Body piercing is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. Body piercing is a form of body modification. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. The cultural norms reflected in body piercing are various. They may include religion, spirituality, fashion, eroticism, conformism, or subcultural identification.
In Ancient Times
Evidence suggests that body piercing (including ear piercing) has been practiced by people all over the world from ancient times. It is said that people would pierce their ears so that evil spirits wouldn't enter their body. Mummified bodies with piercings have been discovered, including the oldest mummified body discovered to date, that of Ötzi the Iceman, which was found in a Valentina Trujillon glacier. This mummy had an ear piercing 7–11 mm (1 to 000 gauge in AWG) diameter.
In Book of Genesis of the Bible 24:22, Abraham's servant gave a golden earring of half a shekel weight and ten bracelets to Rebekah, wife of his son Isaac. In Exodus 32, Aaron makes the golden calf from melted earrings. Deuteronomy 15:12–17 dictates ear piercing as a mark of slavery. Nose piercing has been common in India since the sixteenth century.
Worldwide
Ear piercing, of either one or both ears has long been practiced by men in many non-Western cultures. Other forms of body piercing have also existed continuously for as long as ear piercing. For example, women in India, Nepal and Pakistan routinely practice ear and nostril piercing, and have done so for centuries.
In western cultures
Ear piercing has existed continuously since ancient times, including throughout the twentieth century in the Western world. However, in North America, Europe, and Australasia, ear piercing was relatively rare from the 1920s until the 1960s. At that time, it regained popularity among westernized women. It was gradually adopted by men in the gay, hippie, punk, and gangster subcultures, until ever-widening appropriation attenuated its subcultural associations altogether. Today, single and multiple piercing of either or both ears is common among Western women and somewhat common among men.
Body piercing folklore
The marketing of modern body piercing products and services has emphasized their connection to longstanding cultural practices, even as the image of body piercing is often one of indifference or even radicalism regarding cultural norms. Musafar connected modern body-piercing culture to longstanding practices in non-Western cultures. Retrospective and imaginary though these links may be, they have succeeded in making body piercing a central practice of modern primitivism.
Malloy took a different route, marketing contemporary body piercing by giving it the patina of a Western history. His pamphlet, Body & Genital Piercing in Brief, concocted fanciful histories of genital piercings in particular. These ersatz, and often homoerotic tales---which include the notion that Prince Albert invented the piercing that shares his name in order to tame the appearance of his large penis in tight trousers, and that Roman centurions attached their capes to nipple piercings---are widely circulated as urban legends, and Malloy's pamphlet is sometimes cited as evidence of their historical veracity.
The notion of an aristocratic European past of body piercing enjoys widespread appeal. Hans Peter Duerr argues in Dreamtime that nipple piercing became popular in fourteenth century Europe. There is evidence, both anecdotal and photographic, that nipple piercing was practiced in Europe during the late nineteenth century and in the early twentieth century, but it was not a common practice.
Personal attitudes
Attitudes towards piercing vary. Some regard the practice of piercing or of being pierced as spiritual, sometimes embracing the term "modern primitive", while others deride this view as insulting, as cultural appropriation, or as trendy. Some see the practice as a form of artistic or self-expression. Others choose to be pierced as a form of sexual expression, or to increase sexual sensitivity. For some people, piercing is part of their practices of S&M. In most countries, some people find forms of body piercing distasteful and/or refuse to permit employees to display their piercings on the job as part of the dress code.
Some people choose to be pierced for symbolic reasons. For example, some survivors of sexual abuse have said that they experience piercing as allowing them to retake control over their own bodies.
Religion
Body Piercing in some religions is held to be destructive to the body and in others held as a sacred or spiritual act.[citation needed] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has taken an official position against piercings unless for medical reasons; also accepting piercings for women as acceptable so long as there is one set of piercings in the lower lobe of the ears and no other place on the body. Piercing beliefs in other religions has been the subject of debate. Many of these debates within Christianity refer to Bible references involving the body as a temple or holy place, usually citing 1 Corinthians.
