Tongue Splitting

[Hish]

Tongue splitting is a body modification where the front part of the tongue is surgically split. With a bit of practice, a person can learn to control both sides of the tongue independently.

What do the people here think about it?

[Elanasaurus]

If this allows the person to say two things at the same time, I'm all for it.

Otherwise it just looks weird.

[Rynjin]

Tongue splitting is a body modification where the front part of the tongue is surgically split. With a bit of practice, a person can learn to control both sides of the tongue independently.

What do the people here think about it?

I'll sum up my thoughts in a single word.

Why?

[2D8HP]

Seems like a fad from the late 1980's/early '90's ("Modern Primitives" et cetera).

I'm suprised it continues, but I suppose it's a big world and somewhere someone is doing most anything.

[Knaight]

I'm not into body modification personally (tattoos as an art form appeal, but I don't actually have any, let alone piercings, let alone tongue splitting), but it's been a part of human behavior for approximately forever, and this particular one seems harmless enough. It should be relatively reversible, and while it's a bit more extreme than most ear piercings (though not big gauges) it's not exactly foot binding.

[Eldan]

My opinion on body modifications of all kinds is "GAAAAAAH! WHHHHYYYYY! PUT THAT AWAY!". I find it painful and a bit nauseating to even look at a picture of a split tongue. Piercings, really, aren't much better, but I got at least used to seeing them. I also find tattoos both weird and a bit disgusting. Like, people stick needles in their skin and then pump it full of paint. Why would you even do that.

[Cespenar]

The thing I don't personally understand about tattoos is that, while the concept is cool, it looks like it would get boring real fast. I can't think of the deepest word, picture or reference in the world that wouldn't turn cheesy or boring after just a month, let alone a year.

Now, if they could be changed instantly like something out of a cyberpunk setting, that'd be actually pretty cool.

Though then there would be lots of tattoo ads, realistically. Hmph. Cyberpunk settings find a way to ruin everything.

[Fyraltari]

This is a lot of dedication for a lizardfolk cosplay.
I can respect that.

AlsoI would guess everything tastes weird after that.

[Tvtyrant]

There is always a subset of people who are into body modifications. I find it pretty gross, but I assume that my natural ick factor is switched for people who like gauges/facial piercings/split tongues/tattoos and scars.

[AuthorGirl]

I have pierced ears, but this feels like a whole different level of harm.

[sktarq]

Honestly, I don't find it any more weird than gauges, prince alberts, subdermal implants etc.

I know/knew a couple people who had this and frankly it always just struck me as a party trick/attention getter for people who needed affirmation/self affirmation of a particular kind of identity.

Now that could have just been the raver crew I hung with but really it just seemed kinda try-hard

Also none of the people I knew with this were nice people so I may have negative connotations with it from that.

[tomandtish]

Could be worse. I saw a book on body mutilation once that had an entire section dedicated to men who had split a certain .... other... appendage.

WHY?!? In the name of Zeus's butthole, WHY?!?

Don't get me wrong. I support the right of a mentally competent, fully informed adult to do that to themselves. But WHY would you WANT TO?!?

[Anonymouswizard]

I'm agreeing with the WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!s. Then again I can get that way about 'normal' body modifications like piercings and tatoos.

You're not an Epideromancer, and so don't need this to get your charges. And unlike implanting rare earth magnets in your fingers there's no practical benefits (not that I'm doing that one either, I have enough problems with normal needles).

[NontheistCleric]

My only objection to it would be a personal one, which is that I am strongly opposed to having any part of my body messed with on purpose unless absolutely necessary. You just never know what might go wrong.

[tomandtish]

My only objection to it would be a personal one, which is that I am strongly opposed to having any part of my body messed with on purpose unless absolutely necessary. You just never know what might go wrong.

Case in point....

[farothel]

It's not really my thing, but as said by tomandtish, as long as they are fully informed adults, it's their body and they can mutilate it like they please. As long as it's a voluntary thing and it's not forced.

