metal, bikes and me :)

At A Glance Author darkgrrl Contact darkgrrl@iname.com Artist peter Studio piercing urge Location melbourne, australia

I had wanted a genital piercing for ages, but ride a motorbike and i'm a mad keen mountain biker, and i didn't think they were compatible. After doing a lot of reading and thinking (thanks to everyone else who's posted experiences here, and to the kind people of r.a.b!), i decided i should be ok with an inner labia piercing, given that it should tuck out of the way and not interfere with my bike seat. This turned out to be exactly the case...

Once i'd decided what i wanted it was just a matter of giving Piercing Urge a call and booking in. As it turned out, my friend paul decided it was time he got some holes too, so we went together. It was the first time i'd taken anyone along to a piercing since i got my eyebrow done in '94, and i actually think i was more nervous for it.

i really like to go alone, accentuates the feeling that this is my body, these are my decisions......also i suppose that subconsciously i don't want to associate other people with changes to my body, like a friend of mine who has an evil ex's name tattooed on her back...

I went first, since paul hadn't been pierced before, and wanted to take pictures during mine for his bodymod folio. Pants down and got up on the table. Peter cleaned me up and did the placement, and on went the clamp. I concentrated really hard on relaxing and breathing deeply at this point, trying to go with the flow of the experience, and through went the needle. I was amazed at how little pain there was, possibly the least of any pain i'd ever had during a piercing (not that that is necessarily a good thing - i was *flying* on endorphins for about 8 hours after i got my nipple done!). Peter held up a mirror so i could see my new 12G steel CBR with haematite ball - i loved it! And, never having been one for appreciating the aesthetics of genitals, that was a pretty cool feeling.

Tentatively put my pants back on and sat up for my second piercing of the day, my nose. At this stage i got really really nervous, possibly because i wasn't 100% sure i wanted it. In a way, it was a replacement for the labret spike i had to remove because of gum damage, in a way i'd always like the way they looked and really wanted one. Most likely as a result of my unpreparedness, it really hurt, and took a few days before i really liked it. Interesting how the body does that, reacts badly to things you're not completely sure about.

Paul was up next, for an eyebrow and a tongue piercing, both of which went really well, and which we got great procedural photos of (unfortunately not online at this stage).

We were quite an amusing pair later that night, with him sucking on ice and lisping, and me sitting halfway off the couch!!

The healing process for my labia was entirely uneventful, which was great. i've never had a piercing heal so quickly and without getting at least a bit crusty or pustulent. I guess that's the advantage of self-cleaning tissue :)

I was back on the motorbike the next day, which was a good thing, being my main form of transport!

Contrary to all the instructions, i also ended up playing with my piercing the day after i had it done, but i always subscribe to "if it feels good and it isn't hurting anyone, do it!" and it was certainly fun....

Two weeks later i had the real test - a full day of mountain biking. I had been on a few quick spins prior to this, to check it out and all went well. When the day came, i initially had no problems at all, but then i noticed that when i got off the seat, the ring was dangling (it's about 14mm diameter) and then getting squashed on funny angles when i sat down again. to solve this, i tucked it out of the way and used a trusty bandaid across the outer lips to hold it in. what the guys thought i was up to, i have no idea, but it worked, and i've not had any trouble with it since! (apart from the removal of the bandaid to go to the toilet, which was, shall i say, painful!!)

I highly recommend Piercing Urge in Melbourne (and i've heard great things about the Sydney studio too) for their ultra-clean and relaxed studio, beautiful jewellery and professional staff. And for any women out there who are a bit squicky about their genitals, it's helped me to be a lot more comfortable with myself, which is definitely a good thing :)

In the end i've been loving this piercing so much that i went back on the table 8 weeks later for a hood piercing, but that's another story!