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Piercings Grant Cooke Piercings are an artistic way to express yourself through your body. Piercing involves creating a hole and inserting something decorative or valuable. “Even though it may feel painful, skin piercing has been a common technique for thousands of years to insert an ornamental item made of metal, bone, shell, ivory, or glass. Body piercing is done on men, women, and kids all throughout the world. It has gained popularity, especially among American youths who pierce practically everything.” (Penn Museum, 2018). Body piercings have been found on mummified human remains over 5,000 years old. We know that piercings held cultural value even for early humankind, today we continue to see the importance of piercings especially in adolescence. Adolescents are drawn to the idea of piercings because they often want to look like their peers, and they believe that piercings may help demonstrate their affiliation. Adolescents want to belong to or be associated with a specific group and have the approval of the group. Piercings can make a bold statement or add a subtle touch of beauty. In any case, having a visible piercing makes a statement of some kind. Piercings may help teens tell their own stories. Body decoration can assist teens in creating a personal narrative and is an excellent way to express themselves. An emo boy, for example, might prefer a black cheek stud and a black eyebrow ring. Or the popular blonde girl who gets a gold nose ring to emulate their favourite influencer, because she herself aspires to be one. For teens its especially important to project a certain look, piercings can alter the way they appear to help them fit in. Teens get piercings to enhance their sexuality and attractiveness to others. Young people are constantly exploring their sexuality as they mature. As older teens and young adults, piercing is frequently viewed as a way to increase their attractiveness to potential partners. Piercings can also increase a teen's personal sexual desire and feelings and can increase physical pleasure. Young people are often in a constant state of experimentation, trying to figure out who they want to be. This may be why teens are so attracted to the idea of piercings. Piercings can also be viewed as a form of rebellion and is often a bone of contention between parents and teens. In many cultures piercings signify important maturity related rites of passage. In Canada there is no age of consent for piercings but often piercing professionals will not perform piercings on youth under the age of 16 without parental consent. The informal imposed age restrictions on piercings for young people makes getting a piercing a rite of passage. For many young people a piercing is their first opportunity to modify their appearance and make a statement of their own. Looking at the act of piercings in the study of adolescents and health is important because for many youths piercing is deeply connected to creating an identity and establishing belonging within a social group or subculture. In both cases, a strong sense of one’s identity and belonging are vital to the development of good mental health and further growth and development as a person.