[Random Sanity]

Ew. Ew ew ew ew.

Just EW.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I don't know, it might be kinda funny to kiss someone with a split tongue ones.

Aside from that little giggle it doesn't really do anything for me.

Plus, you know, if I wanted to get cosmetic surgery I'd have better places to start. And I'm not doing any of those things either.

[SaintRidley]

I can see certain bedroom benefits that I won't get into because of the rules. Suffice to say a split tongue may allow some benefits to your partner if you use it well.

I dunno. I probably wouldn't split my tongue, but only probably. I can't say I've seen someone and felt they were less attractive upon seeing that their tongue was split (nor do I understand the visceral horror some here seem to feel about any form of body mod - honestly, I think the only people I've ever encountered to be that grossed out by all forms of body modification have been here).

[Elanasaurus]

I can see certain bedroom benefits that I won't get into because of the rules. Suffice to say a split tongue may allow some benefits to your partner if you use it well.

I dunno. I probably wouldn't split my tongue, but only probably. I can't say I've seen someone and felt they were less attractive upon seeing that their tongue was split

Well of course you would be the most receptive to tongue-splitting. You're a linguist.

What's that? Linguists are interested in a meaning of "tongue" different from the two mentioned here?

(nor do I understand the visceral horror some here seem to feel about any form of body mod - honestly, I think the only people I've ever encountered to be that grossed out by all forms of body modification have been here).

Some people just can't stand needles, or the idea of injecting poison into a person.

[Tvtyrant]

I dunno. I probably wouldn't split my tongue, but only probably. I can't say I've seen someone and felt they were less attractive upon seeing that their tongue was split (nor do I understand the visceral horror some here seem to feel about any form of body mod - honestly, I think the only people I've ever encountered to be that grossed out by all forms of body modification have been here).

I think people who see body modification and recoil are people with a lot of physical empathy, and imagine it being done without anesthetics to them whenever they see it. I can't watch anything involving human eyes without recoil in horror for instance.

[Anonymouswizard]

(nor do I understand the visceral horror some here seem to feel about any form of body mod - honestly, I think the only people I've ever encountered to be that grossed out by all forms of body modification have been here).

As an autistic person, one of my hyperaware senses is touch, which normally isn't a problem (not a lot of touching over here in repressionland), but does cause me to dislike needles (it's literally the only reason I've never given blood, needles sting). Which is why I'll never get a tattoo, it's a needle going into you repeatedly so you can get ink in you skin.

For other stuff I can understand modifications with a practical benefit done under anesthetic. But once either of those are out, what's the point?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

For other stuff I can understand modifications with a practical benefit done under anesthetic. But once either of those are out, what's the point?

Traditional forms of body mutilation are wealth signifier: you are so rich you can 1) afford to get it done (or more commonly, afford to have a wife who had it done) 2) do so because it will tell anyone that sees that you are rich enough to get it done and 3) in some extreme cases you are so rich you can afford to permanently cripple your (or rather, their) ability to perform certain forms of labor.

Think foot binding in China ("I'm so rich my wife will never need to walk, we have servants for that"), the Kayan neck stretching, but also western medieval preference for wives with no practical skills, etc. It is hard to say if these can be considered voluntary mutilations, though (foot binding definitely wasn't, I'm not familiar enough with Kayan society to say how much girls are compelled to follow the tradition).

Many forms of tattooing are also social signifier - not unlike being given the right to wear sword in public or a specific number of pips on the shoulder of your clothing (outside of a military context), it told other members of the society what your social rank was even when they didn't know you personally. Again, I'm not qualified to comment on how voluntary these mutilations are.

So circling back to the original topic, the point is to transmit an impression of the individual even to those that don't know them. In this case, "I am the kind of person capable and willing to split my tongue". What social impact that has is hard to predict, not being a common mutilation at this time, but it would certainly signify something to most people that encountered it.

