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The Meaning of Ta Tau - Samoan Tattoing
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/the-meaning-of-ta-tau-samoan-tattoing/

The word tatau (tattoo) in Samoan means appropriate, balanced and fitting.

Headshaping
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/headshaping/

Headshaping or binding was practised by a number of cultures and usually involved binding the forehead area of babies for a number of months till the desired shape was attained.

Footbinding
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/footbinding/

Chinese folklore attributes the origins of footbinding to a fox who tried to conceal its paws while assuming the human guise of the Shang Empress. Another version suggests that the Empress had a club foot and insisted that all women bind their feet so that hers became the model for beauty.

Corsetry - Shaping the waist
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/corsetry-shaping-the-waist/

The shaping of the waist, through belting, corseting, girdling or hiding its natural curve, has long held universal interest. What is considered an acceptable shape for the torso is intimately tied up with cultural aesthetics, discipline and social status.

Henna
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/henna/

Henna is a dye made from a flowering plant, Lawsonia inermis, to dye skin, hair and fingernails. It has been used for thousands of years across many cultures as an important part of ceremonys and rituals.

Tattooing - Earliest examples
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/tattooing-earliest-examples/

Tattooed markings on skin and incised markings in clay provide some of the earliest evidence that humans have long practised a wide range of body art.

Paint up - Aboriginal Dance
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/paint-up-aboriginal-dance/

Many Aboriginal communities have been painting their bodies for thousands of years. For these communities, body painting is not necessarily just about visual artistic creativity, it relates to conventions, laws and religion.

Cosmetic surgery
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/cosmetic-surgery/

Cosmetic surgery is a type of plastic surgery which changes the normal physical features people are born with. Plastic surgery also includes medical reconstructive surgery which repairs physical damage to the body or genetic abnormalities.

Contemporary branding and cutting
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/contemporary-branding-and-cutting/

The process of scarification involves an endurance of pain. This endurance often signifies a rite of passage and is a ritual which is itself highly significant.

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/body-art/sydney-gay-and-lesbian-mardi-gras/

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is an annual event centred around a street parade of up to 20,000 participants. Participants hide or reveal their 'true' identities in a flurry of paint, feathers and glitter.