''Body Modification Ezine'' (''BME'') is an

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer mag ...

devoted to

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common ear piercing in many so ...

, noted for its coverage of the extreme and fringes of body modification and erotic body play.

History and content

''BME'' was started as a web site hosted at Internex Online on December 6, 1994, by

Shannon Larratt Shannon David Larratt (September 29, 1973 – March 15, 2013) was a Canadian writer and artist. Larratt was best known as the creator, editor, and publisher of BMEzine, an online magazine focusing on extreme body modifications. The author of mul ...

and was the first body modification website. BME was expanded in 2000 by the addition of ''IAM.BMEzine'', an

online community An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, online communities may fe ...

, which hosts

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

s specifically for members of the body-modification community. In late 2005, BME added both a video sister site, ''BMEvideo'' and a body modification blog, ''Modblog.BMEzine.com''. The site often publishes hoax articles each year on

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

. Both Shannon and Rachel Larratt have cameo appearances in the

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

feature ''

Clerks II ''Clerks II'' is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the sequel to his 1994 film ''Clerks'', and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Daw ...

''. On May 14, 2008, Shannon Larratt posted onto ModBlog that he would no longer be an employee of BME. On March 15, 2013, it was announced that the founder of the site, Shannon Larratt, had died.

BME BBQs

Patrons of the BME website and its IAM community have often gathered for barbecues where they can meet with one another. Historically, the largest of these BBQs, known as BMEFest, were held in or around

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and generally on Canada Day with hundreds of participants. The festivities of BMEFest almost always include suspensions, fireworks, grilled food both

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

and otherwise, and there is usually a commemorative

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

for each event. It is generally free to attend but it is encouraged to sign up ahead of time and may be exclusive to a private group.

Censorship

The BME site is blocked by many Internet filtering services intended to protect children (and workplaces), for reasons such as nudity,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

, and other adult content. It was banned by Germany's

Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (german: link=no, Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or ''BPjM'') is an upper-level German federal censorship agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affai ...

in 1999 as a "danger to the youth" because BME did not include age verification or an entrance page warning users of potential adult content. In December 2005, the German agency forced

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to remove the site from search results returned by www.google.de.Zentastic.com
Shannon Larratt writes in Zentastic.com: : When Germany came after BME for "endangering the youth" and demanded that I make changes to the site to comply with German law, my response was to simply not visit Germany again (and I'm a German citizen). When the US started to pressure us, we moved all of our servers and presence out of the country and backed off on plans to live in the US. No changes were ever made to the site, and no images were ever removed — if anything, the pressure made me push those areas even more.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bmezine Body modification Online magazines published in Canada Magazines established in 1994 MediaWiki websites Obscenity controversies in literature