In the nineties, more and more North Americans are getting rings in various parts of their bodies for a number of different reasons. "Body piercing and tattooing has made a considerable imprint on young people in today's society,"2 and this practice is becoming more and more common. For most, but not all, body piercing and tattooing is their way of saying that they do not want to look and be like everyone else. However, "tattooing and body piercing carries other connotations such as rites of passage and sexual gratification. It's a conscious effort to repudiate the conservative mindset of their parent's generation by differing from that which is said to be normal in our society."3 Ever since our ancestors invented art, tens of thousands of years ago, humans have been painting, sculpting, and otherwise decorating everything in sight. "The human body is just the nearest and most intimate canvas, says anthropologist Enid Schildkrout of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City: "There is no known culture in which people do not paint, pierce, tattoo, reshape, or simply adorn their bodies."4

When the art of piercing and tattooing is really examined, it is seen to be another form of transformation. Coloring our hair, wearing makeup, putting on clothes, and having plastic surgery is no different than getting a piercing or tattoo. Nowadays, it is not at all uncommon to see piercings and tattoos on young adults even in the workplace. However, not long ago when the movement first started to gain exposure, it was looked upon as a form of body mutilation only performed by "deviants." In North America, you have to be 18 to get a tattoo or piercing, and this is when most teens get one. Normally, it is almost a way of saying "I'm at college, and away from home. Now Mom and Dad cannot do a thing."

Another reason behind the drive to get a piercing is that it can be highly sexual, and the interesting fact behind this is that genital piercings have been around for hundreds of years. For guys, it is the genitals that get pierced, and for the women it is their clitorises that are used to heighten sexual pleasure. The "Prince Albert" is the name of the piercing when a man's genitals are pierced, and in the Victorian age it was called a "dressing ring." Surprisingly, it was used to secure the penis to one leg in order to conceal it in the tight pants in style at the time.

Thirdly, tattooing and piercing for some is like an act of reclaiming the body. The entire piercing event is taken to a highly spiritual domain. For example, during my own experiences when I had my lip pierced a number of years ago, I had incense lit all over the room where the piercing was done. "The body is seen by many to be a pain inducing ritual which can be used to attain elevated states of consciousness. And to some piercing their bodies in order to demonstrate their bodies exclusively theirs instead of an image painted and manipulated by society."5 In other words, it can help improve self images for young people today and especially helps young girls improve their own self images.

Lastly, another reason for North Americans to get tattoos, piercings, or both, is for adornment. This mainly seems to be the reason that most people get a piercing or tattoo. A piercing or tattoo is meant to be for the person who has it done. They do it for themselves, not for anyone else. I decided to do a survey among my friends where I interviewed twenty teens between the ages of 18 and 22 to find out if they have a piercing or tattoo and why they decided to get one. And if they did not have one, why did they not get one, and if they were planning on it. The results were not shocking in the least. Every single person that I gave the survey to had a piercing, but only 8 had tattoos. The piercings ranged from tongue, to ears, to belly, and the tattoos ranged from everywhere on the body to every size. 12 out of the 20 teens said that the reason they got either the tattoo or the piercing is because they said that they liked the way it looked, while a couple of others said it was their parents who decided, or they were curious. I asked why they thought that people get piercings or tattoos and the main two answers were for themselves, and for fashion. Lastly, I asked if the teens thought that the whole piercing and tattoo fashion was a trend or fad. Almost all said that they thought that yes, maybe it was a trend a couple of years ago, but not today. They all seemed to think that piercings and tattoos are here to stay and they will be around for a long time yet.

2 Lemonick, Michael
3 Thomas, Sander
4 Thomas, Sander
5 Cross, John