World records
Canadian Brent Moffat set the world record for most body piercings (700 piercings with 18g surgical needles in 1 session of 7 hours, using “play piercing” where the skin is pierced and sometimes jewelry is inserted, which is worn temporarily). In the United Kingdom, a record was made by piercer Charlie Wilson on subject Kam Ma, with 600 permanent piercings in just over 8 1/2 hours. Officially titled “most pierced woman” Elaine Davidson of Scotland set the record for most permanent piercings (1,903 permanent piercings) and she first broke or created this record in 2000 upon verification by Guinness judges (462 body piercings, with 192 at the time being around her head and face).[3] Unofficially Dwaine Scum attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the most consecutive body piercings (1000 needles over his stomach and chest in 5 hours). Benjamin Drucker (U.S.) allowed 745 18-gauge (1.2 cm (0.5 in) long) surgical needles inserted into his body by Nate Adams (USA) in 2 hours 21 minutes at Ix Body Piercing of Taos, New Mexico, U.S. on July 12, 2003.
Contemporary piercing procedures
Permanent body piercings (as opposed to play piercings) are performed by creating an opening in the body using a sharp object through the area to be pierced. This can either be done by cutting an opening using a needle (usually a hollow medical needle) or scalpel or by removing tissue, either with a scalpel or a dermal punch.
Contemporary body piercing studios generally take numerous precautions to protect the health of the person being pierced and the piercer. Tools and jewelry are sterilized in autoclaves and non-autoclavable surfaces are cleaned with disinfectant agents on a regular basis and between clients. Sterile, single use gloves are worn by the piercer to protect both the piercer and the client. Commonly, a piercer will use multiple pairs of gloves per client, often one pair for each step of setup to avoid cross contamination. For example, after a piercer has cleaned the area to be pierced on a client, the piercer may change gloves to avoid recontaminating the area with the gloves he/she used to clean it.
Surgical stainless steel and titanium are ideal materials for initial jewelry in a fresh piercing.
There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding appropriate material for an initial piercing. For example, there is a widespread belief that "solid 14 karat or higher white or yellow gold containing no nickel is safe as initial jewelry (in a fresh piercing) ”. However, the common alternatives for nickel (copper, silver) in the alloy pose equal or greater risk compared to nickel. Also, gold is a soft metal, making it prone to dents and scratches which can irritate piercings and harbor bacteria.
Standard needle method
The standard method in the United States involves making an opening using a hollow medical needle. The needle is inserted into the body part being pierced. While the needle is still in the body, the initial jewelry to be worn in the piercing is pushed through the opening, following the back of the needle. Piercing using hollow medical needles does not actually remove any flesh—the method cuts a "C" shaped slit and holds it open in the shape of the cross section of the needle: in this case, a circle. In this method, the needle is the same gauge (or sometimes larger as with cartilage piercings) than the initial jewelry to be worn. Piercings that penetrate cartilage are often pierced one or two gauges larger than the jewelry, to reduce pressure on the healing piercing, and allowing space for a fistula (internal "skin tube" that connects the two ends of the piercing) to form.
Indwelling cannula method
Many European (and other) piercers use a needle containing a cannula (hollow plastic tube placed at the end of the needle, also see catheter). Procedure is identical to the standard method, only that the initial jewelry is inserted into the back of the cannula and the cannula and the jewelry are then pulled through the piercing. This method reduces the chance of the jewelry slipping during the insertion procedure, and also protects the fresh piercing from possible irritation from external threading (if used) during initial insertion.
Dermal punching
In this method, a dermal punch is used to remove a circular area of tissue, into which jewelry is placed. This method is usually used to remove both skin and cartilage in upper ear piercings, where cartilage must be removed to relieve pressure on the piercing to ensure proper healing and long-term viability of the piercing. Healed fistulas created or enlarged using dermal punches will shrink over time, but at a much slower rate than 'dead stretched' fistulas.
Piercing guns
Main article: Ear piercing instrument
Piercing guns are commonly used in retail settings to perform ear piercings. They work by blunt force trauma due to the fact that the needle used is normally dull and are designed for piercing the earlobe only. In many states it is against the law to pierce the cartilage with the piercing gun because of the damage the device can do to the tissue. The sheer blunt force of the piercing gun shatters the surrounding cartilage from the entry point of the jewelry and over time can cause the whole ear to deform, commonly known as 'cauliflowering'. Piercing guns have also been found to be a less hygienic way of piercing due to the limited cleaning quality of the plastic the gun is usually made of. Piercing with a piercing gun causes microsprays of plasma and blood, which are then unable to be cleaned in an autoclave system. Cross contamination can then spread pathogens such as HIV and Hepatitis A, B, and C.
