Since the human body represents the individual’s unique base of operations in the world, it is not surprising that endless energy is devoted to polishing and strengthening it. Each culture has its own ideas about what it takes to make a body “right.” All cultures have their own notions about how the body properly should be shaped and sized and decorated. The images of what a “good” body should look like are unbelievably varied.
The modal body appearance in one group may seem to be not at all human to a representative of another group. It is possible to mention the elaborate body tattooing practiced in Polynesia, body scarring prominent in Africa, lip enlargement found in Brazil, and teeth filing popular in Africa. Analogous body reshaping is current in Western culture in such practices as body piercing. Of course, body piercing also is still popular in the modern scene. The idealized images of the body proclaimed by each culture are translated into clothing fashions, preferences for certain body builds, health and exercise regimens, and a thousand body camouflaging strategies. Through this paper, I will show where and how body piercing has made its mark on society and where it made its way in and out of popularity over time.
- Thesis. Many cultures use piercings for specific reasons; from fashion to rites of passage it all relates to social status, whether to strive for acceptance or rebel from it.
Body piercing has been a staple of preliterate or aboriginal cultures for centuries. Also, body adornment through piercing has roots in many ancient cultures. For instance, Egyptians believed they reflected status and beauty. “The earliest known mummified remains of a human that was pierced is over 5,000 years old. This worthy gentleman had his ears pierced with larger-gauge plugs in his ears” (Roberts, 2004). The Egyptians prized certain piercings so much that some, such as belly piercings were reserved only for the Pharaoh himself. Many pubertal rites really amount to a demand that individuals radically revise parts of their anatomy to fit specified patents.
Even the Bible mentions piercing as one of the possible ways for body decoration. The Old Testament mentions body jewelry as a mark of social status and high rank (Roberts, 2004). In ancient Rome, it was believed that nipple piercing signified strength, for this reason, genitals were pierced to prevent injury to gladiators. After the period of the Middle Ages, piercings found their way back into people’s lives but for different reasons than they were once believed to have stood for. In the Renaissance period and Elizabethan England, women’s fashion began to show more flesh and the desire to adorn oneself was filled with piercings. High society women often had strands of pearls connected by two pierced nipples. Following women, the Renaissance men became more fashion conscious and often has one ear pierced.
According to Lucy P. Roberts, (2004) sailors who were both superstitious and religious spent much of their money on a large gold earring, for in case they were found shipwrecked their finder could have it in exchange for a Christian burial. The dawn of the Puritan movement put piercings on the sinners’ list and it took the rebellious youth of the 1960s (hippies) to bring it back into mainstream culture. Once again, fashion had a role to play; young women anxious to get out of the kitchens their parents trained them to be in burned their bras and wore blouses that showed the midriff (Morrison, 1998). Much like the belly dancers of India have done for centuries, they too wanted to bring attention to their movements and pierced their navels. Despite the traditional interpretation of Islamic cultures as old-fashioned, Islamic women used body piercing as one of the main body decorations during all times. In 1802, Gavrila Davydov said that Kodiak Island women made
several holes in their lower lip from which they hang a loop into which are placed beads and small white bones. These holes vary in number between two and six. Close relatives pierce their lips and there is a great deal of respect, therefore, for the girl islander who has the most (Krutak n.d.).
These historical trends show that body piercing is one of the oldest rituals used and valued by people from ancient times.
How did piercing make its way into our modern world? As indicated previously, at an early age individuals develop standards of body attractiveness fairly similar to those they will adhere to. Somebody areas are found to be particularly correlated with self-esteem, and various body sectors are particularly likely to be judged as important or to be prominent in verbalizations about the body. For this reason, the main parts of the body decorated are ears. “Body piercing is “a fashion statement — something for the here and now” (Boodman 2006).
The face is an area that is especially prominent on lists of importance and a frequent significant correlate of self-esteem. In women, the hip, thigh, leg areas are also prominently mentioned; but this is much less true for men. Strangely, the teeth are the most frequently and consistently referred to by both sexes. Piercing is still a sign of sexual freedom, social status, and wealth yet it is more mainstream than ever. Piercing has even found such a welcome place in modern culture that even the most prestigious jewelers such as Tiffany’s make body jewelry (Morrison, 1998).
In modern America, women have been piercing their ears for many years; in some elements of our culture, baby girls’ ears are pierced. By the Sixties, pierced ears were the norm. With the punk movement in the Eighties, more body parts might be pierced, and ears might be pierced many times. In the Nineties, the body piercing trend has attracted many teen girls. Although by state law, one must be eighteen or older for piercing, much younger girls are doing it–doing it to themselves or finding a friend or a professional willing to do it (Thomas, 2001).
Navels, eyebrows, noses, and lips are the most common spots for piercing, and the kind of piercing jewelry one may choose to accent the pierce is available in a wide variety. Less common is the piercing of the nipples, tongue, or genitals, and plenty of hardware is available for these sites too. When pop star Cher began advertising her multiple tattoos and piercing in the Seventies and Eighties, however, the idea seemed to catch on with girls, especially white, middle-class girls (Crystal Links n.d.).
In America in the twentieth century, body piercing has until recently been mostly associated with males in the military, in homosexual circles, and the biker culture. A piercing could be discreet but daring, no doubt likely to drive parents crazy. It has become a fad of the Nineties, although it may be giving way to body piercing since pierces are easier to get rid of should the fashion change. American teens’ interest in body piercing might be due partly to the “homosexualization” of American popular culture today–an increasing fascination with and enjoyment of the clothes, humor, music, and lifestyles of homosexuals, no matter what one’s sexual preference.
In the case of teens, it is also a kind of in-your-face rebellion against the kind of good looks associated with the white, middle-class clean-teen image. In the case of pierced genitalia or nipples, however, it seems more private, something a girl says is just for her secret pleasure and that of her boyfriend (Thomas, 2001).
The power of changing fashions to motivate vast numbers of people to transform their perfectly adequate wardrobe, at considerable expense, testifies to the need to use body piercing to make one’s body conform to cultural stereotypes. If one’s body or one’s appearance does not fit roughly with accepted standards, there are serious penalties to pay in the form of rejection by the group (Boodman 2006).
Studies of responses to persons with deviant appearance or identity have documented this fact well. On the other hand, there is a good deal of evidence that modes of body appearance may also be used to exalt one’s individuality and to announce the independence of group norms. This was obviously true in the 1960s when long hair in a state of disarray was a signal of intent to fight the Establishment. Extreme costumes, nudity, and self-mutilation have often been used as forms of personal protest. There are powerful forces in every culture that aim to bring the individual’s body under control (Krutak, n.d.).
These forces are expressed not only in elaborate rules about when and how various body functions can be exercised but also in detailed prescriptions about how the body should be displayed. “Body piercing justified human existence by not only influencing the supernatural and the dead but by influencing the wishes and actions of other living individuals in the community itself (Morrison 1998). The culture may particularly require that the body be normalized by controlling its surface qualities, e.g., by covering a large part of the skin with scar insignia or tattoos. It seems to be generally true that body decoration and clothing are used to de-individuate (Morrison, 1998).
In sum, body piercing has deep historical roots and traditions. The modern popularity of body piercing is explained as a cultural phenomenon, which helps people to express their unique selves and values. The self-centrality induced by the mirror experience shows itself too in a greater awareness of one’s own emotions and inner feelings. Body piercing helps a modern man to enhance body awareness and rate their degree of sociability.
References
- Boodman, S. G. (2006). The Hole Truth. Web.
- Crystal Links. (n.d.). Body Piercing. Web.
- Krutak, L. (n.d.). Piercing and Penetration in the Artic: BODY ARTS OF THE UNANGAN, ALUTIIQ, AND CHUGACH OF ALASKA. Web.
- Lucy P. Roberts. (2004). The History of Body Piercings – Ancient and Fascinating Around the World. Web.
- Morrison, C. (1998). Piercing History. Web.
- Thomas, P. W. (2001). 1970s Punk Fashion History Development. Web.