I'm running out of things to pierce. That's just what it comes down to. Being dependent upon conservative parents, trying to find and hold a minimum wage job, and practicing Taekwondo do not allow for many options with regard to body modification. Not only do I have to consider whether or not something is visible, I have to weigh the likelihood of things being ripped out or irritated during intense, high contact, physical activity. I have to ask myself: How much would it hurt to be kicked there?
At A Glance Author Thorn Contact Thorn@bme.anon IAM Thorn When Three months ago Artist Charles Berger Studio Enigma Studios Location Richmond, VA I'm constantly researching different piercings and fantasizing about mods that I will probably never be able to have. I'd thought about genital piercings before, but only casually, as I've never been particularly drawn to any and I'm anatomically unsuited to most. I also didn't want anything that would make sex too traumatic, so whatever I picked would need to be purely aesthetic. Enter inner labia. Fast healing, invisible when clothed, with less nervous tissue than the clitoris, and an unlikely sparring target. Perfect.
One of course is never enough. When it comes to piercing I'm somewhat of an over-achiever and, admittedly, cocky. Why get one when you can get four? One is awkward and asymmetrical. Four is a powerful number associated with stability and balance. So one Saturday morning I called Charles at Enigma Studios and, friends in tow, took a piercing field trip to Richmond. The first couple of times I got pierced I spent those drives half crazed with fearful anticipation. Over time, that nervousness turned to a heightened sort of calm – an altered state in which I felt confident that I would once again be able to master my own body. I rarely read experiences before I get a piercing because I don't like reading about how much it did or didn't hurt. Pain is relative. The pain is never what I take away from being pierced, and so it's just not something that needs to be considered. It's another part of the experience and not one that can be fairly described.
My piercer warned me that four would be intense, but he was excited to finally be able to do "a complete set," as he called it, and asked to be allowed to take portfolio pictures afterwards. Four inner labia piercings performed one after the other was humbling. Whenever people point to the ring in my septum, my suspension scars, or the barbells in my daiths and ask, "Did that hurt?" I can truthfully answer no. That's not to say that I didn't feel them, but it wasn't painful. Four inner labia rings was painful. At first, it was bearable. The first one made me gasp and clench my teeth, but it was manageable. Each piercing was successively more difficult, until finally I wasn't even trying to stifle my yells anymore. The entire process took almost forty minutes to complete, simply because I "needed a minute" after each needle went through. Charles was patient and supportive, and showed more empathy than one might expect from a man. Not only was the piercing itself painful, the healing process, while short, was equally difficult. I came up with some new and really creative ways to pee in order to avoid contact with my fresh wounds. Loose pants were a must and sometimes it was necessary to go without underwear. As for Taekwondo? I took a day off, but was in the process of training for a tournament and so had to get back to practice as soon as possible. I was able to train without too many problems, but I've experienced few things more awkward than trying to explain to your instructor why you're unable to stop fidgeting with your pants ("I just pulled a groin muscle, sir."). Once my labia healed, there were no more problems. I've even been kicked in the crotch a few times without too much pain. Every now and then a ring will get twisted, but it's just a minor annoyance. They're easy to keep clean and keep out of the way during sex (if that's what you want). They even stretch all on their own, so I could slip in larger jewelry if I wanted without any effort on my part.
Almost all of my piercings were obsessed over long before they were obtained and hold some sort of spiritual or emotional significance. My genital piercings would be the first that bordered on compulsive. I'd recently realized something that won't come as a shock to many of you, but at the time was significant to me: I like the piercing process more than the piercing itself. My piercings became less about spirituality and self-expression and more about marking the piercing experience, which is in and of itself a spiritual act. It's during the piercing that you truly connect with your body and push its limits. It's while you're being pierced that you embrace your spirituality and express yourself freely. You momentarily disconnect from everything outside of your body while you focus on your breathing and what you are feeling. The jewelry and the scars are just souvenirs.