tongues, navels and, yes , even genitals pierced! Piercing all parts of your body By Kim Dismont Robinson Two decades ago, you would never ask anyone to be `location-specific' if they told you they were getting a piercing done over the weekend.

But nowadays, piercing's not just for earlobes anymore.

As more and more pierced celebrities surface -- including supermodel Naomi Campbell, performer Scary Spice and Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips -- the trend is becoming increasingly visible. And Bermudians are slowly beginning to sport body piercings -- more and more punctured tongues and navels are being spotted everywhere from the beaches to the courts. The local demand for body piercing has surfaced to the extent that Government guidelines are currently being developed to ensure complete safety -- a Government representative from the Health Department confirmed that local guidelines governing body piercing were expected to be finalised today.

Many have stories of a particularly "disgusting'' piercing they've seen -- one friend told me about a man who had pierced a ring of studs around the entire outside of his face, as well as a ring of studs around his mouth.

But many find the trend pleasing to the eye and senses, for both aesthetic and sexual reasons. Body-piercings are not just a recent trendy fad, however. Many different cultures world-wide have been piercing for centuries.

Piercing has been historically quite common in many African and European ethnic groups; the Romans pierced their nipples and 18th century French aristocrats saw it as a high-class trend, according to UK-based Manchester and Leeds Piercing Company.

Legend has it that even Prince Albert had his penis punctured -- there's a particular style of genital piercing that now bears his name (that's some legacy, huh?).

However, despite the stigma attached to body-piercing, it's a trend growing in popularity among young professionals.

LuVince Cann, a 28-year-old Chamber junior for Scott and Associates law firm, got his tongue and navel pierced about nine months ago.

He got the piercings done in Toronto for about $85 Canadian, and noted: "Toronto is a very good place to get it done, because they're very clinical.

"I used to have a barbell (in his pierced navel) but all you had to do was lift up your shirt and it gets caught on it -- so I got a ring instead.

"When I talk, people can definitely see my tongue ring, and I always used to wonder what I'd do if a judge told me to take it out.

"But nothing's ever been said to me within the court system, although some friends of mine tell me (I shouldn't have done it).

"Within the court system I don't want them to think I'm not going to be a good lawyer just because I've got a tongue ring.

"This tongue ring doesn't make me any less of a person... people should be taken for who they are, not what they look like.'' Mr. Cann said this particular fashion statement usually evokes extreme reactions -- he noted that women either hate his tongue ring or find it "very sexy''.

And despite the fact that piercing a tongue or navel looks like it must be a very painful procedure, Mr. Cann claims it hurts less than a standard ear piercing.

"The navel piercing doesn't really hurt much, it feels like a stitch,'' he noted.

"And the needle (for piercing tongues) is about four inches long, and it's hollow... you hold your tongue out, they clamp it, and push the needle through.

"Because the needle is hollow, they drop the barbell inside and then slide the needle out.

"It's totally painless -- they don't numb it, there was only a little bit of blood, and it's still less painful than ear piercing.'' Ouch! Piercing all parts of your body "But the after-effects feel like when you get a dentist's needle -- you can't talk.

"My tongue swelled up really bad -- it swelled to like four times its original size.

"And I couldn't eat solid food for about six weeks -- I think I lost about seven pounds -- but it really depends on the person.'' Mr. Cann said both the tongue and navel piercing take a long time to heal -- and even now if he takes the barbell out of his tongue overnight, nine months after the piercing, it will begin to heal shut.

But he is generally quite pleased with the statement he's making, and said he considers it a mark of his individuality.

"Why did I do it? I dared to be different -- I didn't know any guys here with a pierced tongue or belly button, although now I see it everywhere I go,'' he said.

"If you look at it through history, it was a show of beauty. But then it became sort of a punk rock thing -- it's the same thing when tattoos came out and it became a biker thing.

"People associate it with a bad element even though they've been doing it for thousands of years,'' he added.

Andre Simons, 28, has gotten a total of nine piercings since 1993 -- his ears, nipples, two nose piercings, scrotum, and penis twice.

He said he first got into piercing when a friend of his started working at a piercing salon in Toronto called "Passages'', formerly "Urban Primitives''.

Mr. Simons said he was impressed by the level of service at the salon, since they counselled people before doing the piercing.

"If a woman said she was getting her nipple done because her boyfriend wanted it, they would discourage her -- you're the one who has to deal with the healing process,'' he noted.

Mr. Simons said he first wanted to get his ears pierced because he wasn't allowed to do so when he was younger -- his parents made him wait until he was 21-years-old.

But he said piercing can have more meaning than a simple fashion statement -- many people connect it with deeper spiritual symbolism.

"My friend Tisha pierced her genitals because she was sexually abused, and it was a matter or reclaiming her body and reclaiming her sexuality,'' he said.

"For me, piercing my nipples was a matter of adorning my body (in places I didn't think were attractive), not as a fashion statement.

"For example, I don't flaunt my chest because it's not a chest to be flaunted. Most of my piercings were secret piercings -- they're not places that people would ordinarily see.

"But to me, there's no difference between piercing your ears and another part of your body -- it's my personal joy.'' Mr. Simons said it was important to get to know your piercer, and to have access to them in case anything goes wrong.

"It's important to build a relationship with your piercer, like someone would a hairdresser,'' he noted.

Currently, The London Beauty Clinic is the only place in Bermuda authorised to body pierce, although 2003 Tat 2 is seeking permission.

Mehryar (Ali) Sharifi, an English-trained piercer at the London Beauty Clinic, said he has been piercing for more than six years.

Mr. Sharifi said he does about two or three piercings per day, with business picking up even more during the summer months.

He said the beauty clinic pierces tongues, navels, eyebrows, nipples and genitals for about $65 and up, depending on the jewellery.

Although many piercings look quite painful, Mr. Sharifi insisted that the procedure is almost painless and usually only takes about ten seconds to complete.

"If you know what you're doing, it's quick and effortless -- it feels like a little pinch. Sometimes we use a freeze spray, but only if the customer wants it,'' he said.

"Navel piercings take the longest to heal -- generally about two or three months to heal completely, depending on the person.

"Genital piercing is one of the least painful and heals very quickly,'' he added.

Mr. Sharifi said body piercing, especially facial and navel piercing, was more of a fashion trend, whereas genital and tongue piercing is generally "for personal pleasure''.

He noted that a good tongue piercing should always be done from the bottom, underneath the tongue, to the top.

Mr. Sharifi said that gold or silver-plated jewellery should never be used for body piercing because they are porous metals that collect bacteria -- stainless steel should be used instead.

And he noted that the only piercings which should be done with a gun instead of a needle is lower ear and nose studs.