One of Tribalectic's community member-writers, Janid Ortiz, joins us again this issue to write about the larger scope and more overarching societal manifestations of body piercing. Janid offers artistic and anthropological insight into some piercing practices in ancient cultures, and also discuses how piercing in our mainstream, consumerist societies have changed, but stayed the same all at the same time.

Guest Column by Aaron Franko from Ink Factory

First of all, it's called a gun. This should be enough to scare most people away. For those who want more explanation, please read on.

So you want to get pierced and, for some unexplainable reason, you want to do it in the shadiest, least safe manner possible. Great! The experts who wrote Piercing for Dummies are glad you've decided to ignore the risks of infection, hepatitis, and HIV because now they can make enormous amounts of profit by selling you a dinky piercing kit. I'm all for independence and liberty, but the idea of three 14 year olds in a bacteria infested bathroom trying to pierce one another with shaky bare hands scares me - and I hope it scares you, too!

Guest Column by John Lopez

We've all been handed a business card that says, "Joe Schmoe, Master Piercer." What does that mean? Is it the number of piercings a person has performed? Is it the amount of time a person has been a piercer? Does it mean anything at all? There are many skilled vocations that use terms such as, Apprentice, Journeymen, Master, Professor, etc. For example, the Aikido Master and the Carpenter's Apprentice have both been, and are, being trained according to a set of standards. Yet there is no such standard for body piercers, so what do these titles mean?

Guest Column by Elayne Angel

This was my response to an email question from a student for a school project about whether or not Body Piercing is Art:

By John Ward, MD

The points to consider when dealing with a piercing in the active person depend on the location and the timing of the piercing. The term "active person" can reflect a multitude of people, but for the sake of simplicity it will represent the individual who participates in athletic activities.

One doesn't have to possess a keen sense of awareness in order to notice the increasing popularity of body piercing. The other night at the grocery store I received a big smile from the check out clerk who had a labret piercing and an abundance of ear work. The day after Thanksgiving when I went holiday shopping I received the same response in a clothing store from one of the employees sporting big gauge plugs and an eyebrow ring. This example of increased encounters with piercees in public has me wondering where the artistic craft I love may be headed.

If you go into just about any piercing shop anywhere around the country the piercer will probably tell you, in general, business is as good as ever and a stereotype of the average pierced patron is as diverse as it has ever been. Body piercing purportedly no longer carries the stigma it once bore in the past. But who cares. The important thing is that now more people accept it. And more people like it. Teenage boys and girls flock to their local piercing parlors to equip themselves with tongue studs and nose rings.

I have always thought of body piercing as a spiritual experience-something one endures in order to reach a state of higher consciousness. The immediacy of the moment of piercing has the power to physically reconnect the piercee with his or her body. Perhaps it's the pain of the moment that reawakens the dull mind to its surroundings. Or perhaps the piercee, in worrying about the pain, builds up the moment of piercing so much that when the needle finally goes through their skin, all their fears are allayed and they feel momentary euphoria. Either way, it is clear that there is something about the instantaneous action of piercing that can cause significant changes in a person's psyche. Take the following two experiences: