Genital Piercing

To many, genital piercing is a radical fashion expression associated only with the so-called “punk” movement. Still, it is also big with some other subcultures and, what we do not actually know is that, little by little this practice is now moving into mainstream society.

While it is relatively easy to tell if a person has a pierced eyebrow or a nose ring, it is more difficult to know who among your friends have pierced their genitals. Probably, with the use of a metal detector, we can tell if one has a genital piercing!

Some conservative views would tell us that tattoos and genital piercings are really acts of the rebellious generation but genital piercing has actually existed for years now. What is even more intriguing is that this act is as common to men as it is for women.

Aglaja Stirn, MD, an assistant director of the Frankfurt University in Germany, discussed in her article in the medical journal The Lancet, some historical proofs of extreme genital piercing. She discussed that male genital piercings that have only been confirmed among some tribes in Borneo. They implant bones in the head of the penis or the glands. Also, the Kamasutra, which is an ancient text for the Hindi rules of love and sensuality, also speaks of male genital piercing in the form of penis implants that are ornamented with jewelry. It has also been discussed that several claims of genital body piercing are noticeably fabricated.

In the 19th century, European men and women were having their genitals pierced. One common type of penis piercing is the Prince Albert, named after Queen Victoria's husband. The story goes that the prince had his penis pierced with a "dressing ring" to prevent his private part from bulging when he wore tight trousers. Whether this tale may be true or not, this only demonstrates that the Victorians weren't quite as we might have imagined them to be.

While piercing is commonly practiced by several different cultures, genital piercing is actually not new and the Western trend, which is contrary to some thinking, is rediscovering an ancient ritual rather than developing a new innovative thing. Eventually, interest to learn how to pierce the female genital parts has lead to discovering new types and styles for female genital piercing. This has happened such that there are some small innovations to be seen in genital piercings and genital jewelry. Somehow, a pierced female genital and a pierced gland appear to be more appealing and stimulating to adventurous individuals regardless of whether it sounds barbaric to others. Little did we know, it was probably done every day at piercing parlors many years ago.