Often, this is considered an unfortunate disfigurement, while other times, deliberate scarification has been used in both traditional and modern cultures, to mark a rite of passage or simply for aesthetic decoration.
Scarification, as this practice is called, was once widespread in Australia, but as a ritual practice, it is now restricted mainly to a remote northeastern territory.
Among the growing body-art subculture, there are women who once again wear corsets with the aim of changing their body shape, and men who undergo scarification.