As an ancient style of body adornment, body piercing practices have been important for cultural rituals and as expressions of beauty (Shaffer, “Origins of Body Piercing”). II. Cultural Reasoning A. There are many cultural reasoning for the nose piercing, throughout ancient history to today’s society. 1 . The practice of nose piercing is still followed among the nomadic Barber and Baja tribes of Africa and the Bedouin of the Middle East. The size of the ring gifted denotes a family’s wealth.
It’s given by a husband to his wife when they marry, and it represents financial security for her in the event that she and her husband are divorced “History of Body Piercing”). 2. In the west, nose piercing first appeared among the hippies who had traveled to India in the Late asses. In the asses, the practice of nose piercing was adopted by the Punk movement as a symbol of rebellion against conservative values. Most conservative people, mainly parents and employers, still don’t react well to this piercing along with other facial piercing (“History of Body Piercing”).
B. Tongue piercing 1 Tongue piercing was practiced in a ritual form by the ancient Aztec and the Maya of Central America. The tongue was pierced to draw blood to appease the gods and to create an altered state of consciousness so that the priest or shaman could communicate with the gods (“History of Body Piercing”). 3. Middle Eastern cultures, such as the Suffix, have practiced tongue piercing to demonstrate the power of trance states they enter into during certain rituals (Shaffer, “Origins of Body Piercing”). C.
Lip/labret piercing 1 Only two tribes pierce the lips with a ring: the Dagon tribe of Mali and the Numb of Ethiopia. Among the Dagon, lip piercing has religious significance; hey believe the world was created by their ancestor spirit minion’ weaving thread through her teeth, but instead of thread, out came speech (“History of Body Piercing”). All the other tribes that deal with lib piercing pierce the labret for reasons other than spiritual. This can be done with a pin made out of wood, ivory, metal or crystal quartz. . Among the Aztec and Mayans, the lip/labret piercing was a sign Of wealth. The labret piercing (I. E. “Detente” to the Aztec) was reserved for male members of the higher castes, who wore beautiful labret fashioned from pure gold to look like serpents, golden abreast with stones inset in them, and labret jewelry made of jade or obsidian (“History of Body Piercing”). Ill. Different types if piercing A. The most popular in today’s generation would have to be the surface piercing. . Surface piercing are any body piercing that take place on the surface sewn into the body through areas which are not particularly concave or convex, where the piercing lies across a surface flap of skin, rather than running completely through a piece of body tissue from one side to another. A surface bar follows the plane of skin, while a standard piercing is pierced wrought the plane (Homecomings, “Body Piercing Guide – All about Body Piercing”) 2.
There are different types of surface piercing within the piercing community. Some of these would be the corset piercing, the nape piercing, the neck piercing (Vampire Bites), the hip piercing, the sternum piercing, the wrist piercing and the anti-eyebrow piercing (Homecomings, “Body Piercing Guide – All About Body Piercing”). All surface piercing are supposed to be temporary however. B. Over the past 4 years micro dermal piercing or sometimes called “single point piercing” are becoming more and more popular.
The anchor, a flat piece of metal that sticks out sort of like a foot, is what holds the piercing in place. Sometimes the anchors have small holes in them, which allows the tissue to encompass the anchor as it heals, giving it a firmer hold (Hudson, “Micro dermal Piercing Info Guide and Healing Time”). 5. Dermal anchor jewelry should be made out of titanium for surgical implants due to low rejection rate.
The jewel that is visible on the skin is threaded and just screws into place, so they are easily interchangeable once the anchor is healed. Healing of this piercing usually takes 8 – 12 weeks. The twisting action involved in removing or replacing the jewel can damage the tissue if the anchor isn’t healed, that’s why it’s advised to wait the full 12 weeks before you change out the jewel (Hudson, ” Micro dermal Piercing Info Guide and Healing Time”). C.
The act of suspension is the hanging of the body from or partially from hooks pierced through the skin in various places around the body. 1 Some people are seeking the opportunity to discover a deeper sense of themselves and to challenge pre-determined belief systems which may not e true, some are seeking a rite of passage or a spiritual encounter to let go of the fear of not being while or complete inside their body (Forgoers, “Suspension. Org”). 2 Some other people have other reasons for trying suspension.
These reasons are for looking for a sense of control over their own body, or seeking to prove to themselves that they are more than their bodies, or are not their bodies at all. They simply try to seek to explore the unknown (Forgoers, “Suspension. Org”). IV. Conclusion socially expectable. 8. In today’s Western society, body piercing are most often used as expressions of beauty, individuality, and expressive fashion statements. Alongside with tattoos, body piercing have been popularized in modern society as a method of body art (Shaffer, “Origins of Body Piercing”).
