48 articles
Navel piercing
Navel (belly button) piercing: jewelry worn through the rim above the navel. One of the most common non-earlobe piercings, slow to heal (about 9-12 months) due to waistband friction, prone to infection, migration, and rejection.
Nipple piercing
Nipple piercing: a body piercing through the nipple, known since at least the 14th century, revived in the 1970s Euro-American movement. Heals in 6-12 months; risks include infection, breast abscess, and breastfeeding impairment.
Non-Therapeutic Body Modification
Non-therapeutic body modification: deliberate lasting body alteration (piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting, circumcision) for cultural, aesthetic, or identity reasons, defined by MeSH in 2005 and distinguished from medical or cosmetic surgery.
Nose piercing
Nose piercing: needle piercing of the nostril, septum, or nasal bridge for jewelry; ancient practice from the Middle East and South Asia, now global fashion; types include nostril and septum, with infection and septal hematoma as key risks.
Oliver Peck
Oliver Peck (born 1971) is an American Traditional tattoo artist, co-owner of Dallas's Elm Street Tattoo, Guinness record holder (415 number-13 tattoos in 24 hours), and Ink Master judge seasons 1-13 until his 2020 blackface controversy exit.
Pearling (body modification)
Pearling, or genital beading, is a body modification inserting small beads of metal, plastic, or silicone beneath penile skin, also called artificial penile nodules or bolitas; practiced for partner pleasure and prisoner status, with infection and extrusion as main complications.
Religious perspectives on tattooing
Religious perspectives on tattooing: Judaism and Islam prohibit it (Leviticus 19:28), Christianity suppressed yet practices Coptic and pilgrimage tattoos, while Buddhism, Hinduism, and Indigenous traditions use sacred tattoos like Sak Yant and tā moko.
Rope bondage
Rope bondage, also called shibari (縛り) or kinbaku (緊縛), is the consensual practice of tying people with rope, associated with BDSM but also with performance art; its claimed hojōjutsu origin is contested, and safety centers on nerve and circulation risks.
Sailor Jerry
Sailor Jerry, born Norman Keith Collins (1911–1973), was a Honolulu tattoo artist who defined American traditional tattooing and whose name now fronts a William Grant & Sons spiced rum.
Samoan tatau
Samoan tatau (tātatau) is the indigenous tattooing tradition of the Sāmoan Islands, applied by master tattooists called tufuga tā tatau using hand-tapped tools; the English word tattoo derives from tatau.
Stalking Cat
Stalking Cat, born Dennis Avner (1958–2012), was a US Navy veteran and programmer known as Catman, who underwent extensive body modification by Steve Haworth to resemble a tigress, claiming Huron spiritual motivation, and died in Tonopah, Nevada.
Tā moko
Tā moko (tāmoko) is the customary Māori tattooing tradition of Aotearoa New Zealand, carved with uhi chisels to encode whakapapa, iwi and status; distinct from Samoan tatau, revived from the 1970s, with kirituhi for non-Māori.
Teeth blackening
Teeth blackening, Japanese ohaguro (お歯黒) or kanetsuke, is the dyeing of teeth black with iron solution and tannin-rich gallnut powder; a Japanese married-women's custom until the 1870 Meiji ban, it also prevented caries and parallels practices across Southeast Asia.
Thanaka (သနပ်ခါး)
Thanaka (သနပ်ခါး) is a yellowish-white cosmetic paste ground from thanaka tree bark, worn on the face in Myanmar for over a millennium as skincare and sun protection.
Thumb signal
Thumb signal, chiefly the thumbs-up (thumbs down) gesture: raised thumb meaning approval in the West, with Roman pollice verso origins disputed, insult and hitchhiking readings in Britain and Australia, and the Hawaiian shaka as a related gesture.
Tongue piercing
Tongue piercing, an intraoral body piercing usually placed midline with a barbell, is the most common oral piercing site. Key facts: 44% gingival recession and 26% tooth damage in wearers, seven-fold gum-recession risk, no measurable long-term speech effect, and ADA opposition since 1998.
Tongue splitting
Tongue splitting, also called tongue bifurcation or forking, is an extreme body modification that divides the anterior tongue into two forked tips. First documented in 1994, it carries risks of hemorrhage, infection, nerve damage, and speech changes, and is illegal for cosmetic practitioners in England and Wales and restricted in some US states.
Yubitsume (指詰め)
Yubitsume (指詰め), also enkozume, is the yakuza ritual of amputating one's own little finger as apology or atonement; historically widespread, now legally prohibited when coerced and declining among younger members.