Tongue Splitting

[Chet]

CNN just posted an article on tongue splitting.

Is this going too far?

 

[green lizard]

I voted 'no'...
I think it would be great (on someone elses
daughter)

I would probably vote 'yes' if you asked
what if one of my children wanted to
mutilate themselves.

 

[Jeff]

No its not....

Penis splitting takes it to a whole new level though.

 

[Seabishop]

I thnk it is going too far and I'm going to have the heebie jeebies all day - especially after Mike's post. After a while its a surgical procedure that should be done by a plastic surgeon not a piercer. I always think its hilarious when someone who thinks they're so cool with a toungue piercing talks with a lisp. I think that as medical technology advances people are going to have the option of doing all sorts of weird things to themselves and regulations are going to have to keep up.
[vomits on zoning ordinance]

 

[NHPlanner]

I'm with Seabishop...that pic will freak me out all day....I'm quite content with my wife's pierced tongue, thank you.

 

[Wannaplan?]

That article needs a companion piece: High School Students Form Tongue-Splitting Oral Sex Club.

 

[Downtown]

Sorry - way too gross. And definitely should be done by a surgeon, not a guy with a scapel and a blow torch. I wouldn't be in favor of banning it, but I do think that it is definitely creepy.

 

[jmf]

I always think its hilarious when someone who thinks they're so cool with a toungue piercing talks with a lisp.

Probably the same someones who teased and tormented the kid in their class who had a lisp!

It definitely grosses me out but I am pretty prudish - no piercings; no tattoos - my only claim to fame is large surgical scar. Despite my wimpiness, I don't think it should be banned - blowtorch???? there must be a better way!!

 

[nerudite]

I voted "no". I didn't get an indication from the article that it is a particularly dangerous procedure... no more than other procedures I guess. It doesn't even wig me out... I'm kind of interested in how it feels when you kiss someone with a forked tongue like that.

On a separate note, I wonder if any lawyers with a good sense of humor have had this procedure.

 

[donk]

I could not find any good/safe links and photos, but I find inserting beads under the skin even creepier then the split tongue.

 

[Chet]

I didn't get an indication from the article that it is a particularly dangerous procedure...

I would imagine its not. I had a frenulectomy a few years ago. (TMI?) and it wasnt painful at all.

edit: I am told that my kissing improved afterwards...

 

[nerudite]

I would imagine its not. I had a frenulectomy a few years ago. (TMI?) and it wasnt painful at all.

Thank goodness you provided that link for the definition... because I was so sure you had something else removed that would have been uhhhhh a little more painful.

 

[Repo Man]

Did you have to have it removed for medical reasons or was it for extra-ciricular activity?

 

[Chet]

Did you have to have it removed for medical reasons or was it for extra-ciricular activity?

The former, but it benefitting the later.

 

[Seabishop]

I would imagine its not. I had a frenulectomy a few years ago. (TMI?) and it wasnt painful at all.

edit: I am told that my kissing improved afterwards...

You had the ol' Gene Simons procedure, huh?

 

[Chet]

You had the ol' Gene Simons procedure, huh?

That sums it up better than WebMD ever could. LOL

 

[plannerkat]

I could not find any good/safe links and photos, but I find inserting beads under the skin even creepier then the split tongue.

This is one of the more disturbing methods of body modification I have seen, surpassed in the creepy factor only by scarification (slicing designs in your skin) and branding. I am personally rather horrified by the tongue-splitting thing as well. While I don't think these procedures should be banned, perhaps a waiting period/counseling session should be in order. I suspect that most of the people who engage in these extreme forms of modification are either very young or a bit off psychologically.

 

[nerudite]

The only thing that creeps me out a little are the people that have little devil horns surgically implanted. Even then, it's more weird (worried about the individual who would do such a thing) than gross.

Case in point (I'll remove this if people get too grossed out)...

 

[Planderella]

These pictures have killed my afternoon snack cravings.

 

[JNL]

I have a friend who has 30 different piercings, and one of his friends had some serious scarification done over a period of months - he had angel wings scarred onto the whole of his back. Those things didn't bother me but the tongue splitting definitely gives me the heebie jeebies!! But I kind of agree that it's a personal choice. And making it illegal won't stop it.

 

[Jeff]

To each his own...those who want to get back to their tribal roots and stick bones through their noses, devil horn, whatever...so be it.

 

[Repo Man]

I want to know if those people who keep making their ear holes larger (like the above photo) have any clue that the hole will not close up. I had my ears pierced and I haven't had an earring in on over 5 years and there are still holes from that tiny little post. Sticking something the size of a quarter just seems pointless.

 

[JNL]

They do realise, it's part of what makes it 'different'! I've seen guys with tunnels in their ears (I think that's the correct terminology) of more than 5cm diameter. If you decide you don't want them later on, you have to have surgery to remove most of the stretched skin and then sew up what's left.

 

[prudence]

Question...

Do these people understand that people like me will NEVER hire them?? If you can hide it, fine, but if you can't you won't be working for me.

