Motivations for Modifications of the Human Body

Abstract

Sexual mutilations constitute a form of attack on the human body that is most often, irreversible.They harm both the anatomical integrity and the physiological eroge-nousness of the external genitalia. On the other hand, body modifications that reduce sexuality either anatomically, morphologically, physiologically or behaviourally are, more or less, reversible. Their practitioners, by which I mean to say, their victims, can recover their biological integrity. These modifications are extremely widespread, and the motivations for them are exactly the same as the motivations for mutilations. Consenting to them or advocating them thus constitutes “a first step” that can sometimes lead to the second stage of irreversibility, in the same way that so-called “soft drugs” can lead to hard drugs.