Copyright 1992 Devon and Miller, all rights reserved.
First published in "Dressing For Pleasure Magazine", Philip Miller writing as Thomas En, Molly Devon writing as Molly.

Jan 27, 1992 10:50 pm

New Traditions
An Experience in Erotic Piercing

By Thomas En & Molly

At least five conversations I overheard at this year's "Dressing for Pleasure" (DFP) celebration took place with one conferee admiring the bared breasts of another:
"I've been wanting to put in a much heavier ring, but they told me to step-up one gauge at a time.
"I can't believe how much more sensitive they feel."
"Did you see the jewelry she has for sale? Gorgeous!"
"It hurt more than they told me it would, but not as much as I expected it to."
"You're so lucky to have found somebody that you care about enough to do that for.
The relaxed atmosphere at the DFP allows one to wander in and out of exchanges where people would ordinarily be more guarded about sharing. Piercing was described by various people as dramatic, scary, exciting, exotic, kinky, erotic, stimulating, and satisfying. Little did I suspect then that the feelings I heard expressed would become important to me.
Prominent piercer, Jim Ward, founder of The Gauntlet, showed us slides of people all over the world with body piercings both symbolic and purely ornamental. I was surprised by the number of people interested; the room was packed.
Certainly, piercing and adorning the body is nothing new. Soldiers in ancient Rome anchored their capes to nipple rings as a sign of courage and masculinity. Egyptian royalty pierced their navels, distinguishing them from lower classes. Passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy, dictate that if a master has a servant who wants to remain with him after six years of service, the master should, "...bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him forever" (Exodus 21:6). People throughout history have done traditional piercings to symbolize achievement and status, or as rites of passage. So, why is it garnering such fascination now?
I've read articles in magazines as disparate as Madamoiselle and Penthouse describing tattoos and piercings from a fashion point of view, though the pieces more frequently focus on tattoos. Maybe they think the public is still a bit squeamish about piercing. Are we?
Both sexes are getting involved, piercing their nipples, ears, lips, navels, noses, eyebrows, labia, penises, scrotums, even fingernails. The variety of reasons they give for doing so seem as widely diverse as the vast medley of jewelry they wear. Most people offer multiple reasons, but everyone I've spoken to loves the way they look.
For some, piercing is a fashion statement. Other people see piercing as a part of their identity; in addition to "punks" and "bikers," a multifarious culture of "body art" or "body manipulation" (as Californians seem to refer to piercing) devotees has grown enormously in the past few years. Some attach mystical significance to piercing. Still others are involved in relationships where the piercing becomes an act symbolic of unity and/or possession. Molly and I fall into this last category.
Molly and I met at the last DFP. Our particular kink is dominance and submission. As our relationship developed, we discovered her interest in being pierced. We talked about it through November and most of December before deciding to do it. She was to have her nipples and the hood of her clitoris pierced. I was to do the honors.
The idea of piercing wasn't a turn-off for me, but the thought of performing the operation myself was something else again. At the time, I knew nothing about the subject and didn't have the slightest idea as to how to become educated. A few inquiries led me to some people I could talk to and they directed me to publications such as "PFIQ" (Piercing Fans International Quarterly), published by The Gauntlet, "Body Art Magazine," distributed by Constance Enterprises, and "PEEP" (People Exploring Erotic Piercing), a monthly newsletter edited by Brad Fox of Lake Lucerne, N.Y.
Molly is usually a very analytical person, investigating everything to the Nth degree, yet piercing was a distinctly unique concept for her. Her preparation was internal, emotional. But I'll let her tell you about that.
I studied everything I could get my hands on and actively sought someone to help us. My choice had to be someone I would trust with my lady and whom I considered a safe and expert piercer. He or she had to be willing to teach me his/her technique and guide me through doing one the piercings. (By this time, I gathered that only an experienced piercer should attempt the nipple piercings as they could be easily botched. The vertical clit-hood piercing that I would undertake involved penetrating far less flesh than the nipples and healed much more easily.) I found a likely candidate on The English Palace, a computer BBS in central New Jersey. I had actually met him the summer before at a BBS picnic. He had done his own piercings and was insistent on "hospital style" sterile conditions. I liked the way he spoke of piercing, I liked him, and he met all my conditions. The three of us became friends over the next couple of weeks making preparations for the big day.
I thought that the piercing was something that would bring us closer. It would call on her ability to trust and my ability to perform professionally and guide her through the tangle of emotions that accompany such intimate acts. And it was an unusual act, one that would demand that I prepare myself diligently, sharpening my ability to focus, and indeed, when the time came, my mind was awash with dozens of factors and contingencies. The placement had to be exact, high enough that the ring wouldn't rub against her all the time, but low enough to be effective during sex. It was difficult to remember all the things that went into maintaining a sterile field. What if the forceps slipped? What if she bled profusely? What if I severed a nerve? What if she jerked and I accidentally tore the hood?
I was moved by the complete trust she was exhibiting. She was, after all, planning to let me poke a hole through her most intimate organ. As the possibility became a decision, our relationship seemed to alter, to become more profound. Yet, all my grave discussion of hygiene and technique made Molly laugh; I was just a boy with another new toy. She was right, though I'm thirty-nine, I do love my toys, and she has become one of my favorites.

