Navel piercing

Navel piercing (also referred to as Belly-Button Piercing) is a type of body piercing, far more common among women than men. It may heal quickly and with few problems, like an ear piercing, or may heal more like a surface piercing with the associated rejection risks and extended healing time. Healing of this piercing can also be complicated by irritation and damage caused by clothing, especially waistlines or tight clothing, or the position of the navel relative to the bend of the waist. The actual navel is not pierced when a navel piercing is performed. The most common form of navel piercing is through the upper rim of the navel. A true navel piercing requires the person being pierced to have an "outie" navel to some degree, and is extremely rare. Although there is an urban legend that an infection in a true navel piercing can travel inward to the liver or peritoneum, there are no known cases of this occurring.

History and culture

Dangling navel jewelery

As a contemporary piercing, there is no direct evidence of historical navel piercing, although there is a great deal of historical evidence regarding the decoration of the navel, both for ritual and aesthetic purposes. Despite the possible long healing time and risk of rejection, this piercing is one of the most common & popular body piercings today. Popular culture has played a large role in the promotion of this piercing. The navel piercing first hit the mainstream when model Christy Turlington showed her navel piercing at a fashion show in London.^[1] The popularization of the piercing, however, is accredited to the 1993 Aerosmith music video for their song "Cryin'", wherein Alicia Silverstone has her navel pierced. It also played a major role in pop culture after reigning pop princess Britney Spears navel piercing appearance. The easy hiding of a navel piercing with clothing, even during the healing process, has contributed to the widespread adoption of this piercing, especially by young people. Other notable celebrities with upper navel piercings are Hayden Panettiere,^[2] Beyoncé Knowles,^[3] Paris Hilton,^[3] Lindsay Lohan,^[3] Christina Aguilera,^[1] Gisele Bundchen.^[4] A celebrity with a lower navel piercing is Keira Knightley.^[5] A navel ring bears little to no social stigma for women, who are the usual wearers of the piercings. However, in more conservative communities it is often considered an indication of sexual promiscuity. It can also be seen as rebellious and trending towards the subculture of those involved in adult industries. This is likely due the high incidence of this piercing among pornographic actresses and models, as opposed to models in more mainstream fashion industries where body modification is generally frowned upon due the inconvenience involved in correcting undesirable modifications as compared to the addition of a temporary or fake. Due to the popularity of this often-difficult-to-heal piercing among young people, especially young girls, this piercing is often done with improper, unsanitary jewelry or piercing tools, including ear piercing guns. Because many navel piercings are performed and healed semi-clandestinely, piercing studios, doctors and emergency rooms often have to deal with the results of improperly performed, poorly healed navel piercings.

Jewelry

A barbell with dangling pendants

Clip-on belly jewelry

Most kinds of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing, although they are most often pierced with a barbell, which is worn until the piercing has fully healed. A wide variety of decorative jewelry is available for navel - simple navel barbells, navel barbells with dangling pendants and navel barbells with attached belly chains. There has been a special standard established for navel barbells, also called bananabells because of their curved shape. The standard bananabell is 1/16" (1.6mm) thick and 3/8" (9.5mm) or 7/16" (11mm) long. The ball sizes are 5mm at the top and 8mm at the bottom of the shaft. Although navel bananabells are different from full rings - like CBR (captive bead rings) that also can be worn in navel - there is tendency by the Internet body jewelry retailers and wholesalers to refer to them as belly button rings. A new version of navel jewelry is on the market for those without pierced navels, which is based on the idea of clip-on earrings.^[6]

Procedure

Prior to piercing, the navel is cleaned with an antiseptic solution and the location of the piercing is marked. The piercing itself is performed with a clamp and a special needle, which installs the initial piece of jewelry as part of the piercing. First, a sterilized clamp is clamped on the skin above or below the belly button. Then the sterilized needle is pushed through followed by the sterilized jewelry that was chosen. New methods and advances in equipment often eliminate the need for clamping the skin prior to piercing.

References

See also

• Belly chain

External links

• Body Modification E-Zine Encyclopedia article on the Aerosmith video Cryin'.
• The Association of Professional Piercers aftercare instructions.
• The Risks Associated With Belly Piercing
• Non-piercing Belly Button Jewellery.
• Large Collection of Navel Piercing items.
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