odifying the Body: Tattoos and Piercings

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Body modification in the form of tattooing and piercing is

traditionally viewed with reserve in contemporary Western societies.
Those with tattoos or piercings are seen as rebellious and defiant of
social conventions. However, body adornment in other non-Western
cultures plays an expressive role in the articulation of cultural and
religious values. Ritual ceremonies involving body modification and
ornamentation mark rites of passage, the calling of spirits and the
enhancement of beauty (1). Whilst Western societies promote slender,
tall athletic bodies as an ideal of beauty, perceptions of beauty in other
cultures often focus on what has been done to the body rather than on
the body itself.

Body modification is not a new practice. It can be seen in many ancient

cultures. Evidence of body marking has been found on Egyptian
mummies dating from between 4000 and 2000 BC. The word tattoo is
derived from the Tahitian word meaning 'to strike', tatau , and
examples can be found in the history of ancient societies in Hawaii and
Tahiti. A recently discovered 'Ice Man' whose tattoo markings were
preserved in a glacier, is estimated to be around 5000 years old. In
Britain, tattoos of animal motifs on members of ancient tribes were
designed to scare their adversaries in warfare. As Julius Caesar
remarked, the blue appearance that these tattoos gave to the warriors
made them 'frightful to look upon in battle' (2). However, when Roman
soldiers imitated these tattoos themselves, the Roman Emperor
Constantine I banned the practice as being against 'God's handiwork'.
In effect, body ornamentation in Western Europe was thereby largely
repressed and extinguished through fear of religious persecution by
the then dominanct Christian religion.
In other non-Western cultures, however, tattooing, piercing and
scarification of the body were regarded as a necessary part of religious
expression. Within these cultures, body adornment and alteration were
believed to distinguish humans from other animals, so providing
evidence of civilisation and socialisation. Ornamentation was
performed following strict observation of ritual preparation, ceremony
and taboos. For example, tattooing was widespread as a religious
practice among the peoples of the South Pacific. In the Marquesan
Islands, tattooing of men began at puberty in a ceremonial rite.
Women's arms and legs were also inscribed with complex and
elaborate motifs. These tattoos were believed to defend against
spiritual and physical danger. Similarly, a sacred rite among the Maori
involved using a mallet and chisel to gouge deep cuts in the skin,
usually on the face. Those who received the tattoo were highly
respected for their spirituality and bravery and were secluded from
other non-sacred people while their wounds healed.

A form of tattooing called cicatrisation or scarification is widely

practised in traditional African societies. Rubbing charcoal into small
cuts made with razors or thorns forms decorative patterns of scar
tissue in the skin. These designs are often indicative of social rank,
traits of character, political status and religious authority. For African
women, scarification is largely associated with fertility. Scars added at
puberty, after the birth of the first child, or following the end of
breastfeeding highlight the bravery of women in enduring the pain of
childbirth. Scars on the hips and buttocks, on the other hand, both
visually and tactually accentuate the erotic and sensual aspects of
these parts of the female body.
In other cultures, piercing rather than tattooing forms the main focus of
such religious and social symbolism. For example ear piercings in
Alaska are used to represent social status and prestige. Similarly, lip
piercings in Inuit (Eskimo) societies are performed at puberty to mark a
boy's transition to manhood, whilst social distinction is emphasized by
nose piercings among the Tlingit of Alaska. Tattooing, on the other
hand, is traditionally thought to enhance female beauty in Inuit
(Eskimo) societies. Close parallel lines running from the lower lip to the
chin of a young girl are usually drawn by older women using a needle,
thread and lamp soot.

Body ornamentation, especially tattooing, was spread among Western

societies when soldiers and sailors returning from conquest and trade
imitated the practices they had seen among the indigenous people of
Asia, Africa and the South Pacific. Working class men in Europe and
America wore tattoos primarily as a symbol of tough masculine pride
throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, a
revival of interest in body modification in Western industrialized
societies in the late twentieth century is associated more with
domestic youth culture movements than with the foreign origins of
such practices. The Beatniks of the 1950s and Hippie movements of
the 1960s turned to Asian tattooing techniques as a personal
expression of spiritual and mystical body aestheticism. Conversely,
working-class young people of the Punk movement in the late 1970s
and 80s used tattoos and piercing as symbols of rebellion in an explicit
political protest against their feelings of imprisonment in society's rigid
class structure and values.

