Genital piercing

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Genital piercing: Christina and Nefertiti piercings (left), Prince Albert piercing (right) Genital piercing: Christina and Nefertiti piercings (left), Prince Albert piercing (right)
Genital piercing: Christina and Nefertiti piercings (left), Prince Albert piercing (right)

Piercing refers to a piercing , which is located in the region of the genitalia, the so-called "private parts". Numerous piercing variants are possible in the genital area for both sexes; most of them differ between the sexes due to their different anatomy . However, some piercings are possible in both men and women.

Historical development and current distribution

Fakirs in India with a large piece of jewelry by Ampallang, between 1870–1880 (left), Dayak with Ampallang (1920) (right) Fakirs in India with a large piece of jewelry by Ampallang, between 1870–1880 (left), Dayak with Ampallang (1920) (right)
Fakirs in India with a large piece of jewelry by Ampallang, between 1870–1880 (left), Dayak with Ampallang (1920) (right)

The original origins of genital piercings are believed to be in Southeast Asia, with traditional piercings being found in tribes from India to Borneo. Genital piercings have a long tradition, with apadravya, a male genital piercing, already mentioned in the Kama Sutra (2nd century). The following description can be found in Chapter II, Section 62:

" [...] so in the case of the residents of the dean , the child's limb is pierced like an ear. When the person concerned has grown up to be a youth, he has it cut with a knife and remains in the water as long as blood comes; for the sake of chidrasyāsamkocārtham (keeping the wound canal fresh), coitus then takes place that night without interruption. Then clean the penis with essences a day later. The gradually growing one is wrapped with veins of Calamus Rotang and Wrightia antidysenterica as tonic . Clean it with liquorice mixed with honey. Then enlarge it with a leaden bulge; and smear it with the oil of the nut of Semecarpus Anacardium . These are the artificial means of piercing. - There one attaches the variously designed artificial devices [...] "

- Kama Sutra 7.2 Upanisad § 62

The ampallang, a similar piercing (that runs horizontally through the glans instead of vertically) is found in various tribes in Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo. Genital piercings were first known in western countries through ethnographic reports made by researchers in the 19th century. The Dutch researcher Anton Willem Nieuwenhuis described in his ethnographic report In Centraal Borneo: reis van Pontianak naar Samarinda (Eng. "Across Borneo"), a documentation of his trip through Borneo in 1897, the genital piercings of the Dayak and Iban :

“ The young men did indeed get through the tattoo; because it is only carried out to a limited extent in them, suffering much less than women, but in return, in order to attain their full manhood, they must submit to another test, namely the piercing of the glans penis. The procedure for this operation is as follows: First, the glans is drained of blood by pressing between the two arms of a bent bamboo strip. On each of these arms there are openings opposite one another at the required points through which, after the glans have become less sensitive, a sharp copper pin is pressed through; In the past, a pointed bamboo stick was used for this. The bamboo clamp is removed and the pin attached by a string is left in the opening until the canal has healed. Later, the copper pen (utang) is replaced by another, usually a pewter one, which is worn all the time; the metal pen only makes room for a wooden one during hard work or during strenuous activities. Particularly brave men enjoy the privilege with the chief to be allowed to wear a ring on the penis that is cut from the scales of the pangolin and studded with blunt teeth; Sometimes they can be crossed with the first canal and a second can be drilled through the glans. Besides the kajan themselves, many Malays from the upper hood also practice this art. The pain during the operation does not seem to be very severe, and it rarely has serious consequences, although it often takes a month for recovery. No changes are made to the genitals of women. "

- Nieuwenhuis, AW, & Nieuwenhuis-von Üxküll-Güldenbandt, M.

Genital piercing became a short-lived trend in Europe at the end of the 19th century, especially for the upper classes of society:

Modern Primitive Subculture Woman in a California Forest, 1993

" [...] it was reemerged during the Victorian era that the practice of body piercing in the Western world. Many men and women of the Victorian royalty chose to receive nipple and genital piercings. "

- Larkin, BG

However, its popularity declined again, with genital piercings becoming rather uncommon in the western world until the second half of the 20th century. In the 1970s, they were introduced to the burgeoning body modification community by early piercing pioneers like Jim Ward and Doug Malloy . The origins of the "modern" genital piercing can probably be found in the legendary piercing studio Gauntlet Enterprises in Los Angeles . With the advent of Piercing Fans International Quarterly in 1977, information about piercings became available to a wider public. The genital piercings were later worn by the Modern Primitive Movement that developed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s .

