One body, many holes

Multiple body piercings appears to be a growing trend with youths particularly subscribing to the idea of piercing several parts of their body, often in the name of fashion. KOLA MUHAMMED reports the history of piercing, the motivations behind it and the possible health risks involved.

Fashion through the ages is always a trend, with its lows and ebbs, catching the fancy of the young, the not-too-young, male and female alike. However, because of the dynamic nature of trends, fashion is always limited to a period of time and often makes a return after some time.

The recent times have borne witness to the popularity of wigs, ‘beard gang’, vintage scarves, corset, knotless braids, tribal braids and numerous others.

Despite the relative popularity of these trends, only a few of them divide opinions beyond fashion. One of them is the act of body modification, particularly multiple piercings across all parts of the body. Investigations by Sunday Tribune revealed that despite being a popular trend –  as both male and female folks now subscribe to the idea of having several piercings on their ear lobes, nostrils and eye brows – the practice is not a new one.

History of body piercing

Findings by Sunday Tribune revealed that the practice of piercing the ears and noses is native to some African ethnic groups. In other words, body piercing is not a Western culture nor is it a recent trend as it dates back to centuries.

Ancient Egyptians are reputed with stretched ear lobes after piercing it. Certain types of body piercings are also the exclusive preserve of the royal family. The Pharaoh, for example, was the only one allowed to have his navel pierced and anyone else who did so would be executed. Egyptians were also known to wear earrings to display their wealth and enhance or display their beauty.

Modern trend

With youths reportedly the dominant demographic on social media, pictures of faces with piercings all over can be seen on several platforms, especially on picture-centred ones like Snapchat and Instagram, among others.

More so, celebrities and influencers alike also embrace the trend and appear to further contribute to the vogue of having multiple piercings with their throng of followers on social media eager to follow in the footsteps of their favourites.

Several youths who spoke with Sunday Tribune expressed that they undertook body piercings for different reasons ranging from making a fashion statement, to social rebellion and as a pain-coping mechanism.

With about nine piercings on both of her ears, Bliss Akinyemi told Sunday Tribune that her motivation for indulging in multiple piercings was to rebel against social and religious standards.

“There is no unifying motivation for people to get extra piercings and body modifications generally but personally, coming from a home where I first got my ears pierced when I was very much younger but had to stop due to religious reasons, I would say that the reason for my multiple piercings is rebellion.

“I just wanted a solid reason not to pierce my ears and wear earrings. And if you can’t give me, then I will give myself multiple.

“Then along the line, piercing became a way for me to deal with pain. If I’m dealing with something and I cannot express the pain or do not want to focus on it, then I get a piercing so that I can focus on the pain of piercing instead of the pain of what is hurting me,” Akinyemi added.

While rebellion and the need for distraction might have been the motivation Akinyemi needed, the situation is different for Ajibola Olayinka. Body modifications, to her, are a way to make a fashion statement and look different per time.

“I got my piercings because I wanted a new and different look. I have tried quite a number of things to change my look, including cutting and dying my hair to several colours,” she said.

Relating the experience of two diverse societies to people with multiple piercings, Olayinka who recently relocated from Nigeria to Germany, remarked that the Nigerian and German societies are wide apart in terms of culture.

“I had my piercings before I left Nigeria for Germany and before I left, I got a lot of reactions from people I would call ‘elders’.

“The assumption was that once you pierce your nose or have multiple rings on your ears, you are irresponsible, wayward or possibly promiscuous (if you are a lady). Nobody actually said that to my face and I have made a pretty good impression on people around me. Even my parents had their reservations too but they didn’t say it to my face. They chose to go through my sister instead. However, on getting to Germany, nobody cares,” Olayinka added.

For Sekinat Isiaq, the motivation to getting multiple piercings was strictly peer pressure. People around her were hopping on the bandwagon and she decided to join too.

“I didn’t really know that multiple piercings were a thing, until I started seeing people around me getting it. The trend was intriguing to me and I felt, well, since this is the new direction of things and it is relatively harmless, I can join them too.

“The first time I got it, it was really painful. But subsequent ones were less painful. All the while, my mum really grumbled about it. With time, she had no option than to bear it,”Isiaq further stated.

