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Teen body piercing: rite of passage
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 11/8/5 | C.W. Nevius

Posted on 11/08/2005 7:53:16 AM PST by SmithL

Just think of the special moments you and your daughter will share -- that first day of school, the first grown-up dress, and even a first date.

And then, of course, there is a trip to the tattoo parlor, where a guy with a lip stud and spiked hair will stick a needle in her belly button.

Haven't you had the talk yet? It is coming. Trust me. When a young lady reaches her teens, her thoughts used to turn to puppy love. Now she's thinking whether she'd rather have a piercing in her belly button or her nose.

Shocked? That's fine, but I have to warn you. You are only showing your age. Body piercings, especially for teenage girls, are the tie-dye shirts of this generation.

"There is a kind of cultural curve that has passed,'' says Walter Hewitt, who did a study on body art and piercings from his job at Rutgers University Health Center. "People who drive Volvos are now considering piercings. They are so mainstream now that no one even comments any more.''

In 1999, Hewitt and another registered nurse, Judith Greif, put together a survey of college students, published in the Nursing Research Journal, that included 17 universities across the United States and one in Australia. Of those who volunteered to participate, more than 50 percent had one or more piercings (not including ear lobes). Today, Hewitt says, the percentage is at least that high, but the piercings have become so commonplace that no one has bothered to do a follow-up survey.

"The reason we did the survey was that the literature was so biased in the '90s,'' he says. "I wasn't seeing down-and-out drug dealers and biker types. This is Rutgers. We are seeing kids from upper-middle-class households.''

And tattoo parlors are coming

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: piercing; tattoo; teenagers
I was in the Navy long enough to know that tattoos don't get better looking with age.
1 posted on 11/08/2005 7:53:17 AM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL
"People who drive Volvos are now considering piercings...."

Gee, whodathunk that Volvo-drivers would follow the herd?

2 posted on 11/08/2005 7:59:16 AM PST by randog (What the....?!)
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To: SmithL
"Our average here is 4,000 a month,'' he says. "I know that sounds like a lot, but Zebra is consistently grossing about $1.7 million a year, and 80 percent of this gross is piercings.'' He estimates that girls make up 85 percent of his clients, plopping down about $65 apiece for piercing and jewelry.

You'll never lose money overestimating the stupidity ...

3 posted on 11/08/2005 8:02:19 AM PST by Tax-chick (I'm not being paid enough to worry about all this stuff ... so I don't.)
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To: SmithL

I don't understand why a pretty girl gets her body mutilated.
Next will be lip disks.


4 posted on 11/08/2005 8:02:25 AM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (I shot an error into the air. It's still going everywhere. R. A. HEINLEIN)
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To: SmithL

It doesn't seem as bad now, but when I first started college it seemed like every other girl had a nose stud. And a pierced belly button might as well be assumed. And I would say a tattoo on the lower back is a pretty safe bet also.


5 posted on 11/08/2005 8:02:42 AM PST by Mr. Blonde (You know, Happy Time Harry, just being around you kinda makes me want to die.)
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To: SmithL
"I was in the Navy long enough to know that tattoos don't get better looking with age."

You got that right!
There's nothing more silly looking than an elderly lady with a tattoo.

6 posted on 11/08/2005 8:02:57 AM PST by blues_guitarist (http://mundane-noodle.blogspot.com)
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To: blues_guitarist
There's nothing more silly looking than an elderly lady with a tattoo.

Unless it's German.

7 posted on 11/08/2005 8:17:49 AM PST by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
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To: SmithL

What's funny is these kid's are trying to look different but end up looking like everyone else.....


8 posted on 11/08/2005 8:19:19 AM PST by nevergore (“It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.”)
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To: nevergore

Got to love those "tribal armband" tattoos....


9 posted on 11/08/2005 8:23:46 AM PST by A Balrog of Morgoth (With fire, sword, and stinging whip I drive the RINOs in terror before me.)
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To: Mr. Blonde
It doesn't seem as bad now

Yeah, I think it's getting to be sooo yesterday. So far, ours think body piercing and tatoos are disgusting... knock wood. What gets me is teens can't wear the same thing more than once before it's out of style, but they believe they won't grow tired of that kewl tatoo they got last week.

10 posted on 11/08/2005 8:27:52 AM PST by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)
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To: SmithL

I got my tongue pierced a couple of years ago...But the day after, my Mom came to visit. I took it out so I could talk, and the hole closed up. Fifty bucks, down the drain...


11 posted on 11/08/2005 8:32:43 AM PST by LongElegantLegs (Yarn-ho.)
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To: SmithL

Ooooh, that's gonna leave a mark.

12 posted on 11/08/2005 9:16:04 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: SmithL
This is Rutgers. We are seeing kids from upper-middle-class households.

I'm a grad student at Rutgers and this trend is sadly very popular among the undergrads here. I say "sadly" because these kids are mutilating themselves and end up so looking ugly. Such a waste really. The girls are the worst. Facial piercings are very popular and regular nose rings would be an improvement over what is usually seen here. It's become very popular for girls to have studs put in just below their lower lips. It looks just hideous. Even worse are the cheek piercings - who the heck thinks this looks attractive? If most of these girls were the goth/punk type they actually might make the whole look work. But the facial piercings seem to be most popular with the sorority types who end up looking even more ridiculous.

Belly button piercings are a little better in that normally they are not seen. Unfortunately many co-eds think that because they have a pierced navel and a tailbone tat, that they should wear low-rise jeans and tight halter shirts. A lot of these girls are out of shape, often quite fat. So you end up seeing a lot of that exploding biscuit can look around campus. Do men really find this attractive? I guess enough do since this look remains so popular. I'm really glad it's starting to get cold again in New Jersey and girls are starting to cover up more.

13 posted on 11/08/2005 10:13:20 AM PST by sassbox (GO IRISH!!!)
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To: SmithL

I'm glad they are doing this. How else would we identify the stupid ones?


14 posted on 11/08/2005 10:23:12 AM PST by Niteranger68 ("Spare the rod, spoil the liberal.")
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To: martin_fierro

People like that used to be in nut houses.


15 posted on 11/08/2005 10:43:50 AM PST by hattend (In France, it's not just the cheese that's soft and runny.)
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To: Mr. Blonde
And I would say a tattoo on the lower back is a pretty safe bet also.

Nothing quite says "I'm easy" than a lower back tattoo. Except if the lower back tattoo says "I'm easy".

16 posted on 11/08/2005 10:46:08 AM PST by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: LongElegantLegs
Tongue piercings heal very quickly. You are not supposed to leave the barbell out.
17 posted on 11/08/2005 10:50:18 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours.)
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To: KC_Conspirator
"Tattoo on the lower back, might as well be a bulls-eye."

Wedding Crashers is a great movie. The lower back tattoo is the equivalent of the tribal tattoo guys get or a barbwire tattoo. They are so common I don't know that they say anything except "I'm one of the pack."
18 posted on 11/08/2005 11:24:32 AM PST by Mr. Blonde (You know, Happy Time Harry, just being around you kinda makes me want to die.)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick
Sure, now you tell me! I wasn't too disapointed, to tell you the truth; My tongue had been so swollen I might have taken it out anyway.
My tattoo, on the other hand, I'm still enormously proud of. I'm glad I didn't get it on a trendy area..
19 posted on 11/08/2005 11:37:49 AM PST by LongElegantLegs (Yarn-ho.)
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