A recent rise in the popularity of tattooing and piercing in the West is

evident in magazine features (3), themed photographic exhibitions (4)
and newspaper articles (5). In America, it is estimated that between 10
and 25 per cent of teenagers have some kind of tattoo or piercing (6).
The opening of a tattoo and piercing section in the London high-street
store, Selfridges, indicates a new interest among middle class men and
women in body modification techniques. This can be attributed to an
increasing professionalism of such practices and access to high quality
tattooing resources (7). Popular forms of tattooing range from a single
image to a full bodysuit tattoo. Common sites of body piercing include
the ear, eyebrow, nose, bridge, cheek, lip, navel, nipple and genital.
Different methods of piercing add further variety to body modification
styles and include the regular method, surface, pearling, sub-incision
and pocket piercing.

However, whilst body modification may be finding new levels of

acceptance in certain areas of society, motivations for tattooing and
piercing among adolescents and middle class women are profoundly
different in nature from those of the sailors, soldiers, bikers and gang
members more commonly associated with such practices in the West.
Originally a social symbol of group identification and affiliation, tattoos
and piercings are now being invested with more personal, individual
meanings. Clinton Sanders, a sociologist who spent seven years
engaged in field research work among young people with tattoos,
believes that tattoos provided his subjects with a means of self-identity.
He writes that they marked themselves with 'indelible symbols of what
they see themselves to be' (8). The sociologist Chris Shilling argues
that as notions of the inner 'self' are conflated with the appearance of
the surface of the body, adornment and ornamentation occupy an
increasingly significant role in the construction of personal identity (9).
In other words, piercings, tattoos and other body modifications allow a
person to control and manipulate visual projections of their own sense
of individuality. For example, the website 'Body Modification Ezine' (10)
includes numerous readers' stories about the extent to which a tattoo
or piercing has changed their image of themselves. One contributor
wrote that being pierced 'helped me know who I am'.

It appears therefore that, whilst practices of body modification in

traditional non-Western cultures serve to connect people to their social
position and ancestry, tattooing and body piercing in the West
functions to delineate individuals from the society in which they live.
As such, body modification in contemporary Western societies is not
only a code of identity but also an attainable aesthetic standard of
beauty and physical appeal among those that ascribe to its values.

--- Source

Body Piercings and Sexual Issues - Part 1

Female Genital Piercings

By Karen L. Hudson, About.com

Filed In:

1. Piercings - General Info

2. > Piercing FAQ

Although many body piercings are purely for aesthetic (decorative)

purposes, there are others that are clearly chosen for sexual pleasure
and/or enhancement. However, there seems to be some confusion
about just how much a piercing can actually enhance the sexual
experience. This page will answer questions about female genital
piercings and their (potential) effect on sexual stimulation.

Vertical and Horizontal Clitoral Hood Piercings

First of all, the vertical/horizontal misunderstanding needs to be

cleared up. If a woman decides she wants a clitoral hood piercing, it is
normally not her decision as to which one she will get. A skilled piercer,
upon examining the client’s genital area, will recommend one piercing
over the other for proper placement and the best fit. In very rare cases,
some women may be anatomically suited for either piercing and can
make that choice at their own discretion.

Will a clitoral hood piercing stimulate the clitoris during sex? Maybe.
That depends on the skill of the piercer and the body of the pierced. If
the woman received the correct piercing (vertical or horizontal) for her
particular anatomy and the piercing was done properly to encourage
clitoral stimulation, then it should enhance pleasure during sex.

Can a woman lose her ability to achieve orgasm if she gets her clitoral
hood pierced? No. Sexual stimulation comes from the clitoris itself, not
the clitoral hood, which is just a protective fold of skin that goes over
the clitoris. If a woman gets a horizontal or vertical clitoral hood
piercing, it will not affect her ability to have an orgasm.

Clitoral Piercings
Piercings that actually penetrate the clitoris are much more risky than
hood piercings. A potential client must be examined by a professional
piercer to first see if she is even anatomically suited for a clitoral
piercing. The procedure can be painful, as it goes through many nerves
– the same nerves responsible for sexual response. In rare cases, it is
possible for a woman to lose her ability to achieve orgasmic climax or
even lose all feeling as a result of a clitoral piercing. Granted, this is a
worst-case scenario, but only a highly skilled professional piercer
should perform a clitoral piercing.

Labia Piercings

Labia piercings, although they may be visually arousing to your

partner, will not affect your own sexual pleasure. They are not located
close enough to the clitoris to cause stimulation, and are more for
aesthetic pleasure.