It Hurts So Good: The Advantages of Erotic Piercing.
On Friday, February 12, Elayne Angel taught me about a whole new type of piercing that I always assumed was just for show, perhaps only used for those “crazy punks” who will do anything to mutilate their bodies. Erotic piercing, however, is not like this, as Angel explained during the lecture. While erotic piercing is not something that I would consider at this time in my life or in the near future, I gained an understanding as to why people may be interested in something that seems downright painful.
Elayne is not just any piercer, but one of the best in the country and a pioneer in her field. She has been piercing since the 1980s, and created the tongue piercing. She is also the Medical Liason for Professional Piercers, the recipient of the APP President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the author of The Piercing Bible. Elayne is so influential in her field that she had to give a disclaimer at the beginning of her talk that told the audience that their attendance does not mean that they apprenticed under her.
Before she went through the different piercings, Elayne explained that the act of piercing is a primal act that can remind a person of a sex act. “People get pierced to get sensation, inspire sexual focus, different forms of play. With erotic piercing you can contact nerve endings that can’t be accessed otherwise.” Then, she went through all of the piercings: oral, nipple, and genital. According to Elayne, genital piercings can cause “confidence in the bedroom” and can help people feel like they can make choices about how their body looks. “It can inspire harmony with the body.”
Within the realm of genital piercings, we saw pictures of some botched piercings (trust me, it was painful to look at). Then, she went into the main two piercings: clitoral hood piercing/ vertical clitoral hood (VCH) and the Prince Albert (PA). The Clitoral hood piercing, according The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has a positive relationships to desire, frequency of intercourse and arousal. The PA passes through a small amount of tissue, heals in 4-6 weeks, and goes into the urethra. After explaining the two most popular piercings, Elayne went into other piercings: the triangle, frenum, outer labia, pubic, inner labia, scrotum, lorum, fourchette (which Elayne invented), guiche, horizontal clitoral hood, foreskin, clitoris, ampallang, apadravya, reverse Prince Albert, Princess Diana, and dydoes
There were a lot of piercings, and according to Elayne, most do not prohibit condom use or safe sex. For a partner or for oneself, piercings can be pleasurable. While this is not something I took seriously before, I now find it fascinating and really understand why people may be interested in such a procedure. And for those of you who think that the demographic that receive these piercings are people who have piercings all over their body, you are mistaken. One of Elayne’s biggest group of clients are housewives and mostly older people (from thirty to eighty years old!)
