot explain in words.

It is for the reason of these tattoos that she has been making money to support her four children from her previous marriage. She gained fame because of the unique body designs hence featuring in many television shows (Woodford, 2018). She says that she gained courage to leave her abusive husband of ten years and the support for her children has been from the amount she makes from the shows. In that case, the tattoos improved her chances of being hired. This is because, she has more chances of attracting the young people hence making the business gain more. According to vampire woman, her need to get tattoos and implants was so she could improve her self-image. She has gained more by not listening to what people think about her mutilation and surgeries.

Public Opinion

The performances by Vampire woman have been impressing. Other than the modifications, she uses fewer clothes as her breasts, legs and buttocks tend to be fairly exposed. Her response to how she does it is that it is always good to create suspension for the audience but also more important to give the show some kind of fun so that it is not plain and elevating. The view of the public is that bodily modification, involves deliberately changing your physical appearance for aesthetic reasons (Garland, 1996).

It has traditionally been the work of cosmetic surgeons who operate in a heavily regulated arena to protect the interests of their patients. Consequently, when an unlicensed person performs cosmetic surgery which results in death or other health complications, it is a form of criminal liability. For example, if the cosmetic surgeon performs illegal butt injections on a client who later dies will be charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and the unauthorized practice of a profession.

The more exposed the body, the greater the scrutiny it gets from the viewers. The public believe that tattoos and piercings have to be accounted for by legislation to ensure the interests of clients are protected (Heywood et al. 2012). For example, people may consent to have their ears reshaped to look like elves; getting transdermal or subdermal implants under their skin to create a pattern; and corneal tattooing of the eye. Most of these procedures are done by people with no medical training and matters are made worse by the absence of laws which express account for extreme body art (Pitts, 2003). However, the general case for body art is that anyone can have the design they like as there are no prohibitions to that.

The Vampire woman performs her modified body and her naked body as well. The society has its norms and boundaries where she has been pointed out, been exploited and finally been consumed as a freak for her objectified body. However, she has still learnt to live by the people's opinions as well as take advantage of this marginalizing and consumerist society.

References

Garland Thomson, Rosemarie, ed, 1996. Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body. New York: New York University Press.

Heywood, Ian and Barry Sandywell, eds, 2012.. The Handbook of Visual Culture. London: Berg.

Pitts, Victoria, 2003. In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Synnott, Anthony, 1993. The Body Social: Symbolism, Self and Society. London: Routledge.

Woodford, S.D., 2018. Body art and its impact on employment selection decisions: Is there a bias towards candidates with visible tattoos?

Timming, A.R., 2017. Body art as branded labour: At the intersection of employee selection and relationship marketing. Human Relations, 70(9), pp.1041-1063.

Mccrum, K., June 22, 2015. "Expotattoo:'Vampire Woman' complete with fangs and forked tongue appears at body art festival". The Mirror.. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/expotattoo-vampirewoman-complete-fangs-5929428

Guinness World Records. August 26, 2016. "Most body modifications - (female)". http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/worldrecords/most-body-modifications-%28female%29/