Project Proposal

For my first New Millennium Studies project, I plan to create a collogue of images that demonstrates how body piercing (ear, navel, tongue, nose etc.) depicts a person’s feelings and “heart on their sleeve.”
Through the pictures that I will present in my collogue, I will attempt to explore how the piercing trend was historically started to demonstrate wealth, beauty and power before younger generation began to use it as a way to rebel against feelings of oppression and authority. . I will further explain that although rebellion is the chief cause of piercing amongst the younger generation, many also decide to get a part of their body pierced to further their sex appeal to the opposite sex, because it makes them appear more “tough” or because of the pressure that everyone else is doing it.
The guiding questions about identity that my topic are how does body piercing stimulate or decrease our self perception? How do others view one because of body piercing? What assumptions does one make about another person because of body piercing and what labels does body piercing generate? The final question I will attempt to answer is how does piercing alienate or connect us to society.
The intention of my project in regards to my audience is to allow them to reflect on their own opinions of why so many members of society get body piercings, and what they think it adds to a person’s self image. I hope to accomplish this without infuriating the members of my audience who already have piercings.