The British Nation of piercers (Body Piercing)

Member Name: melvinium

Product:	Body Piercing
Date:	06/10/08 (238 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Right of expression

Disadvantages: Babies and young children can have it done

Piercing.

Piercing has always been a topic which greatly fascinates me. When I was at university studying psychology, my first choice for my final year dissertation was on piercing and social attitudes towards it in todays culture.

So when I reviewed someone else's opinions on body piercing, I started thinking maybe I should write my own review on it.

Now Wikipedia describes body piercing as "The practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn".
How many people have looked at ear piercing in that kind of way?
I imagine most people (myself included) see it as a way of wearing pretty jewellery in their ears to enhance their attractiveness (although even that sounds a bit pretentious).

Now I was 13 when I first had my ears pierced, my parents wouldn't let me have it done any earlier, and although at the time I remember thinking how unfair it was, and how others in my school already had their ears pierced, now I am pleased that I waited that long. Being 13 I was able to choose with some responsibility whether I wanted to have it done or not. It was a big day for me, we went to a piercing studio in a hairdressers salon, and I sat on the chair while the man got out the piercing gun and pierced my ears.
I can also remember the day when I first took out the piercing studs (I think they are less gigantic now as they seemed to be then) and changed them for some earrings I had got as a birthday present - this is because I fainted! I remember asking my Mum to help me put these new earrings in as I was struggling, and while she was doing it I fainted! No idea why, and I have been fine changing my earrings ever since!

I am totally against babies and toddlers having their ears pierced, in fact I think even 8 year olds also look ridiculous with them pierced. In my opinion, and remember this is my opinion only, I think it looks really chavvy. There is also the argument about choice, and whether the parents have the right to make that choice on behalf of their children.

I think High School is a reasonable time in someones life to have their ears pierced (if they want it), while they are at primary school and even nursery I don't think it goes anyway towards enhancing their looks, more the opposite.

I had a second hole put in each of my ears in my first year at university. Again, this was done with a gun. This was in a random clothes shop in Coventry, and looking back, although I had no problems with the piercings, I would go to a proper body art place to get any future piercings done.

I had the top of my ear done at the original shop where my ears were pierced also in my first year at uni. I think this was partly down to freedom and expressing myself as an individual whilst at university.

In my second year, my boyfriend (and first love) broke my heart by cheating on me with my housemate, and it was shortly after this that I decided to go and have my nose pierced. I don't know what it was that made me do it, but something about doing it helped me get over him, maybe it was the changing of my appearance, I don't know, but it went some way towards making me feel better about myself, and nine years later I still have my noise piercing! My nose was pierced with a gun, but I have since found out that it isn't recommended for nose piercings or even ear piercing really, it is harder to clean a piercing gun for a start, so it is more sterile using a needle and then throwing it away. Also because the gun uses blunt force, it can shatter the surrounding cartilage and over time can cause the ear (or whatever) to deform, this is called "cauliflowering".

After university I came to live back with my parents for a year or so, and it was during that time that I decided to get my tongue pierced. It was something I had been thinking about for a while, and one day while I was out shopping, I walked over to the Tattooist and Body Piercing studio to ask about it. I was told it would cost £35 and they could fit me in that day. I decided to go away and think about it. Later on in the pub with my friends(we weren't drinking, just met for lunch) I told them about my trip, and how I thought I might go and get it done. It was quite funny, about 8 of us went down to the tattooist, and they all waited whilst I had it done.

They gave me some mouth wash to rinse around in my mouth which would numb my tongue (which it did) and then they got a clamp out and clamped my tongue. The needle was quite long, and I confess I closed my eyes at this point (it was hard to look the other way with it being right in my face in front of my eyes!) and the tongue bar was on the needle, as he pierced my tongue, the bar automatically slid into place. The bar was quite long, this is to compensate for the swelling afterwards. For 5 or 6 weeks after the piercing I needed to go back to get the bar changed for smaller and smaller ones as the swelling subsided.

I was advised to suck on ice cubes for the rest of the day and take pain killers as needed. They also advised me not to go out drinking as I might forget about it and do some damage. When I went home and showed my Mum (there was no hiding it as I couldn't speak properly) she was utterly horrified. I mean really horrified, I was quite surprised by her reaction as she is usually quite easy going and a bit wacky herself.

I remember I couldn't swallow very easily so eating was out of the question and even drinking was rather difficult, especially that first day. Taking pain killers was totally out of the question as swallowing was so difficult.

I eventually got used to it, the pain went and it all healed nicely, because the tongue is a muscle it is very fast healing, and the mouth is one of the cleanest parts of your body, so it is very unlikely that it will become infected.

I had my tongue piercing in for a year exactly. A year to the day that I had it done, I took it out, as it was annoying me. You know how you cringe when you hear nails being scraped down a blackboard? Well eating with metal cutlery was having the same affect on me when it clanged on my tongue bar, so eventually I took it out. I noticed that while it healed over the middle of my tongue healed first, so I could get the bar in the top and bottom of my tongue, but not through the middle. Now I had a little bubble underneath my tongue where the bar came out, but nothing else to show for it.

All in all, I am for freedom of expression, and I quite like body piercing, as long as it is not on babies or young children. Jewellery can be removed, unlike tattoos and therefore it is a semi permanent way of expressing yourself. I say semi permanent because you can always remove the jewellery, but may be left with a small hole depending on the type of piercing and how long you have had it.

The new craze which is taking off appears to be implanting, and I have seen several people with horns, or other shapes under their skin which have been implanted, and can then have jewellery screwed onto them.
Interesting.

Summary: My opinion and personal experience of piercings