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IBR Plasma Center
(Formerly Aventis)
. _2 Locations:_.
I Block east of 8th and Garfield 225 B Main St.
1901 West 8th Ave., Eugene in Springfield
683-9430 747-4390
Fashion replaces rebellion
as motive for body piercing
More and more students
are adopting the practice
which originally came
from ancient spiritual beliefs
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
After Dahvi Fischer got her labret
pierced in her new college town, she
decided to get creative in hiding the
new piece of jewelry for her first visit
home. She snapped on a "plug" — a
flesh-colored plastic cover-up —
over the stud emerging from the skin
just below her lower lip. Unfortu
nately, the plug failed to convince
her parents.
"When I stepped off the plane and
my dad asked what it was, 1 said,
'Oh, it's just a zit,"' she said. "I ended
up taking the jewelry out because I
knew 1 couldn't pull it off."
At the time, Fischer — who is now
a junior at the University — was one
of many 18-year-olds who experi
mented with their skin while out of
their parents' sight. Some profes
sional piercers in Eugene say that
every fall they get a new batch of stu
dents asking to get pierced.
"We definitely get new freshmen
coming in every year," said piercer
Dale McDonald, who works at Pri
mal Body Piercing at 509 E. 13th
Ave.. "It's part of being 18."
Piercing remains a popular form
of rebellion for more traditional
folks, but other piercing trends are
transforming. The difference is that
now people are doing it to please
themselves, not just to follow the
latest fad. A more conservative
crowd is turning once-obscure pierc
ings mainstream. Now, piercings are
simply casual ornaments worn by
people from all walks of life.
Body piercing traces back thou
sands of years to tribal times, when
it was practiced for spiritual rea
sons. Some ancient tribes believed
that demons could enter the body
through the ear, so the metal was at
tached in order to repel them.
Tribes located in the Americas —
such as the Aztecs and Mayans from
Central America, for example —
would pierce their tongues in order
to altar consciousness and thus
communicate with gods. Today,
motives behind piercings often lack
a deeper meaning.
"(Piercings) beautify the body,
and they increase sexuality and
physical sensation," High Priestess
Piercing employee Joshua Bryant
said. "People get pierced nowadays
mostly for the look. It isn't as shock
ing as it was seven or eight years ago.
When someone sticks out their
pierced tongue, nobody cares. They
just think it's cool."
Since Britney Spears first pranced
around onstage baring her belly
ring, the navel has become the hot
spot for women to get pierced.
However, it's not anymore. Now, a
piercing style on the nostril — once
Lauren Wimer Photographer
Jodie White, 19, is an art student who joined the throngs by getting her right nostril pierced.
considered "punk-rock" — has
been popping up on clean-cut
women everywhere.
"The nostril is the piercing that
has changed the most over time,"
Fischer said. "It used to be grunge
"I've had the mom, the
dad, the kids and the
grandma all come in to
get pierced. Then I have
to pierce these 97-year
old earlobes. I've pierced
one of Oregon's state
legislators, people from
the Eugene Police De
partment, and Oregon's
sheriff office, doctors,
nurses and lawyers."
Joshua Bryant
High Priestess Piercing employee
during the Nirvana phase, but now
it's classy and cute."
The nostril piercing originated in
India during the 16th century, when
women pierced their left nostrils be
cause they believed it would lead to
an easier childbirth and diminished
menstrual pain. In the 1960s, hip
pies who traveled to India brought
the piercing back to the United
States. Later, it became a symbol of
rebellion during the punk move
ment of the 1970s. Both McDonald
and Bryant agreed that nostril pierc
ings on non-punk girls are the latest
piercing trend.
Now, with a greater number of
clean-cut individuals getting
pierced, the line between "punk"
and "cute" styles has blurred. Fischer
said the presentation of the jewelry
is what draws the line today.
"When I'm wearing sweats and a
bandanna, my piercings look really
punk," she said. "It depends on
what you're wearing. I think almost
any piercing can be made to look
cute. Except maybe the lip — that al
ways looks punk."
Bryant said he has experienced
more than his share of customers
from different genres, including con
servative ones.
"I've had the mom, the dad, the
kids and the grandma all come in to
get pierced," he said. "Then 1 have to
pierce these 97-year-old earlobes. I've
pierced one of Oregon's state legisla
tors, people from the Eugene Police
Department, and Oregon's sheriff of
fice, doctors, nurses and lawyers. I've
pierced everyone from crusty punks to
the people who work at Taco Bell to
the porn store people."
Body piercing has made its mark
on contemporary lifestyles, but the
more daring body modification tech
niques are still left to the die-hard
fans. For example, McDonald has ex
perimented with driving metal hooks
into his back and hanging from ropes
attached to a ceiling. He said it hurts
less than one might think.
"Getting the hooks in hurts, but
once you're hanging from the rope, it
feels like someone is just pulling the
skin on your back," he said. "It's not a
sharp pain that makes you cringe."
Extreme body modification goes
beyond hanging from the ceiling.
On the wall inside Primal Body
Piercing's studio is a photo of staff
members, each with a knitting-nee
dle size bar pierced through their
cheeks — in through the cheek and
into the mouth, and out through
the other cheek. Other practices of
body modification come close to
self-mutilation, including tongue
splitting, branding (burning away
the skin to result in a permanent
scar) and even amputation.
People may have nothing left to
experiment with on their bodies, but
that doesn't mean body piercing will
fade away. Although Bryant said the
height of body piercing popularity
has passed, he expects the trend to
continue for years to come.
"I think it will stick around and re
main at a level popularity," he said.
"People do it because it has that cut
ting edge, but it's still beautiful."
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
IRFfiflN Hail Y FMFRAI n your in^e?en^-en<: student newspaper
Oregon Daily Emerald
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