Elves are sexy. Vulcans are sexy. Pointy ears in general are sexy, but not so sexy that we’d carve ourselves up to get them. ABC News reports on the latest fad among young adults, getting your ear cartilage cut open and sewn into points.
While the body modification procedure for creating ears that are more or less pointed has been around for quite some time, it seems it’s beginning to pick up some real steam, at least enough to make ABC News do a story on it. They say that “Elf Ears Are the Rage Among Quirky Young Adults”, flashing video footage of several young women that have undergone the painful procedure with varying results.
And it is a painful procedure. Body modification artists are not doctors, after all, and have no access to anesthesia. They aren’t even supposed to work on someone if they suspect they may be intoxicated, so not even booze will dull the pain of having your upper ear cut in two and then sewn back together.
I’m no stranger to body mods myself. I’ve got my ears stretched to a half inch. I’ve got a septum ring. I’ve got another ring somewhere I will not mention. None of those were quite as painful as the time I decided to pierce my own upper ear cartilage. It hurt like hell, and while the hole is still there, any time I put something in it it quickly grows sore and red. Cartilage doesn’t like to be fucked with. I can only imagine how much pain these people are going through while this procedure heals.
“The real risks are one – major deformity of the ear, which is very easy to have happen and two, infection of the ear,” said Dr. Arthur W. Perry, author of “Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery”. “And if infection occurs, it can destroy the ear within days”.
That’s quite a lot of risk for a procedure that doesn’t seem to be all that effective at making ears truly look pointed. I’ll stick to paying $US20 for a set of stick-on ears instead of paying several hundred dollars to potentially lose the ones I’ve got.
Elf Ears Are the Rage Among Quirky Young Adults [ABC News – Thanks Michelle!]
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