Body piercing is historically recognized as a rite of passage, a sign of societal status, a testament to the pain one can endure in devotion to a God. In Egypt, certain body piercings were restricted to royalty. Romans pierced themselves to show valor and strength. Julius Caesar had his nipples pierced. Many gladiators had a genital piercing through the head of their penis to easily tie the organ to the testicles for more protection in battle. The Aztecs and Mayans pierced their tongues to show devotion to the Gods and had numerous body piercings to frighten and intimidate other tribes. I remember being around 6 years old and going with my mom to get my ears pierced. I kicked and screamed so much that the woman in charge of the slight procedure kindly asked us to leave. Later on I decided that my ears were big and stuck out so I wouldn't need to worry about a few seconds of discomfort. Granted I did pierce my own nose when I was 12, I'm going to be dramatic and say that the pain I was feeling inside my little awkward preteen body was more than the sting of a small sewing needle in my face. The infection that came later (who knew the needle was supposed to be "clean"??) gave me a brief battle wound story to tell kids at school. The hole closed up after a couple of weeks and I didn't really earn anything by putting myself through the pain. My rebellion backfired as well since my parents thought I'd gotten my first zit and lied about it in embarrassment.
Sailors brought body piercings to Western culture, both as a response to religious superstition and curiosity to the art form. The majority of the last hundred years, however, has shown resistance to body piercings. Men did not want to appear feminine and women did not pierce much besides the occasional ear lobe. Piercing became a form of rebellion in the 1960s and since then a resurgence of experimentation and expression can be seen as piercings become popular once again. To me, piercing was a logical form of teenage rebellion.
Sailor Sid was a popular piercing obsessed guy known mostly in the 1970s. The first picture here is quite tame...he has a giant piercing in his nose. He looks like a friendly guys. The second picture shows a million piercings in his penis. You don't have to scroll down. But you will. And you will probably say "oh shit" "what the fuck" or simply "ouch".
This is not the kind of piercing I am looking to get now. I just want two little holes on my earlobes so I can wear earrings. I decided that the cheapest answer is going to the mall. This is a terrible decision for many reasons;
1) The mall is a breeding ground for anxiety and confusion
2) When consciously handing a stranger money to put holes in your body, choosing a place in the center of hell is poor form
3) Within the center of hell are a several locations to get your ear's pierced.
a. a jewelery station in the center of the mall. people will walk by and stare at you. they might even take pictures. you will smell Cinnabon, dirty diapers, burning hair and cheap perfume as you take deep inhalations to prepare for the puncture.
b. Claire's is a place where one can find knock offs of tribal jewelery next to a Hannah Montana garter belt. Radio Disney pumps out of the walls and ceiling. Teenage girls with the first sign of breasts stand next to their eccentric gay male friend. He is wrapping himself in a red synthetic feather boa, sucking on a lollipop and trying on Jackie-O sunglasses in a mirror. He is dancing to the music while parents turn around from the register..."kids today" the mom says to the cashier. The scene stealer is able to distract his female friends for a brief moment from the horrors of attempting to find themselves in a stripper's paradise. Ear piercing is done in the front of the store...with a tiny plastic gun...by a girl reading the manual as you sign your waiver.
I decided to go to Claire's. WHY? I have no idea. I used to shoplift from Claire's when I was a teenager and later blamed Karma for the fact that any jewelery I got from the store fell apart within two weeks. Champ and I stood and watched a guy get big shiny studs in his ears. He was a foreigner, that was his excuse for choosing Claire's. Then a girl about 16 went to get second holes in her ears. They were crooked, thats for sure. But her excuse was that she was her youth, she probably hasn't heard of sweatshops and she had her mommy's hand to hold. I sat in the chair, chose my slave-made studs and found a Mary Kate and Ashley backpack to focus on when the deed was being done. At the final step, I was suddenly rejected from being pierced at this circus shithole. I had left my ID at home. I guess the white plastic spring-loaded toy is serious business.
There may have appeared to be nothing culturally significant reflected in this tiny experience. Actually, going to Claire's to get my ear's pierced reflects a lot about our society's disconnection to pain, ceremony and culture. Choosing the mall instead of an actual body modification place is avoidance of the experience. Regardless of where you are, the discomfort of creating the hole will remain. The mall supplies an overabundance of saturation distraction, that people most often shop at the mall to remove themselves from real life experience.
Even though I don't go to the mall more than once a year, i subconsciously felt comfort. Advertisements strategically placed throughout the mall and in each store are done so that the shopper will process information without really being aware of the control the images and ads have on our minds. It functions like an anesthetic, covering up the problem for a moment without healing the underlying fear or issue. Perhaps going to a legitimate shop is more nerve wracking, but the deep breathing and personal mind control is closer to the admirable ancient practices than letting relying on corporate marketing strategies to make you think you are a stronger person.
I feel like an asshole getting my ears pierced at the mall. I might go back to Claire's with my ID and do it tonight.
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