Molly's story:
Just six weeks ago I was pierced. Surgical-steel rings were placed in my nipples and clit-hood. A close friend with extensive experience in body piercing did my nipples; and the vertical clit-hood ring was placed by my Master. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life, a rite of passage that affected me on multiple levels.
Since the piercing I have noticed several physical changes, most of them fairly common from what people tell me. For one, my nipples have actually grown larger and much more sensitive. I nursed my three children until they were two, which left my nipples harder and somewhat less sensitive. Now they get erect as easily as they did when I was a teenager.
The ring in my clit-hood touches part of my clitoris that was protected before. I've discovered new sensations there. Now it's like I'm being subtly stimulated all the time; it isn't strong enough to actually call a turn-on, but still, I'm constantly reminded that it's there.
During sex, I find that I need much less pressure on my clitoris to achieve orgasm. I am already partially aroused when we begin. I love it when Master touches his index finger and thumb together inside my lower ring and manipulates my clit.
Some individuals would find the other benefits of piercings enough of a reason to have it done. I find it aesthetically appealing; the invasive quality of stark metal embedded in a delicate nipple, a marriage of yin and yang, so sensual and sexual. Some say it's hot. I think it is beautiful!
Internally, changes I've experienced seem to go on and on, transcending level after level. The piercing was, for one thing, a reaffirmation of my submission, a tangible manifestation for expressing emotions and concepts. I was publicly declaring of a facet of my personal identity that I had kept hidden for years:
"Look world," I was saying, "here is the steel of the collar, here are the steel rings of the cuffs, here is the steel of lock and chain. I have anchored them forever in the softness of my flesh."
My piercings forced an abstraction, a philosophical, psycho-sexual position, into the realm of the real and the concrete. Soft and fragile tissues of my body that I kept protected, hidden, and private for my whole life were exposed and invaded by the hardness of shining steel. I approached the event with both trepidation and eagerness, with angst about the impending pain, and the permanent quality of the act. Paradoxically, like so much in the arena of Domination and submission, it was a delightful anxiety; a reaching, a push, an intensity of feeling that launches one beyond words and intellect, into a place where feeling and experience are crystalline, pure, and new.
On the personal level, it symbolizes a bond; an emotional commitment to my Master. I wear his collar when we are together as a symbol of our bond and the exchange of power that is at the heart of D/s. It is always wrenching when he removes it, so that I can return to the mundane realities that constitute the rest of my life. Sometimes, during the pleasure we share, my body is marked by bruises that later I look upon and get a warm feeling…remembering, yet these fade quickly and are gone.
But the rings stay with me always. Sometimes in the tediousness of my daily routine, I brush my hand gently over my nipples, feel the rings…and I smile. These are his rings, he put in the last and most personal one with his own hands. This was a wonderful gift; to let me feel that I am his, to have the security of his caring, to feel a belonging.
So, for all these reasons and more, I am grateful to my Master for allowing me to do this; for giving me this gift and for the very special day when the piercing was done. When I was able to feel my submissiveness at a deeper level than I had ever felt before. To feel his caring, and the sharing, and the love.

"Thank you, Master".
"Thank you, Molly".