Navel piercing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Navel piercing aka belly button piercing is a type of body piercing, far more common among women than men, of skin available for piercing, it may heal quickly and with few problems, like an ear piercing, or it may heal more like a surface piercing, with the associated rejection risks and extended healing time. Healing of this piercing can also be complicated by irritation and damage caused by clothing, especially waistlines or tight clothing, or the position of the navel relative to the bend of the waist.
The actual navel is not pierced when a navel piercing is performed. The most common form of navel piercing is through the upper rim of the navel. A true navel piercing requires the person being pierced to have an "outie" navel to some degree, and is extremely rare. Although there is an urban legend that an infection in a true navel piercing can travel inward to the liver or peritoneum, there are no known cases of this occurring.
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[edit] History and culture
A contemporary piercing, there is no direct evidence of historical navel piercing, although there is a great deal of historical evidence regarding the decoration of the navel, both for ritual and aesthetic purposes.
Despite the possible long healing time and rejection, this piercing is one of the most common and popular body piercings today. Popular culture has played a large role in the promotion of this piercing, the 1993 Aerosmith music video for their song "Cryin'", wherein Alicia Silverstone has her navel pierced (by San Francisco, California piercer Paul King), is often credited with introducing body piercing to mainstream society. The easy hiding of a navel piercing with clothing, even during the healing process, has contributed to the widespread adoption of this piercing, especially by young people.
Other notable celebrities with navel piercings are Beyoncé Knowles, Paris Hilton, Linsday Lohan, Janet Jackson, Hilary Duff and Jessica Alba.
Far more women than men have navel piercings, and it is sometimes seen as a "wild woman" symbol, bearing little to no social stigma, as other common body piercings do. Wearing midriff revealing clothing to show off one's navel piercing is a common practice. It is believed that navel piercing creates a sexy satisfaction to a person especially the dangling long jewelery piercings.
Due to the popularity of this often difficult to heal piercing amongst young people, especially young girls, this piercing is often done with improper, unsanitary jewelry or piercing tools, including ear piercing guns. Because many navel piercings are performed and healed semi-clandestinely, piercing studios, doctors and emergency rooms often have to deal with the results of improperly performed, poorly healed navel piercings.
[edit] Jewelry
Most kinds of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing, although they are most often pierced with a barbell, which is worn until the piercing has fully healed. A wide variety of decorative jewelry is available for navel piercings, often featuring precious metals or stones.
[edit] Procedure
Navel piercing does not require full undressing - only the navel is uncovered. It is cleaned with an antiseptic solution and the location of the piercing is marked. The piercing itself is performed with a clamp and a special needle, which installs the initial piece of jewelry as part of the piercing.
First, a sterilized clamp is clamped on the skin above or below the belly button. Then the sterilized needle is pushed through followed by the sterilized jewelry that was chosen. New methods and advances in equipment often eliminate the need for clamping the skin prior to piercing.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Body Modification E-Zine Encyclopedia article on the Aerosmith video Cryin'.
- The Association of Professional Piercers aftercare instructions.
| Types of body piercing | |
|---|---|
| Ear piercings | |
| Earlobes and helix | Stretching (body piercing) | Tragus | Antitragus | Daith | Conch | Rook | Industrial | |
| Facial and oral piercings | |
| Bridge | Cheek | Eyebrow | Anti-eyebrow | Lip | Labret | Vertical labret | Lip frenulum | Nose | Tongue | Tongue frenulum | Uvula | Monroe | Medusa | |
| Body piercings | |
| Corset | Hand web | Madison | Navel | Nipple | Nape | Surface | |
| Male genital piercings | |
| Ampallang | Apadravya | Hafada | Foreskin | Deep shaft | Dolphin | Dydoe | Frenum | Frenum ladder | Guiche | Lorum | Prince Albert | Reverse Prince Albert | Pubic | Transscrotal | |
| Female genital piercings | |
| Christina | Clitoris | Clitoral hood | Triangle | Fourchette | Isabella | Labia | Nefertiti | Princess Albertina | |