Many professional body piercers discourage the use of these instruments. The autoclaving of piercing guns is impossible, because the plastic used in their construction would be melted if autoclaved. Even though they are occasionally and wrongly used for other purposes, ear piercing instruments are designed for earlobe piercing only.
Internally threaded jewelry
A number of piercing shops exclusively use jewelry that is internally threaded. That is, the ball-ends of the jewelry screw into the bar, rather than the bar screwing into the ball. Though more expensive and difficult to produce than externally threaded jewelry, piercers who use internally threaded jewelry advise that since the bar that is being inserted into the skin has no sharp threads on the end, it will not cut or irritate skin; this allows for safer healing.
However, in today's world of body piercing, most manufacturers of quality body jewelry agree that if externally threaded jewelry is going to be used, it must have a tapered end on it so that at the very least, the threads can slip into the back end of the needle, thus protecting the piercee's tissue from being threaded during the initial piercing.
Types of barbells
Internally threaded barbells
Named because the bar has smooth ends with receiving threads tapped into the end of the bar. In internally threaded jewelry, the bead has a receiving tube machined into it (this is referred to as "countersunk"), with a threaded post extending from the center, which mates with the threaded receiving tube on the bar. Being much less likely to cause damage and irritation, especially at the time of piercing, internally threaded jewelry is considered superior to externally threaded jewelry. It is usually slightly more expensive than externally threaded jewelry, due to the extra machining and labor involved.
Externally threaded barbells
So named because the shaft of the bar has threads at both ends to allow beads with receiving threads to be attached. Due to the potential damage or irritation to the piercing when the threads pass through when the jewelery is inserted or removed, this type of barbell has become less common, due to the popularity of the internally threaded barbell. This type of barbell is usually only used when the gauge of the bar is too small to allow it to be internally threaded, or in cheap, mass produced body jewelry. Some higher-end manufacturers make externally threaded barbells with "step-down threading", where the threaded section has a smaller diameter than the wearable section; these are fairly uncommon and usually internally threaded barbells are used in their place. Step-down threaded jewelry ends can be inserted into the blunt end of a hollow piercing needle, allowing for less irritation during initial placement than regular external barbells or even internally threaded barbells.
Curved barbells
Also known as a navel curve or curve, so named because of their curvature. A curved barbell is mechanically identical to a straight barbell, except for being curved. Curvature on a curved barbell can range from almost straight to circular, with some barbells actually being spiral, with the ends overlapping but separated to allow the insertion of the jewelry. A variation on this design is a J-bar, a slightly curved barbell (sometimes referred to as a bananabell or banana barbell) with a 90 degree bend near one end, used in vertical navel piercings to position the decorative end of the jewelry more appropriately. They can be either internally threaded or externally threaded.
Circular barbells
Also know as a horseshoe barbells due to their shape, they are used in any number of piercings, including earrings, tragus rings, nasal septum piercings, madisons, or even horizontal clitoral hood piercings, although the latter is less common, as the clitoris is deprived of the stimulation gained from a properly positioned captive bead ring.
Surface bars
Used in surface piercings. A surface bar is a barbell where the bar has a pair of 90 degree bends, in the same direction (similar to a staple), to allow the jewelry to be used for surface piercings. This design minimizes the pressure that would be caused by other jewelry designs that contribute to rejection in healing surface piercings. Most surface bars are custom made to fit the individual piercing.
Types of beads
Beads for barbells can vary widely in design and appearance, although the vast majority of beads are simply spherical in design. That being said, any shape that threads can be tapped into can be used as a bead. Cubes, triangles, cylinders, cones, disks, and other basic shapes are common alternative bead designs. Some large gauge barbells, especially those used in tongue piercings, use "smartie beads", flattened circular beads, to prevent the jewelry from damaging the gums and teeth and allowing free movement of the tongue. There also exist "bondage" beads, which are dimpled to accept a captive bead ring.