Grey Wolf

[AMFV]

As an autistic person, one of my hyperaware senses is touch, which normally isn't a problem (not a lot of touching over here in repressionland), but does cause me to dislike needles (it's literally the only reason I've never given blood, needles sting). Which is why I'll never get a tattoo, it's a needle going into you repeatedly so you can get ink in you skin.

For other stuff I can understand modifications with a practical benefit done under anesthetic. But once either of those are out, what's the point?

Well the thing is that for a person getting a tattoo there is a practical benefit. That's the catch. If I get a tattoo it signals all kinds of things about me to others, that can certainly be a practical benefit. I can appreciate the artistry there, and that artistry would be difficult to take from me.

I mean a woman who gets her ears pierced is going to have a practical benefit in that there are more ways that she can enhance her appearance. She has more options for accessories, and can demonstrate her wealth or creativity or good taste to a wider audience (the same holds true for men getting their ears pierced, but that has a lot of other social baggage associated with it).

[Scarlet Knight]

Don't get me wrong. I support the right of a mentally competent, fully informed adult to do that to themselves. But WHY would you WANT TO?!?

Question: Can you do this and still be considered mentally competent? In all my training, mutilating a functioning part of your body is one of the biggest red flags for mental illness.

[sktarq]

Question: Can you do this and still be considered mentally competent? In all my training, mutilating a functioning part of your body is one of the biggest red flags for mental illness.

is it mutilated if it still functions? For some bedroom application it is probably considered an improvement (the promise/thought of which was certainly part of those I knew reason's for doing so-even if it mostly a seduction tool/peacocking)

and an earlobe that is pierced is not be considered mutilated even if one does so with a potato? How about a pierced tongue?

where is that line and who gets to draw that line?



as is forming an identity in part defined by being trangressive being mentally ill?

[Zea mays]

What signal does putting a grommet in one’s earlobe send? Everday I see folks who have done so, and just can not fathom why.

[AMFV]

What signal does putting a grommet in one’s earlobe send? Everday I see folks who have done so, and just can not fathom why.

It says something in their own particular subculture. A lot of these kind of symbols are not General cultural things but rather kind of Niche subculture things.

[tomandtish]

I can see certain bedroom benefits that I won't get into because of the rules. Suffice to say a split tongue may allow some benefits to your partner if you use it well.

I dunno. I probably wouldn't split my tongue, but only probably. I can't say I've seen someone and felt they were less attractive upon seeing that their tongue was split (nor do I understand the visceral horror some here seem to feel about any form of body mod - honestly, I think the only people I've ever encountered to be that grossed out by all forms of body modification have been here).

I should be clear. 99% of body piercing, etc. doesn't bother me. Want gauges in your ears? Bars in your nipples? More power to you. Not something I'm personally interested in or find attractive, but more power to you.

Tattoos in general don't bother me. I question the concept of fully tattooing your face, but from a "You realize you're stuck with that" point of view, not a "the horror" POV.

The things that freak me out are the major body alterations that 1) Stand a chance of disabling a body part AND 2) have little to no chance of being reversed.

Tattoo your eyeballs? Risking blindness? No thanks.

Split a certain male appendage? And risk there being some form of dis-function? And then I also imagine the pain involved in the healing process. I may be overestimating it, but my mind still shuts down at the thought.

[Scarlet Knight]

is it mutilated if it still functions? For some bedroom application it is probably considered an improvement (the promise/thought of which was certainly part of those I knew reason's for doing so-even if it mostly a seduction tool/peacocking)

and an earlobe that is pierced is not be considered mutilated even if one does so with a potato? How about a pierced tongue?

where is that line and who gets to draw that line?

as is forming an identity in part defined by being trangressive being mentally ill?

The gray area between eccentric and crazy has always been difficult to define; which is one reason mental illness in teens often goes untreated until it's severe.

However, most of society knows appropriate and inappropriate when we see it. A teen may not do alot of damage when they cut themselves, but the fact that they're doing it at all tells you there is a real problem.

Someone who cuts off their finger because they identify with Frodo is the very definition of insanity, even if the hand still functions. If you see crazy behaviour, call it for what it is.