What Is Body Adornment?
Body adornment is something that a person puts on or changes to embellish upon himself. It can beautify one’s outer self, heighten self-esteem, be a sign of status or even serve as a cultural symbol. According to Dictionary.com, adornment is meant to increase attractiveness and/or act to create personal beautification.
People can decorate the body with many different accessories: clothing, jewelry, hats, shoes and cosmetics. Some people enjoy the ease of changing their hairstyle often by getting a haircut, having extensions put in, wearing wigs or dying their locks different colors. With this type of adornment, it is easy to make a statement one day and a different statement the next day. Some adornment, however, is not so easily removed; this includes piercings, plastic surgery and tattoos.
For some, tattoos and piercings are just fun or appealing to get. According to the site Ingenious, both piercings and tattoos served in history as a status symbol and also differentiated people by certain groups. The motorcycle group Hell’s Angels uses symbols like tattoos to recognize who belongs to their group. Body adornment is important in maintaining individuality, but in some instances, it shows someone’s culture or commitment to fitting into a certain type of group.
