Tongue piercing is a form of body art that has become very popular in the UK over the past decade or so. After a very slow start, with only a few dedicated body art fans going for this piercing it is amongst the most popular. It is a relatively discreet piercing. For this reason, it is one that an awful lot of kids have done behind their parents back. Although no reputable piercer will pierce a child’s tongue, most will not do it to someone under the age of 16, some still do.
However, whilst it may not be on display all of the time it is a radical piercing that is still seen as hardcore despite being so popular. However, the real reason it is so popular is that it looks great. It is also not an urban myth that a tongue piercing increases pleasure during oral sex, which is another reason for its popularity.
The Origins of Tongue Piercing
The practice of tongue piercing has its origins with the Aztecs and Mayans. They pierced their tongues as part of religious rites. However, the piercing does not appear to have been permanent. There is some evidence they passed a piece of string through the resulting hole.
The Islamic Surfs and Falkirs and some Asian spirit mediums also practiced temporary tongue piercing to please their gods or prove a trance like state. Aboriginal Australian holy men also practiced it, but why is not exactly understood. It appears the piercing was part of a healing process to help the holy man to suck evil spirits from the body.
The first permanent tongue piercings appear to have been carried out, in the name of entertainment, by circus performers in the early 20th century. They carried out the tongue piercing rituals live each night, and used a bar to keep the incision open to make the process less painful.
However, modern tongue piercing was not invented until 1978. The first documented evidence of such a permanent piercing comes from the Piercing Fans International Quarterly (or PFIQ) magazine. The German piercing artist Tattoo Samy carried out a permanent piercing in 1978. However, it is Elayne Angel who is responsible for many of the innovations and newer types of tongue piercings and jewellery.
If you love tongue piercing visit the Blue Bannana. They can pierce your tongue for you. They also sell a great range of bars and balls.