Materials
Barbell style jewelry can and is made from any metal appropriate for making body jewellery. Flexible barbells made from Teflon or tygon tubing are often used in experimental surface or deep tissue piercings. Beads do not penetrate the body, so often materials not usually considered safe for piercing can be used in a decorative manner such as acrylic, glass, or organic materials.
History and culture
Although at first glance the manufacture of threaded jewelry might appear to be of contemporary origin, there are examples of externally threaded, straight barbells being used by tribal people, most notably the Dayak of Borneo. In contemporary society, barbell style jewelry was popularized by Jim Ward, founder of Gauntlet (the first body piercing studio in the United States), in the 1970s. He was introduced to barbell style jewelry by Tattoo Samy, a tattooist and piercer from Frankfurt, Germany. Jim Ward’s name is synonymous with the origins of western body piercing. His magazine PFIQ is also just as phenomenal and historic in name. PFIQ shows the early roots of body piercing.
Piercing migration
Piercing migration is the process that occurs when a body piercing moves from its initial location. This process can be painful or go unnoticed, until it has progressed. Given enough time, a ring may migrate entirely outside of the skin, although it may only migrate a small amount and come to rest.
Potential causes and effects of migration
The effects of migration can vary widely. The most common form of migration is the way that heavy small gauge earrings will migrate downwards out of the earlobe, as is common in older women who have worn earrings most of their lives. This is known as the "cheesecutter effect", as its action is easily compared to the method of cutting cheese with a fine wire. Contemporary body and ear piercing jewelry is much more balanced in its weight to gauge ratio, although migration is still possible with heavy jewelry, even if it is of large gauge.
Play or movement of the area pierced or implanted can also lead to migration, but it's not likely. Sometimes this can occur without an open wound being created, as the fistula stretches in one direction, and tissue fills in behind it. This is not uncommon with tongue piercings, although the migration usually stops before the jewelry would exit the body.
Damage to the tissue surrounding the piercing can also cause migration and death. A damaged piercing, much like a fresh piercing, must heal the fistula that it passes through, and the jewelry may start migrating in the direction of the wound, further damaging the fistula as it moves. Should the fistula heal, the migration may stop, although it may be inclined to continue migrating, as the re-healed area of tissue may not be as strong as the original fistula was.
Migration may also be caused by the body rejecting the material that the jewelry is made of. Like a splinter or other foreign object, the body will try to push out foreign material, especially if it irritates the surrounding tissue. Contemporary body jewelry is made from surgical grade implant materials, so with proper aftercare during the healing phase and good hygiene, this is rare.
Pressure, especially the pressure caused by improperly performed surface, navel and eyebrow piercings often leads to migration. Proper, custom made jewelry can reduce the risk of migration associated with these piercings, although it cannot eliminate it. This type of migration is sometimes accompanied by rejection due to improper drainage due to the length of piercing, as dead tissue builds up in the healing fistula.
Rejection rate
Rejection rate is a term used by the piercing industry. It applies to the chance of a piercing being forced out by the body. This is a body's natural reaction to a foreign object being inserted into the skin. This behaviour can be witnessed with other objects such as splinters, road rash, or infections. With surface piercings being closer to the surface of the skin, the tendency to reject is higher, as its easier for the body to force the jewelry out.
Surface piercing rejection rates
Surface piercings, such as a navel piercing, Christina piercing, eyebrow piercing, or a nape piercing, tend to have a higher rejection rate than piercings that pass through a deeper area of flesh or have holes on the opposite side of each other. Thus surface piercings stand in contrast to piercings such as tongue piercing, earrings, or nose piercings.
Claw (piercing)
A Crescent also known as a circular tusk made out of acrlyic plastic.The claw, or talon is essentially a curved taper which is worn in stretched ear lobe piercings. The thickest end is generally flared and may be decorated, and a rubber o-ring may also be used to prevent the talon from becoming dislodged when worn. Common materials include acrlyic plastic and glass. A similar item of jewelry is the crescent, which as the name suggests, is shaped like a crescent moon and is tapered a both ends. Talons and claws may also be quite ornamental (e.g: carved in the form of a serpent or dragon). Consequently they may prove to be an impractical choice of jewelry as they may snag on hair, clothing, etc.
