It seems that our views on the body, and its importance, are changing and coming more in line with those of people from less industrialized societies. A traditional Western viewpoint, according to Gell, holds that the skin is on the outside, and the outside is less true an interpretation of what is on the inside. The skin, therefore, cannot reflect the true nature of a person. This is an interesting point of view because the impression given by Western media and fashion industries is that the way one looks is of the utmost importance. This is, I feel, a discrepancy between the west's theoretical point of view and that which it practices. Whilst it is indeed true that ones appearance will often dictate peoples initial impressions of an individual or group it may be argued that what is on the inside is reflected on the outside, but to a lesser degree. As such if body modifications were still viewed as Lombroso viewed them they would merely indicate far greater internal turmoil.
A non-Western view of the body as proposed by Turner and Strathern (Gell) argues that indeed the skin is on the outside, but it is the outside which is public and interacts with others. People are the sum total of their relations with others and as such any person can be effectively regarded as their skin alone. This is a point of view which many in the West partially adopt and which is, in many cases, true. The problems associated with this point of view occur when one section of society is unable to interpret the skin of a different section of society. The way one presents oneself differs depending on which part of a society one is interacting with at any given time. .
Identity is important to all members of a given culture. However, for Modern Primitives it is their own sense of identity, rather than how mainstream society views them which is of paramount importance. As such, for the Modern Primitive, the way one perceives oneself, and the way in which one is perceived by the people who one wishes to affiliate with, becomes an issue which must be clearly defined.
