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History of Piercing Down
Under
Genital piercing has probably
been around for a while, although just how long is difficult
to say; histories of piercing tend to be woven with myths.
According to Stirn, genital piercing of men has only been
confirmed among a few tribes in Borneo, who implant bones in
the glans, or head of the penis. There's also some evidence
from the Kamasutra -- the ancient Sanskrit text that
establishes the rules of love and sensuality in Hindu
society -- of men who had penis implants adorned with
jewelry. However, claims that Arabs, Africans, or Greek
cultures engaged in routine genital piercing -- or that
nipple rings were developed by the Romans to hold up sagging
togas -- are fabrications or legend, Stirn says. |
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In fact, while piercing as a general practice is common to
many cultures, genital piercing is largely a recent and
Western phenomenon. This may be disconcerting to a few
ill-informed proponents of the practice, who might prefer to
imagine that they are rediscovering a venerable and ancient
rite of passage, rather than practicing a newfangled
invention.
But as Angel and Stirn assert,
most of the exotic sounding names for different types of
genital piercings were actually made up in the 1970s in the
U.S. and Europe.
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The Western origins of genital
piercing are also disconcerting to those uncomfortable with
the practice, who would prefer to imagine it is a barbaric
custom imported from far, far away and not something
domestic. A public information officer at the American
Medical Association in Chicago was disbelieving and then
aghast when informed about the practice and asked,
hopefully, whether it was a custom only "practiced in tribes
somewhere." Little did the she know, it was probably done
every day at piercing parlors within a few miles of her
office.
By the 19th century, some men
and women in European society were having their genitals
pierced. One common type of penis piercing -- the Prince
Albert -- is actually named after Queen Victoria's husband,
the prince consort. The story goes that Albert had his penis
pierced with a ring -- called a "dressing ring" -- so that
he could manipulate his privates to prevent an unseemly
bulge when he wore tight trousers. Whether there's any truth
to the tale is unknown, although the accounts of 19th
century genital piercing do demonstrate that the Victorians
weren't quite the prudes that we imagine them to be.
Genital piercing became more
common in Europe in America after World War II, but it only
became popular -- in a relative sense --since the 1970s.
Piercing became fashionable with the punk movement and among
some gay and S&M subcultures during this time, and practiced
at landmark piercing studios like Gauntlet in Los Angeles,
where Angel was manager. From there, the phenomenon moved
out into mainstream society.
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