Nowadays it seems increasingly common for many people to decorate or alter their bodies for various reasons. All over the world, people place decorations on their bodies and sometimes on their bodies to identify themselves as individuals, identify a social status, an achievement, or another personal encounter. They heal, paint, pierce, shape and adorn their skin. These changes affect how people represent their identities and the social groups to which they belong and interact. Each of these social groups has various forms of body art or decorations that represent various moments or events in their lives. The style of body decoration used by a person can be indicative of their age, job, gender, wealth, power or even status. Body decoration can be a way to make it attractive by emphasizing a specific part of the body. Skin decoration can be permanent or temporary, socially acceptable or socially challenging, or even painful or funny. Body modification has a long history (Wohlrab, Stahl, & Kappeler, 2007). These modifications are enjoyed by various cultures around the world for various reasons. Although the way the body is modified varies depending on geographic location, many of the modifications have specific meaning to one's culture. These changes can often be part of a rite of passage that Arnold Van Gennep defined as the moment in which “one passes from one state to another within the life cycle” (Crapo, 6.4). Every culture has its own rites of passage that are passed down from generation to generation with their own meaning. Piercing is an example of body modification popular today in many cultures and started as an initiation rite in some cultures. It is reported that in Australia well or...... middle of paper ......Style is taking the place of fashion, and tribes or social groups are indicated more by their style and less by their culture or religious identities. Works Cited (2011, December 24). Samoan tattoos badges of honor. Queensland Times, The (Ipswich, Queensland). P. 26. Crapo, R. H. (2013). Cultural anthropology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.Jenny, D. (2001, May 30). A rite of passage for one in five women. Illawarra Mercury. P. 3.Michael, K. (2007, April 1). Hawaii by Design; From high-end shops to sophisticated hotels to ancient tattoo techniques, design is everywhere in Hawaii and challenges who we think we are. Honolulu (HI) Magazine. Tanne, J. H. (2000). Body Art: signs of identity. British Medical Journal, 320(7226): 64. Wohlrab, S., Kappeler, P. M., & Stahl, J. (2007). Modifying the body: motivations for getting tattooed and pierced. Body image