Piercing for pleasure
The perils and pleasures of sexual piercings
A piercing can be an aesthetic choice, a right of passage, or a way to be distinguished from the rest of the world.
When an erogenous zone is pierced, however, it becomes something entirely different: a quest for greater stimulation.
From the nipples to the genitals, they all offer new and often greater sensations than unmodified anatomy, but along with these new pleasures there are possible pitfalls that should be borne in mind when considering such piercings.
Nipple piercings would seem to be the easiest first step in the world of sexual piercing, but even they come with their own problems.
Their first drawback is a relatively long healing period; two to four months. Their second is the possibility of the formation of mastitis, an infection of the breast tissue. The infection can be life threatening if left untreated.
While it is more common in women, the infection can occur in men and will be a lump in the breast.
Infection or rejection of the metal used in the piercing can cause nerve damage and subsequent loss of sensation.
Genital piercings, in both men and women, are as numerous and varied as sexual positions and range from simple to outlandish.
For men, the Prince Albert (PA) is considered to be one of the most common genital piercings. In a PA, a piece of jewelry enters the urethra at the tip of the penis and exits the bottom of the shaft just below the head.
This type of piercing heals quickly, usually in four to six weeks, and is reputed to be one of the more easily healed genital piercings.
The benefits of a PA, relative to pleasure at least, seem to vary by individual. For some men it is an aesthetic decision while for others it is one based on sensation.
The response among women runs the gamut from finding sex with a pierced man painful, to pleasurable and even no different than with an unmodified man.
The downfalls mainly concern the difficulty in urination.
Because the piercing passes through the urethra and creates a second opening, urine can pass through the new exit and travel down the jewelry, causing a certain amount of dribbling.
Some men choose to deal with this by sitting down during urination — a minor inconvenience — but a very possible side effect.
For women, there are two genital piercings that — due to common misconceptions about female anatomy — are regularly confused: the uncommon clitoral piercing and the far more common clitoral hood piercing.
In a clitoral piercing, as the name would suggest, the jewelry is passed directly through the clitoris itself. In a clitoral hood piercing, the jewelry passes through the small flap of skin covering the clitoris.
Both piercings heal quickly, in around two to six weeks, and are said to greatly increase stimulation for the women who get them.
They have earned the reputation for causing “walking orgasms,” which may be nothing more than an urban legend.
There is a misconception that clitoral piercings, be they actual clitoral or clitoral hood, will cause a loss of sensation.
While it is possible to suffer desensitization with any genital piercing, either through nerve damage from infection or an improperly placed piercing, or the possibility of callusing, the chances of such problems seem to have been greatly exaggerated for the purposes of making a better story.
The likely origin of such legends, for women at least, is that during the healing period there is a great increase in sensation.
As the body heals the sensation and stimulation of the piercing normalizes and, if this is unexpected, may be seen as desensitization when it is in fact simply normal healing.
The Spectrum welcomes all letters seeking advice on sex and sexual health, they may be discretely dropped in our offices in 255 Memorial Union or emailed to Stephen.Baird@ndsu.edu. Your real name will not be published.