Like nipple piercings, genital piercings became increasingly popular and part of mainstream culture in the second decade of the 21st century. Statistically, people who wear genital piercings in the United States today are younger and better educated than the average American. Many celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Fantasia Barrino, Pete Doherty, Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Katarina Waters, or Pete Wentz stated that they had or planned to have genital piercings. In this day and age, genital piercings have a growing demand, especially among young adults. Studies in the United States show that 12-14 percent of college students (18-22 years old) have an intimate or nipple piercing.

Regarding genital piercings (female), Marilyn W. Edmunds, clinical professor at Johns Hopkins University says:

Since the first decade of the 21st century genital piercings have become increasingly popular: [12] [13] Woman with a vertical clitoral hood piercing (left), man with a Prince Albert piercing (right) Since the first decade of the 21st century genital piercings have become increasingly popular: [12] [13] Woman with a vertical clitoral hood piercing (left), man with a Prince Albert piercing (right)
Genital piercings have been increasingly popular since the first decade of the 21st century: women with a vertical clitoral hood piercing (left), men with a Prince Albert piercing (right)

“ Genital piercings are in increasing demand and are most common among young women. Women with genital piercings are no longer on the fringes of society or part of punk culture experimenting with "socially provocative" behaviors. Genital piercing has become mainstream over the past 30 years and women wear them for a variety of reasons. "

- Marilyn W. Edmunds

According to Chelsea Bunz, a professional piercer in the UK, the apparent surge in popularity may be an effect of more people talking openly about it:

“ I think genital piercings have always been popular. It is discussed more openly these days. People of all classes and professions have them. "

- Chelsea Bunz

motivation

For men as well as women, the main motif, as with other piercings, is the aesthetic aspect and the individualization of the pierced body region. In addition to their purely aesthetic function, some genital piercings also have the effect of exerting additional stimulation during sexual intercourse and thus causing an increase in stimulation. While genital piercings in women only have an effect on the wearer, genital piercings in men (especially Ampallang and Apadravya ) increase the sensation of pleasure for both partners. In traditional societies, genital piercing can be understood as a sign of attachment to a partner, similar to the wedding ring in western cultures.

Forms and variations

Genital piercing in men

Possible locations for placement on the male genitals are the glans of the penis, the penile shaft itself and the skin of the penile shaft, the scrotum (scrotum) or the perineum.

Penis glans (glans penis)

Piercings through the glans of the penis include the ampallang, which goes horizontally, and the apadravya, which goes vertically through the glans. The Prince Albert piercing is on the dorsal side while the inverted Prince Albert goes through the ventral side of the glans. The Apadravya and the Ampallang are also (in rare variants) pierced through the penis shaft. The dydoe penetrates the coronal edge of the glans. With the exception of the dydoe, all of these piercings traditionally go through the urethra. This is preferred because the flow of sterile urine reduces healing time and the incidence of infection.

These piercings provide increased stimulation during sexual intercourse for the man (who is wearing the piercing) as well as the partner. Piercings through the glans are the genital piercings with the best-documented historical evidence.

Skin of the penis shaft and scrotum

The foreskin piercing penetrates the penile foreskin on the dorsal, ventral or lateral side. It can only be used if the man is not circumcised. The frenular piercing goes through the penis frenum, a small skin bridge that connects the glans with the shaft skin. This anatomical structure is also often, but not always, found in circumcised men. The Hafada piercing lies on the skin of the scrotum. As an intermediate version between the frenulum and hafada piercing, the Lorumpiercing ("low frenum") sits at the point where the penis and scrotum connect. The guiche piercing is a piercing that sits on the perineum. These piercings play a lesser role in increasing stimulation and are more or less purely decorative.

Genital piercings in women

Different anatomical regions can also be suitable for piercings in women. These include the mons pubis, the clitoris (including the clitoral hood), the labia minora (inner and outer), and the vestibulum vaginae (area around the vaginal opening).

