Sure, body piercing has become mainstream. It has even grown beyond what most of us thought it would, with the impact of celebrity piercings and the face of modern fashion aesthetics both giving the industry a great push in the right direction. But have we forgotten what it can mean to wear jewelry? For example, getting pierced used to imply that one would have superior sexual prowess, have achieved a higher state of enlightenment, or even warrior status. I bet that these days only a few of you think that when you see me walking down the street.

It is surprising and saddening to see how little people know about past cultures that have influenced modern society with it arts, religions and various forms of expression. And it’s not difficult to see why: few vendors provide information about body modifying cultures to customers. These days the first impression is usually quite weighted, and the ‘bling’ factor has only two associations – cash and status. Cash and status, albeit great, do not imply spiritual enlightenment, nor anything related to prowess. Having a piercing as well, however, may just complete your image! I wish.

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Different occasions can require special accessories. Jewelry can make or break an outfit. When either purchasing or just choosing which piece to wear, take a look at the clothes and ask yourself a couple of questions. Does it need to be dressed up or just subtlety accompanied? The answers will also depend on where you are going and what kind of an event it is.  Some of the best dressed people choose a simple black dress and adorn themselves with gorgeous earrings and a necklace. Gone are the days where everything has to be part of a matching set. As long as the colors coordinate, mix it up a bit! The same goes for other body jewelry. If you are going on vacation where you will be sporting a new bikini, why not treat yourself to several navel rings that you can switch out throughout the trip. If you typically wear a silver stud in your Monroe piercing, why not add some sparkle to your girls night out and get a diamond or cubic zurconia piece? The right piece of jewelry can update an old outfit too. With so many designs and styles to choose from, there are no excuses to let your wardrobe go stale! Accessorize!

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Should you wear jewelry in your visible piercings to a job interview? The answer is ambiguous - Take it on a case by case basis, and use common sense. Some corporate environments frown upon anything that might distract or possibly offend others. There is still somewhat of a stigma that accompanies piercings and tattoos in the corporate world, so anything other than the traditional single ear piercing can be seen as unprofessional. On the flip side, there are many establishments that pride themselves on the uniqueness and diversity of their staff. The more tattoo’s and piercings the better! Obviously, if you are interviewing at a place like this, playing up your jewelry and body art attributes would be wise. And if you are not entirely sure of the corporate culture expectations, fall back on the old rule: “When in doubt leave it out!”

Once you have landed the job you could take a wait and see approach. If others are sporting their tattoos and piercings freely, then it is safe to assume there isn’t a hard and fast rule against them. Otherwise, you can always ask the hiring manger straight out about what the company allows or refer to the employee handbook, which will usually address this topic in the dress code section. Some will ask that you use discretion when choosing what jewelry you will dawn on for work, or place a flesh colored bandage over the tattoo or piercing. Others will ask for you to just take it out while at work, or to replace the jewelry with a flesh colored piece. Almost all piercings have a flesh tone jewelry option. A major consideration if you are asked to take it out or use a flesh tone piece is how new your piercing is. If you have had it for years and are used to switching out jewelry regularly, then it would be fine to just remove it for the work day. Otherwise, if your piercing is new or prone to infection it could be risky to constantly remove your jewelry or leave it out for long periods. Your best bet would be to get the flesh tone piece and keep it in during the work week. Then spice it up with your other jewelry on the weekends or if you are going out.

Keep in mind that as trends, styles and fashion continue to evolve it has already become more and more commonplace to see piercings and tattoos in the workplace.

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Of all the ways we have to mark the body in our wide-ranging western cultures, scarification has a few people quite shocked, and understandably so. Pictures of flesh chiseled off the body would have anyone thinking of what they had for breakfast. But, as you can tell from the images below, the results can be quite striking.

Bamboo Scar

Flower

Scarification is either cutting repeatedly with a scalpel or by “strike branding,” which is much like cattle branding. Apparently, over the last ten years or so, scarification has become remarkably widespread in the U.S. and Australia and across Europe, from London to Prague (Pitts, Victoria. 2003. In the Flesh, The Cultural Politics of Body Modification).

The resulting scar heals slowly, and with more potential aftercare issues than with tattooing. With some of the detail being lost during healing, it can be a pain, pardon the pun, to look after it.

Tribal Scars

Torso Decoration

Elephant

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Our brains, it seems, are able to push us in certain directions. The brain used to be thought of as a passive switchboard, activated only when stimulated by our external senses. Now we know that each signal imposes on a background of ongoing activity, is modified by this activity, and in turn modifies it. Studies have shown that there are critical periods of development during which an injection of certain hormones in minute amounts can have permanent effects upon development. One such study has indicated that piercing the lips or ears, or cutting or burning the skin, can increase median height or other physical factors and effect behavioral development.

The development of the human body is a unique process that each of us understand in our own way. Undoubtedly, there are factors that we have not taken notice of or have not received instruction on – certain stimuli that we are not given a full understanding of.

Do you think that your genetic makeup is determined solely by genetic recombination? I.e. do your parents provide you with all the genetic code that will indicate you future height, build, and other capacities? Has Darwin’s natural selection predetermined our state of being? Launder and Whiting¹ think not. It seems that there are other factors, including our experiences, which shape us.

The data suggests that children within the first two or three years of life are in the critical period of development. The average superiority in height of children who have been stressed as a result of piercings, cuts, is more than two inches. The data is far from conclusive however, and additional study is underway, with the hope of pinpointing how our brains can influence our physical and behavioral development.

So bear in mind what the effect will be, if you are planning of having your child pierced at birth. Your piercing shop won’t be advertising the fact that getting a piercing may increase someone’s height, but you may want to do a little research anyway.

1. Reference: Landauer, T. K., and J. W. M. Whiting, “Some effects of infant stress upon    human stature,” Am. Anthrop., in press.

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