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| Body Jewellery Direct - A Brief
History of Piercing |
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Body modification is certainly unique to humans and, in one
form or another, has been practised for as long as 30’000 years
by our species’ earliest ancestors.
Aboriginal Australians practised penile sub-incision and elongating
of the labia. The pre-Egyptian, Nubian civilisation elongated
their skulls and used a simple technique to make tattoos. Later,
ancient Egyptians practised ear piercing while ancient South
American cultures, like the Mayans and Aztecs, ritually pierced
their tongues for blood offerings. Native North American tribes,
and the Inuit of what is now Canada, used lip piercings and
wore bone jewellery, which has now been reinvented as the labret
stud. They also used ear piercing as a status symbol, where
even the act of piercing the ear was a celebrated ritual that
was undertaken at great cost to the piercee; so showing how
wealthy the piercee was.
The peoples of the pacific islands have practised the piercing
of ears, noses, genitals and lobe stretching for generations.
The men of Borneo, for example, would pierce the Ampalang, as
did the men in the early history of the Filipino people, while
the women of Borneo (and central Africa) practised piercing
and stretching of the labia in an effort to attract a suitable
husband. The discovery of jewellery dating back to the bronze
ages in Europe and the British Isles shows that the peoples
of that time probably pierced and stretched their lobes with
heavy bronze jewellery.
The ‘Kama Sutra’, which was probably written in India as long
as 1500 years ago, describes the practise of male genital piercing
as a sexual aid. The gladiators of ancient Rome and the athletes
of ancient Greece pierced the scrotum and the foreskin for the
practical purpose of keeping their genitals out of their way
while performing in sport and combat. But this practice was
also used in ancient Rome, ancient Greece and also in South
East Asia (where the horizontal Palang piercing was used) to
prevent slaves, and convicts, from engaging in sexual activity.
During Europe’s Middle Ages (from around 1000-1300AD), it may
have been a combination of poor economy and strict religious
dogma, which created a cultural atmosphere that suppressed the
individuals freedom to experiment and practise body modification.
Those times were also troubled by plague, and so people may
have been more wary of physical defects, such as marks on the
skin or of sores and perforations on the body. But the following
renaissance had Europeans leaving their shores in larger ships
to explore further and seek new resources and goods to trade
back home. It was from this time that Europe was re-introduced
to tattooing and body modifications. Elizabethan sailors encountered
tribes-people, who would pierce their ears, which they believed
would help to improve their eyesight; an appealing proposition
to seafarers whose eyesight was all-important. Sailors and Explorers
would also report and record examples of intricate Polynesian
tattoos, now remembered by many descendants of those seafarers
on their own skin. The French began piercing the “Guiche” after
seeing it done by the natives of Samoa as a rite of passage.
Later, French Legionnaires took up the practice of piercing
the “Hafada” which is the crease on the side of the scrotum;
a practise influenced by their encounters with the people of
the Middle East.
Though it is possible that the Prince Albert was so named after
the actual Prince Regent, it’s introduction may be more closely
related to the expansion of the British Empire into India and
its practise there. It was originally referred to as a ‘dressing-ring’
and was used to hook the penis inside the trousers so they would
not create an ‘unsightly’ bulge. The Victorian age, however,
was notorious for its sexual perceptions, which were well documented
as being repressive and repulsed by any sexual thought and act.
Pornography, fetishism, homosexuality and Sado-masochism were,
however, prolific, though always on the ‘hush-hush’. Any reference
to body modification always carried the stigma of being primitive,
while the Victorians considered themselves to be the very embodiment
of the word ‘civilisation’. The sexual undertones in body piercing
were an example of its ‘heathen’ and ‘Godless’ origins and so
it became an abhorrent act that no ‘normal’ or ‘decent’ person
would consider.
The firmly conservative nature of many European Nations, since
then, had confined the act of body modification to those ‘undesirable
sub-cultures’. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s to the 1960’s,
when many social sexual-perceptions were being challenged, and
explored, that the opportunity to reintroduce body modification
was possible. In fact, it was the members of those ‘undesirable’
sub-cultures that had fanned at the flame of body piercing and
not the criminal, uncivilised slice of society’s pie.
