As of May 2016, unconfirmed reports cite around 9800 piercings on Elaine Davidson, making her the most pierced woman in the world. The number may vary slightly, but the Guinness Book of World Records does accord her this unenviable status. Any challengers… we seriously doubt!
One look at her and you realize body piercing is definitely not for the squeamish lot. It does take a certain gut level to have your body …well….literally gouged into li’l islets of creative adornment.
With the world celebrating International Body Piercing Day on Tuesday, not many who fall in the non-pierced category, know that the day is dedicated in honour of James Mark ‘Jim’ Ward, who ushered in the modern wave of body piercing in the West.
Termed the ‘granddaddy’ of the movement, Ward set up the first such studio which he named ‘Gauntlet’ in 1978. A year earlier, he -along with Doug Malloy and Fakir Musafir- had launched the Piercing Fans International Quarterly (PFIQ) magazine too, which however went out of print in 1997.
For the uninitiated, one can get pierced in just about any part of the torso, be it the eyebrows, nose, ears, tongue, lips, navel, nipples and even the genitals. Just why one would want to do so, is purely a matter of individual taste.
Some actually have it handed down to them as part of their ancient heritage, while to others, it is a religious matter. There are of course quite a few who do it to affirm their individuality and then, as they love to say, to the rest, it all boils down to sex.
The kinkiness associated with finding an unexpected piece of jewellery strategically placed on your intimate parts, it may surprise you, does offer heightened pleasure.
But one thing that most people should actually take account of is the healing time involved. Though many try to pooh-pooh it aside, this could actually vary from six weeks to close to a year.
So even though by the end of the drilling process, you do have a ‘real cool’ hole in the body, whether you like it or not, the body -per se- treats it as a wound and reacts accordingly.
Make sure therefore, infection does not set in, as it could lead to sepsis which could prove life-threatening. Hence, do diligently follow whatever medical precautions are prescribed post-procedure.
Till then from all of us at TNM, we wish you all a Happy Piercing Day…may the Needle be with you!