Clitoris and clitoral hood

The glans of the clitoris itself can be pierced. Since this anatomical part is too small in many cases, this piercing is not very common. In contrast, the clitoral hood piercing is the most common genital piercing in women. It can be applied horizontally and vertically. The deep foreskin piercing is a variant of the clitoral hood piercing that runs deeper through the clitoral hood. The Isabella piercing runs vertically through the clitoris shaft.

Labia and vaginal vestibule

The labia piercing can be used on the inner or outer labia. The triangle piercing is located at the ventral end of the labia, at the transition between the labia and the clitoral hood. It runs horizontally, partly under the clitoris shaft. The Fourchette piercing runs through the dorsal edge of the vestibulum vaginae. A less common version of the fourchette piercing is the suitcase piercing, which can be thought of as a deep fourchette piercing (it hits the perineum). Also unusual is the Princess Albertina piercing, the female version of the Prince Albert piercing that runs through the dorsal wall of the urethra.

Venus mound

The Christina piercing is a surface piercing that is located on the lower part of the mons pubis where the outer labia meet. It is similar to the Nefertiti piercing, which can be seen as a combination between vertical clitoral hood piercings and Christina piercings.

Unisex

Body piercings that do not involve perforation of the genitals but are referred to as "genital piercings" can be worn by either sex. These include the Schampiercing, which is located above the penis in men and on the mons pubis in women (comparable to the Christina piercing, but horizontal). The guiche piercing goes horizontally through the perineum while the anal piercing goes through the anus.

Web links

Commons : Genital Piercings  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Awakening the Passion that died. In: The Kāmasūtram of Vātsyāyana . Berlin 1922, pp. 475-476. ( online )
  2. ↑ Nieuwenhuis, AW, & Nieuwenhuis-von Üxküll-Güldenbandt, M. (1904). Across Borneo: results of his travels in the years 1894, 1896-97 and 1898-1900 by dr. AW Nieuwenhuis (Vol. 1). Bookstore and printer formerly EJ Brill.
  3. ^ Larkin, BG (2004). The ins and outs of body piercing. AORN journal, 79 (2), pp. 330-342. doi : 10.1016 / S0001-2092 (06) 60609-1
  4. ↑ Do we really need this trend? - Intimate piercings are currently very much in vogue, but they also offer risks. - Österreich.at
  5. ↑ The History of Clitoral Piercing - Vice.com
  6. ↑ Nice, normal women don't have genital piercings - Vice.com
  7. ↑ a b C Caliendo, ML Armstrong, AE Roberts: Self-reported characteristics of women and men with intimate body piercings. In: Journal of advanced nursing , 2005, 49 (5), pp. 474-484, PMID 15713179
  8. ↑ A question from Martina Lehnhoff, expert for genital piercings: "With fresh genital piercings, sex is taboo". - Lifeline
  9. ↑ Genital piercing increasing among Kumasi youth - Ghanaweb
  10. ↑ VCH Piercings, by Elayne Angel, pp. 16-17, The Official Newsletter of The Association of Professional Piercers ( Memento of the original from November 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.safepiercing.org
  11. ↑ Why Women Choose Genital Piercing - Medscape
  12. ↑ Box, E. (2007). Genital body modifications in women. The Gynecologist, 40 (6), 489-500.
  13. ↑ Intimate modifications in adolescents
  14. ↑ Genital piercings aren't as scary as you think - here's what to expect from them - Metro
  15. ↑ Hogan, K. Rinard, C. Young, A. Roberts, M. Armstrong, T. Nelius: A cross-sectional study of men with genital piercings . (PDF; 251 kB) In: British Journal of Medical Practitioners , 3 (2) (2010), pp. 315–322, ISSN  1757-8515 .
  16. ↑ G. Van der Meer, WW Schultz et al .: Intimate body piercings in women . In: Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology , 29 (4), 2008, pp. 235-239, doi: 10.1080 / 01674820802621874
  17. ^ E. Kasten (2007): Genital Body Modifications in Women. In: Der Gynäkologe , Volume 40, Number 6, pp. 489–500, doi: 10.1007 / s00129-007-1985-8
  18. ↑ R Rowan Childe: Male genital modification: A sexual selection interpretation. In: Human Nature , Vol. 7, 1996, No. 2, pp. 189-215, doi: 10.1007 / BF02692110