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Body Jewelry and Today's Stars
Hot celebrities have been at the forefront of making body & sex jewelry more mainstream & acceptable.
Whats a little pain if it will make me look hip seems to be the prevalent thought among both the young and the not so young who are turning out in increasing numbers to participate in the body and sex jewelry trend. A few years ago, it was only punk rockers and those with bad boy images, such as former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who were seen sporting body piercings in the media. Today, body and sex jewelry is endorsed by pop celebrities with mass followings, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple and Lenny Kravitz. Britney Spears has an extensive collection of navel rings, and Christina Aguilera is said to wear the most interesting body and/or sex jewelry in areas that are covered by her clothing.
Even celebrities with a more serious image are becoming fans of body art. Actress Camryn Manheim of the television drama "The Firm" sports multiple earrings on the cartilage of one ear. Gillian Anderson, who played the cynical and skeptical FBI agent Dana Scully in the television series "The X Files", has a pierced belly button. Performers with tongue piercings include former Spice Girl Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) and dancer Jimmy Gulzar, while supermodels Christy Turlington and James King are proud of their piercings. Some sports celebrities also wear body jewelry, including WWE wrestlers A-Train and Billy Gunn, as well as football player Ricky Williams.
Body jewelry has also been used throughout the ages to enhance sensation, and by extension, sexuality and sexual performance. Genital and nipple piercing in both men and women, while not as widespread as nose, ear, tongue, navel and eyebrow piercing, still has its own following. Singer Janet Jackson has stated on the Oprah Winfrey talk show that she likes the sensation that her pierced nipples give her. Other celebrities with pierced nipples include rock musicians Axl Rose and Tommy Lee, Icelandic singer Bjork and rapper Lil Kim. Pop princess Britney Spears likewise has a pierced nipple.
Celebrities, whether they like it or not, are sometimes looked to as role models and the influence they wield over their fans is considerable. Fans emulate their idols preferences: from clothing, mannerism, even to the wearing of body and sex jewelry. More often these days, they are playing a leading role in the direction of todays fashion trends and also in the shaping of modern pop culture.
Britney's Belly Ring: Sexy is as Sexy Does
Body piercings and adornments are the object of much controversy. Some view it as artistic expression and a celebration of one's physical endowments, while others might view it as a violation of the body and an overly zealous act of salacious sexuality. Mostly today, it is just another expression of youthful rebellion, but body adornment of all types does have historical roots.
In other times and cultures, body piercings mostly had ritual or ceremonial value. The warriors of ancient Central and South American civilizations sported body piercings, specifically in the nose area, in order to appear more intimidating to their enemies. But lip piercings and decorations were meant to enhance attractiveness, especially among women of the day and age. Other cultures strictly prohibited body piercings or they were limited to certain classes of peole within a culture as a designation of status. While various body piercings were fairly common in ancient Egypt, the ancient Egyptian pharaohs actually appropriated specific types of piercings. Only members of the royal family should wear a belly ring, on pain of death!
Nowadays there is still some stigma associated with body piercings, especially among young women. It may be true that piercing is not always a safe practice, but more and more tattoo parlors are adopting measures that will ensure that infection is at least avoided. The increasing popularity of body jewelry cannot be ignored, especially since things like the belly ring and lip ring are making their way to MTV and into the celebrity arena.
Almost everyone is aware of Britney Spears and her belly rings and the now famous "stars and moon" dangling belly ring she wore to the MTV music awards last year. In addition, Christina Aguilera and her "Nirvana nipple ring," among lots of other unconventional accessories have been made slightly less unconventional by their appearance on international TV.
Belly rings are probably the most popular piece of sex jewelry among young people. Dancers on TV are popularizing it as a sexy accessory. There are no pharaohs nowadays who would want to lop off Britney Spears' head for donning this spectacularly alluring piece of jewelry. From a status symbol to a sexy fashion accessory, the belly ring really has come a long way, baby!
10 Safety Tips When Getting Your Body Pierced
Body piercing is all the rage with individuals of all ages. Whether you are choosing to pierce ears, lips, noses, eyebrows, tongues, or something a bit more risqué, safety and hygiene should be at the top of the check list before you run out and grab a needle. These ten tips for body piercing safety will ensure your piercing does not result in a potentially dangerous infection.
1.) Only use a professional.
Piercing is something that should only be performed by a professional. It is a great deal more complicated than simply pushing a needle through a part of your body. Choose a reliable professional and seek a consultation before you make the decision to pierce. Home piercing jobs are most likely to lead to complications or infections.
2.) Ask questions.
Think of a interviewing a potential piercer the same as you would a doctor. Ask about their cleanliness and disease prevention policies. A great many diseases, including AIDS and Hepatitis can be spread through using dirty needles, so you should ensure your quality of health is not compromised. Do not feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask the necessary questions, and beware of any so-called professional who seems unwilling or unable to provide answers.
3.) Choose wisely.
Just as each body is different, everyone will not be able to successfully pierce their chosen spot. Once you seek a professional to pierce your body, ensure the piercing can be successful. For example, individuals with an out-ie belly button are unable to have a belly button piercing due to the orientation. Also, some individuals are unable to have their tongue correctly pierced due to the orientation of essential nerves and blood vessels.
4.) Think about the impact.
Its a necessary fact of the matter that most employers frown upon visible body piercings. Regardless of your personal feeling on body piercings, know that you may be discriminated against or viewed in an unfavorable light by some individuals only due to your body piercings. Before you decide on any piercing, consider the impact on your image and your life.
5.) Choose quality body jewelry.
When it comes to choosing body jewelry, ensure you choose quality metals or high carbonate plastics that will work well in your body and not have any complications. Most body piercing jewelry is either gold with a high karat count or surgical quality stainless steel. Avoid cheap or flimsy body jewelry and focus on the quality instead of the design.
6.) Keep it clean.
After the body part has been pierced, it is essential to keep the hole clean. Your body sees a piercing as a wound, so cleanliness is the key. Remember, infections also do not discriminate between piercing holes and puncture wounds.
7.) Keep it dry.
Most piercers agree that the hole should be kept dry until healing has commenced. Keep your piercing hole free of salvia, sweat, salt water, or chlorine water, since all of these liquids can case infection.
8.) Avoid makeup.
If you are choosing a facial piercing, avoid polluting the hole with makeup. Most cosmetic products are made with oils that can invade the piercing hole and cause infection.
9.) Identify infection.
Keep an eye out for infections that can quickly and easily cause pain and discomfort. Not all infections work in the same manner, but warning signs include any type of discharge from the wound, fever, pain, discomfort, swelling, and redness around the hole.
10.) Seek medical attention.
If your piercing is exhibiting signs of infection or complication, immediately seek medical attention. Also, if the piercing is routinely painful and does not seem to heal, you should seek treatment by your primary health care provider.
Other Body Piercings
Getting your nipples or genital pierced has become very popular among both men and women, while the other types of piercing like tongue, nose and eye brow or naval are still gender specific. Back thousands of years ago Body piercing jewelry was popular among tribes as a sign of wealth and prosperity; you can see a lot of references of body piercing in the bible. Although body piercing jewelry was not popular until about 20 years ago, it actually has a very long history. Look through the archives the first recorded body jewelry piercing comes from evidence in the middle east of a nose ring piercing recorded over 4,000 years ago.
The most popular piercing jewelry are earlets, labret rings, ear barbells, navel rings, and nipple rings. Today's generation, believe it or not, much like ancient society throughout history, have gone to the more extreme multiple piercing of various body parts. Body jewelry has come a very long way, look back in history many women only pierced their ears while men did not pierce anything on their bodies, today that has all changed.
Once body piercing was limited to those that were adventurous and, piercing was limited to a few parts of the body. Among the most popular body piercing jewelry, earrings once topped the list. The term body jewelry means that it is displayed on various parts of the body like, naval, ears, tongue, genital, nipples and eye brows, many young people are doing this and it becoming a part of the mainstream and defining certain styles and fashion trends. Be careful about the piercing process too and ensure its sterilization as well.
Jewelry has always spruced up the fashion sense of the young and the old, jewelry brings a certain flair to every special occasion. Everywhere you look body piercing jewelry is seen everywhere, the younger generation has brought the trend into mainstream fashion quite quickly and is now apart of todays fashion style in the United States. The new trend today is body jewelry and it has slowly influencing many fashion trends like the midriff shirts, the smaller shirts allow the belly button ring to be seen by everyone.
Fashion is about looking exotic, be it at the cost of comfort. Most people think that body jewelry is something new to the fashion world, in reality body piercing dates back to ancient times.
You can now shop online for your body and sex jewelry. Many people are finding that they are able to find the body jewelry much cheaper when shopping online. SexJewelryShop.com has a wide array of eBay auctions where you can find great deals on body jewelry. Belly button rings have become the largest body jewelry sale item on the internet. Many people are not just buying gold and silver belly button rings but are purchasing diamond belly button rings and showing them off with belly shirts that show their midriff.