Manny Maltezakis shows four of his 14
body piercings.
By Lisa Klassen
Daily Bruin Contributor
Body piercing, once a misunderstood cultural ritual, is popular
once again with college students and youth culture.
For Connor Kamada, a first-year international business and
French student, having his eyebrow and ear cartilage pierced held a
special meaning, reminding him of a past vacation.
“I had my eyebrow pierced six months ago and my ear pieced
three years ago,” Kamada said. “When I got my ear
pierced it was special because no one else had had it pierced
there. It was really different. I got my eyebrow done in Boston,
which was important because it wasn’t here and it reminds me
of my trip.”
Some students and many adults find this trend perplexing and see
little incentive in acquiring a body piercing.
“I especially don’t like tongue rings,” said
Keldon Cox, a first-year engineering student. “I don’t
see the point of a tongue ring ““ you can’t even see it.
Besides, I’ve heard stories about people chipping their teeth
and swallowing the balls. It’s not very appealing to
me.”
In America, body piercing is part of a movement called the
“modern primitive,” a term first coined by Fakir
Musafar ““ a founder of the movement ““ according to
Daniel Wojcik’s book, “Punk and Neo-tribal Body
Art.” Musafar describes the movement’s followers as
“non-tribal people who respond to primal urges by altering
the body through ancient and usually non-Western
practices.”
In modern society, Musafar wrote, body piercings serve many of
the same functions as they do in tribal society, providing people
with a sense of identity and belonging.
The non-Western practices Musafar mentioned include everything
from stretching one’s ear lobes to acquiring a nose ring.
 Maltezakis also has his lip pierced,
decorated with an ornament called a labret. Recently, youth culture
expanded these perimeters to include navel rings and tongue
piercings.
Though body modifications can signify coming of age and social
status, they have also grown to signify other things such as
individuality and rebelliousness.
Often, students have very personal reasons for getting
pierced.
“I got pierced for the image,” said Iator Gaston, a
second-year graduate student studying animation, who wears a large
labret spike and aluminum plugs in both of his ears.
“For me it’s also a fashion statement. I wanted to
look different,” he continued. “I’m also from
Spain, so things like this are more common over there.”
Once the signature of the punk generation, piercing now has
broader meanings.
“People used to say that you were gay if you were a guy
with earrings or that you were a punk,” Kamada said.
“Now, piercings can mean anything you want them to
mean.”
Multiple piercings, especially facial piercings, don’t
always elicit a positive response from passersby.
“I get dirty looks all the time,” Gaston said.
“And people laugh at me all the time too, especially on the
bus.”
 Photos by KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Eyebrow
rings, such as the one sported by fourth-year student
Janeen Waller-Evelyn, have become very popular
recently.
But staring may just be a sign of curiosity, said Eric Colbert,
a fifth-year psychology student.
“When you get a piercing, you know people are going to
stare, but they’re just curious,” Colbert said.
“I know people pass some sort of judgment on me, but I also
know that people today are breaking out of old
stereotypes.”
Parents, however, are often shocked and angry when they discover
their college student’s newest additions ““ even if
their children are old enough to make the choice for
themselves.
According to Colbert, members of the older generation still view
piercing as taboo.
Getting her eyebrow pierced made Carolina Chavez, a first-year
undeclared student, aware of this social convention.
“I’d always wanted to get my eyebrow pierced,”
Chavez said. Knowing that she would not be able to have a pierced
eyebrow later in life, Chavez decided to have it pierced before
Christmas break.
“My dad was out of the country, so only my mom and my
brothers and sisters saw it,” Chavez said. “They were
pretty opinionated on the negative side and asked me a whole bunch
of questions ““ if I was gay, if I was trying to rebel, or if
I wanted to make my mom look bad.”
Worried that her conservative father would disapprove, she took
out her piercing.
Despite her parents’ protests, Chavez said she loved her
piercing and would do it again if she could.
“My parents hated it,” said Kamada. “They
didn’t think that it was very normal, but that’s the
whole appeal of it ““ to rebel.”
Today’s students may not always win adult approval for
body piercing, but there are several important steps they can take
to guarantee a safe and healthy piercing experience.
“The single most important thing to look for is
cleanliness,” said Rick Oehler, a professional piercer from
the Thirteen B.C. Body Piercing Studio. “Everything must be
clean ““ the implements, the facility, and the needles.
Everything.”
In addition to cleanliness, it is also important to be pierced
by a professionally trained piercer who can suggest appropriate
jewelry.
Oehler, along with the Association of Professional Piercers,
suggests using surgical implant-quality steel, titanium, niobium,
or 14- or 18-karat solid gold jewelry when getting pierced.
Oehler also advises future piercees to ask for an after-care
sheet before getting pierced.
“Prior to getting pierced, you should read through the
sheet to make sure you know and understand what you’ll need
to do after you get pierced,” Oehler said. “You should
also ask the piercer any questions that you have.”
The actual piercing is usually a quick, albeit rather painful
experience. The Association of Professional Piercers suggests
carefully cleaning new piercings to avoid potentially painful
infections and to ensure healthy healing.
Cleaning techniques will vary according to the location of the
piercing. A good piercer should be able to suggest an appropriate
solution from the variety available at piercing studios and drug
stores.
Oehler also recommended sea salt soaks, a solution of one cup of
water to one-fourth a teaspoon of non-iodized salt, to encourage
healing.
“With the appropriate care and cleaning, anyone can have a
beautiful piercing,” Oehler said.