Inspired by their involvement in the Gay and Sado-Masochist
scenes in the U.S, Jim Ward, Fakir Musafar and Doug Malloy are
names most frequently connected to the Body Piercing renaissance.
It was their ingenuity (as well as the unique tastes of their
clientele) that pushed them to re-explore the boundaries. Where
jewellery could be placed; how to do it in the most hygienic
way available, and who developed the simplest and most serviceable
jewellery to make those piercings last longer, and experience
less complications. Though others have played significant roles
in developing and expanding the practise, as well as the philosophy
of Body piercing. Many tattoo studios had performed some piercing
as a sideline to their business, but when Jim Ward opened ‘Gauntlet’,
in the late 1970’s, it was the first studio to provide a piercing
service only. He also published PFIQ (piercing fans international
quarterly) in the late 70's, the first piercing interest magazine.
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the British Punk sub-culture
used piercing as another means of shocking the social order
of the time, but it was almost always with a very D.I.Y approach,
using safety pins. By the eighties, this act, performed by primitive
man, by fledgling civilisations and mighty empires, was being
kept alive in the growing cities of the developed world, not
by the criminals and socially outcast, but by bank managers,
lawyers, businessmen, musicians, students and fishermen.
Jim Ward is reputed to have made the right kinds of changes
to the way that a piercing is performed and the type of jewellery
used and he is responsible for developing the jewellery we now
use, called the Ball Closure Ring. But making the right type
of jewellery was time consuming and expensive. Industry, however,
was changing rapidly and it wasn’t until purpose built and carefully
finished jewellery, made of medical standard metals, could be
produced with greater ease, speed and in increased volume, that
body piercing would be accessible to more people. When Wildcat
opened in Brighton, the accessibility to medical quality jewellery
and equipment made the practise itself more accessible to people
as a whole. Celebrities began to get pierced, so de-sensitising
the numb-minded mass of tabloid magazine readers and the drooling
zombies of the T.V-nations, which sparked a much more acceptable
kind of curiosity.
Parents now, more often than not, eagerly sign the consent form
on behalf of their children, while body piercing studios are
becoming regulated by, not only their local authorities, but
also the stake that a body piercer places on a good reputation.
Many old and negative stereotypes do not conform to the current
‘look’ or ‘function’ of a studio, thanks to the endeavours of
those people, like Jim Ward, who persisted with their dream,
and the dream from the dawn of man. Consider the location of
your piercing before you get it done. Give yourself enough time
that you can dress appropriately; for example, avoid getting
a navel piercing, then zipping yourself back into your skin-tight,
all body lycra jump-suit to leave the studio. Obviously it’s
a bad idea to wear skin tight, all body lycra jump-suits when
going for any piercing below the jaw line (I’m assuming that
the neck line of your skin tight, all body lycra jump-suit is
quite high). You get my point. That goes for accessories too;
like huge belt buckles.
Location should affect the choice of jewellery chosen for use
in the initial piercing. Proper jewellery sizes and gauges are
important decisions to make prior to piercing. Examples include
using a 22mm long barbell for an eyebrow piercing, which is
ridiculous, unless a very angry Hulk fancies any more body modification.
The size and shape of the area to be pierced should be taken
into account. Any good piercer will thoroughly check the area
before piercing, and help the customer decide on appropriate
jewellery before performing the procedure. Customers should
be prepared to accept the fact that they might not be able to
successfully ‘have’ a piercing in the area of their choice,
and in the manner of their choosing. By all means get a second
opinion; then get a third or fourth or fifth, because if five
good piercers think a piercing can be done there, then any one
of them is capable of doing it. But if five piercers advise
you against doing it, its probably best not to.
Sometimes, your ‘life-style’ can be a factor that aggravates
the jewellery in your piercing. More often than not these activities
are infrequent enough not to cause any real problems. Infrequent
exercise might not be a problem, but regular and vigorous activities
can aggravate the jewellery in a fresh or healing, or even old
and healed, piercing. Withholding from, or temporarily limiting
the activities, until the piercing has healed well, can help
it last longer. This applies to the type of jewellery you use
for your initial piercing. Some jewellery will ‘stick-out’ more
where it ‘sits’ on the body and will have a greater chance of
being ‘caught’, snagged or ‘banged’ into.
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