 

[Repo Man]

I agree with prudence. I think that people who get tattoos on their faces or have ear tunnels don't think about the ramifications of these actions. Yeah, you may think you look cool now, but how will you look when you are 50 and you have drooping holes in your ears and a fading, wrinkled face tattoo. There is a fine line between being "different" and being "stupid"

I had a nosering and 5 ear piercings, so I am not opposed to these things, but at some point you have to stop being different and start thinking of how these things will affect the rest of your life.

 

[nerudite]

I had a nosering and 5 ear piercings, so I am not opposed to these things, but at some point you have to stop being different and start thinking of how these things will affect the rest of your life.

I have always wanted a nose ring. A friend of mine in grade school had a nose stud (she's East Indian), and I thought it was so cool that I begged for one when I was 8 years old. It was always "no". Since I have been interning since I was 18, as soon as I turned legal I was in a job that wouldn't accept it as normal. I'm still hoping that it will become acceptable someday, even in government.

 

[Repo Man]

I have always wanted a nose ring. A friend of mine in grade school had a nose stud (she's East Indian), and I thought it was so cool that I begged for one when I was 8 years old. It was always "no". Since I have been interning since I was 18, as soon as I turned legal I was in a job that wouldn't accept it as normal. I'm still hoping that it will become acceptable someday, even in government.

I got my nosering on a drunken dare. A friend and I were out drinking one night and he said he was thinking of getting his pierced. It spiraled into a "I'll do it if you do it" thing and I was suprised as hell when he called the next afternoon to go and get it done. He had his in for a week, I liked it and kept mine for about 2 years, until I graduated from college.

 

[JNL]

I recently took out my eyebrow piercing - I got bored with it. Who wants to wear the same piece of jewellery 24/7? Yeah I could have changed the jewellery but it was damn expensive for those little bits of metal and I wasn't into it enough to spend more on it. Now I'm hoping the scarring will fade.

 

[Cardinal]

Prudence hit it on the head. These people are closing off many opportunities for themselves, not only in the workplace, but socially as well.

 

[BKM]

A bit of a generational divide here?

I just turned 40 last Friday (blahhh!), and I can't even imagine doing this deliberately. No way in hell would I "scarrify" myself. Yuck!

Of course, I am such a chicken about needles that I blanche when I read the periodic blood drive announcements

 

[nerudite]

A bit of a generational divide here?

I just turned 40 last Friday (blahhh!)

[ot]
Hello! Why no notice here? We didn't even get to wish you a happy birthday dammit! Hope you had a good one.

[/ot]

 

[BKM]

I did. My co-workers had a lunch, and my sister bought me some art glass, so it was pretty good.

Thanks! 40 is not a fun one.

 

[Runner]

When growing up most all of the fathers in the neighborhood were WWII or Korean War veterans. Many had tattoos from their military days. So my understanding was that tattoos were a mark of a veteran so OK and even a mark of honor.

End result is that I can accept tattoos (just not on the face).

My youthful understanding of ear piercing was that it was common for women, pirates, and Mr. Clean. So I learned that they were OK under these circumstances as well. I’ve since learned to accept belly button piercing (and no I don't have one).

I guess I'm really showing my age here...

Anyhow, the other piercings are getting a little odd. While the ear tunnels (I learned some new terminology with this thread), horn implants, tongue splitting, etc are just plain freaky!

The point about the implications for relationships and employment is right on.

 

[Runner]

40 is not a fun one.

I think its just a matter of how you look at it. I get to retire from the city at 46, so 40 was a great one. 50 will be even better!

Also, 40 was much better than 30 and I would not want to be 20 again for all the tea in China.

 

[Jen]

tie me up tie me down

I would imagine its not. I had a frenulectomy a few years ago. (TMI?) and it wasnt painful at all.

edit: I am told that my kissing improved afterwards...

That's a tongue- tie right? The tongue is anchored to the floor of the mouth, a laser scapel through the tissue releases it. I imagine in addition to kissing, licking ice cream cones and tooth sucking is much easier now too!
It is pretty common with varying degrees of tongue mobility, so an adult with a tongue tie is not so unusual really.

 

[Jessie-J]

I was on the verge of getting my tongue pierced and a friend of mine told me this story about a girl eating a chicken drumstick and it caught on her piercing and tore her tongue, resulting in this nasty tongue splitting thing. Perhaps it was an urban legend or whatever, but that is the reason I decided against it. I couldn't imagine doing that to myself.

The piercings on the nose (not septum) and eyebrow are just plain sexy (on both genders), The Belly button thing is kinda overrated and (I think) just an excuse for girls to show more skin and guys to ask for it.

There is a certain group of people in Austin that regularly hang out just off campus on Guadalupe (known as "the Drag"). They are generally homeless kids (usually under 18) and they've come to be known as "drag rats". Many of them have multiple piercings and it seems like it's done for the shock value. The part that confuses me, is where they get the money for these piercings (unless they're do-it-yourselfers) and why would they rather spend the little money they have on this rather than food or bus?

 

[Runner]

The Belly button thing is kinda overrated and (I think) just an excuse for girls to show more skin and guys to ask for it.

Hmmm, doesn't sound overrated at all in that case!

