Forked tongues and tattooed eyeballs: should body modification be regulated?

Body art parlours are springing up everywhere, but the legislation to govern what can and can’t be done is lacking, leaving some reputable artists up in arms

Graham had his tongue cut in half without any anaesthetic. “It was uncomfortable, but I’m good with pain,” he says. “Some people take it better than others.” And he would know. More than a decade later, he has given lizard-like tongue snips to countless more customers as a tattoo and body modification artist.

All had been well, but business is getting tricky as fear and legal confusion swirls inside Britain’s increasingly busy body art parlours. Not everyone who gets a forked tongue is as brave. An undercover investigation by BBC London this week revealed that two practitioners in the capital were prepared illegally to inject anaesthetics licensed only for use by registered medical professionals.

Continue reading... October 10, 2017 at 08:12PM