The oldguard disagrees

While body piercing appears to be widely accepted among the youths, many older folks appear not to share the excitement the likes of Akinyemi, Olayinka and Isiaq have regarding it.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, Omolara Muhammed was of the opinion that multiple piercings, whether on the ear or the nose signify waywardness and immorality.

“The issue of body piercing, for the Yoruba culture, is more popular among women than men. I don’t think any lady from a good home who is also well-mannered will have more piercings than necessary.

“There are instances where one hole gets blocked and another place on the ear lobe is pierced, causing a lady to have more than one piercing. But in situations where it is deliberate and earrings are plugged across the holes, then that is more or less waywardness.

“That it is the vogue these days does not make it right. A single lady who pierces several holes on her ears and her nostrils cannot attract a responsible man as a suitor. The same goes for a married woman who would be seen as irresponsible,” Madam Muhammed further opined.

A septuagenarian, Lekan Oseni, who also spoke with Sunday Tribune stated that the idea of going the extra mile in making a fashion statement is characteristic of human beings. However, multiple body piercing is something to frown at by people of his generation.

“Fashion is something that evolves with the passage of time. Each era has its own peculiarities and during our youthful years, we had prevalent fashion styles. Also, there were extremes. People got tattoos, used big earrings, among a number of things.

“But having multiple piercings was not popular. Such a person would be perceived as debauched. It would take extreme boldness for any woman to lace her face with rings and such a person was sure to be met with serious frowns. They are usually perceived as either promiscuous or not from around here,” Oseni added.

Religious perspectives

Sunday Tribune’s dive into religious dictates for body piercings revealed that the stance of the two most embraced religions in Nigeria – Christianity and Islam – differ. For Christianity, the trend may not be categorically displaced unless those practising it make people around them ‘fall’.

A Methodist Church minister, Very Reverend Zaccheaus Orojo, told Sunday Tribune: “Personally, when issues border on clothing, hairdo, the body, what to wear and piercing, I like to examine it in the area of culture of such people.

“If it is culturally right for them, we might not kick against it. Therefore, those who pierce their noses and the ears may not be doing a bad thing, if that is the culture of their land.

“The only thing I think the Bible is against is tattoo, Leviticus 19:28, which may be interpreted to mean something else to other people.

“Everything borders on personal conviction and as a good Christian, one must know that though one is permitted to do anything, if one’s freedom makes other people to fall, one is culpable in the sin of that person,” Revd Orojo stated.

However, Sunday Tribune’s interactions with Islamic scholars revealed that there is absolute disapproval for multiple piercing of the nose and ear for men but is understandable for women who have been born with the innate desire for adornment.

An Islamic scholar, Muallimah Sadiya, opined on an online platform, Jamiat.org: “For men, body piercings are completely forbidden. A man piercing his ears is regarded as a man imitating an action considered natural to a woman.

“It is forbidden in Islam for men to imitate styles and ways that are distinctively feminine.”

Another Islamic scholar, Sakeena Suliman, stated in another online post: “It is only permissible for women to have their ears and noses pierced as these are natural parts of adornment. Multiple ear piercings are also allowed.

“It is not permissible to pierce the belly button or other body parts such as the lips, tongue, eyebrows as it is not considered an adornment for the Muslim female in Islam.”

Health implications

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, a dermatologist and senior consultant at Limi Group of Hospitals, Abuja, Dr Akolawole Michael, disclosed that skin piercing has the tendency to attract diseases to the body of those who engage in it.

“Skin piercing involves the usage of sharp, pointed objects and for those who pierce their skins, they stand the chance of getting various types of skin diseases and infection.

“To start with, when the skin is to be pierced, the process that should be followed is to consult a dermatologist to know the kind of skin such a person has and how safe it is to carry out such a thing on the skin.

“Several infections can come from piercing the skin, especially tetanus. And if the piercing is not done properly, after a while, some people can get disfigured.

“Complications could range from local and systemic infections; poor cosmetics, and foreign body rejection, swelling and tooth fracture [in cases of tongue piercing. Minor infections range from allergic contact dermatitis, keloid formation, traumatic tearing and disfigurement may also occur after multiple piercing of the earlobe, including HIV/AIDS.

“Some could end up contracting HIV/AIDS due to the usage of unsterilized sharp object which can be easily transferred from an infected person to others who are not infected,” Akolawole further stated.

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