Body Piercing

I’m doing a research paper for English, and I was just wondering when piercing became more of a mainstream trend (artistic/self-expression)- rather than symbolizing something religious or cultural? I saw on Wikipedia that women began wearing earrings in the ’60s or thereabout (is that true? or is that when the other piercings started among women?), and all the punk bands of the ’80s started the crazy face piercings.
Any additional info about how/when/why piercing caught on as mainstream culture would be appreciated (esp. pierced ears, nose, navel, tongue)

Don’t believe everything you read on wikipedia.

Women have worn pierced earrings for centuries, and not just in tribal cultures. Pierced ears go back to biblical times.

Body piercing goes back further than just the 60’s, although Fakir Musafar (someone you should research for your paper) is pretty much who brought Body Piercing into modern times. The 80’s isn’t what started the all the "crazy facial piercings" either, it just wasn’t something that was a trend before then (it’s sad that it has become a fashion trend).

Here are some links you might want to read:

The History of Body Piercing:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Body-Piercings—Ancient-and-Fascinating-Around-the-World&id=2948

http://www.painfulpleasures.com/piercing_history.htm

http://www.thehistoryof.net/the-history-of-body-piercings.html

Fakir Musafar:
http://www.bodyplay.com/

http://www.fakir.org/

http://www.bmezine.com/news/people/A10101/fakir2.html

http://www.squidoo.com/fakirmusafar

Body Piercing in General:
http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Category:Piercings

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