 

[donk]

I have a funny scar on my ear from my bicycle helmet and an infected hair folicle.. It looks like a closed up ear piercing. I went for a job interview with a notoriously conservative employer and was told straight up at the interview that piercings and any indication of piercings were frowned upon by the company. The story changed a bit, not much but a bit, when I explained what had happened and then proceeded to show them the scars from stitiches on the back of my ear.

 

[Tom R]

tongue

I would imagine its not. I had a frenulectomy a few years ago. (TMI?) and it wasnt painful at all.

edit: I am told that my kissing improved afterwards...

My son had that done when he was small. The doctor called it being "tongue tied."

 

[Greenescapist]

Interesting discussion. At first, I recoiled reading prudence's comment, but thinking about it a bit more, I remember how my sister's tongue ring caused her problems with her work.

She spent a year in an Americorps/Red Cross program teaching earthquake preparedness and safety to elementary school children in Seattle. She would travel around that metro area and give short presentations on how to be safe, etc. Without fail, kids would raise their hands and instead of asking a question about the subject matter, they'd want to see her tongue ring or know how much it hurt to get it done.

I, too, had piercings in college, in the upper part of my left ear and the regular spot on the left lobe. I gave up on the upper one around graduation because of constant infection, but I still sometimes wear an earring on the lobe and think it looks pretty innocent - hey- often women tell me it's cute . I would hate to be judged negatively on a job interview just because I have a pinhole in my earlobe when I'm an all-around good person.

 

[Chet]

I would hate to be judged negatively on a job interview just because I have a pinhole in my earlobe when I'm an all-around good person.

I wont judge you negatively in an interview if I see the pinhole in your ear - or ten for that matter. As long as you had the professionalism to not wear the ring or stub to the interview, it tells me you probably wont wear them at work. I look around our office, and every guy has at least 3 or 4 holes where nature didn't put them. But no one wears 'em at work.

A good candidate wearing a nose ring to the interiew goes to the bottom of the pile in my book.

 

[Repo Man]

Taking your piercings out demonstrates that you know how to seperate your individual self-expression from your professional career. When you work for a consultant or a government, you are there projecting an image of the company. I think that some people have the opinion that "I'm my own person, no boss is gonna tell me how I look" but I think that a company has a right to dictate, to a reasonable extent, how their employees appear and they also have the right to not hire applicants that they feel don't project a professional image.

Plus, you can' get away with anything when you are the only one with a distinctive piercing in your office. When I had my nosering I worked for a County Park System and my co-workers would always get the "Well that one guy with the nosering told me...."

 

[Jen]

But then one may leave their labia and frenum piercings in, as no one will see those!

 

[Dan]

No tats, no piercings, no body mods. The biopsy I had on my arm a couple of months ago left a pretty cool scar, though.

I wouldn't think negatively of any prospective employee that had holes or piercings in great abundance, or where they aren't normally seen. However, like Chet, if someone wore a nosering to an interview, their resume would be pushed to the bottom of the queue. It's an identifying feature that many people find it possible to see past; like it or not, the public won't be able to see the professional past the piercing. Maybe it would be cool in a dot-com or graphic design firm, but not in a government office, or a private planning consulting firm.

 

[Dan]

Thanks! 40 is not a fun one.

[ot]I know. I'm 37, and careening into middle age. The thought of turning 40 scares me, especially when high school and college seem like fairly recent memories. Seems like it was just yesterday when I was drinking beer and playing cards in the basement with my buddies from high school.[/ot]

 

[SkeLeton]

Personally I wouldn't even tatoo myself or put a piercing, even less mutilate my tongue....
Now I don't mind piercing and tatoos on other people, but tongue splittling is disgusting.....

 

[Seabishop]

Tongue splitting is now illegal in Illinois.

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/07/odds_split.htm

 

[SkeLeton]

Here we just passed a law to forbid minors (less than 18 here) to get tattoos...

I don't know about a law about piercings.. Because I've seen 15 year old kids with pirecings... Though I guess piercings aren't forever... unlike tattoos...

 

[Duke Of Dystopia]

Body Mods

I spent the first 2/3 of my life trying to fit in and get along within the cultural rule system

What a FREAKEN WASTE OF TIME!

At some point in your life you have to decide weather you want to have a pot to piss in (I do), or you just want to but heads with everything. I love what I am doing, it is me since I discovered planning, so I decide to blend in with my reality of the daytime.

Advice to all young kids: Have fun, experiment, No tats, but do you best to freak out and shock everyone else in society, its good for them and makes everyone think. 3 months from graduating collage, go normal on the outside of the body

 

[martini]

There does seem to be a generational gap here. At 30, I have no misgivings about tat's or piercings(got the nipples done years ago). Though, I do have the presence of mind to keep that kinda thing out of public consumption(hence my placement, and I don't tell many folks about them). Gotta be that way for the career and all. When it comes time for me to be hiring folks, it's just something I'll have to look around. It seems that body modification is getting more popular as the years go by. We'll see though.

The Tounge thing si creepy, but I'm not one to say you can't do that to yourself.