UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, March 28, 1994
7
PIERCING THE CULTURAL NORM
That's the stereotype
Body piercers come from the bad part of town, wear beaten black leather, don't finish high school, don't take baths and smoke three packs of cigarettes a day.
But as body piercer Heather Strickland, Lawrence sophomore, left for work Saturday night, she demonstrated how she doesn't fit that mold. She wore a pressed, green rayon dress, covered by a loose-knit white sweater adorned with pearls. Her hair was neatly combed and held back by a colorful scarf.
Since November of last year, Strickland has been an apprentice to a body piercer at Grimm's Tattoos, 3825 Main, in Kansas City, Mo.
Strickland takes classes at Johnson County Community College and one voice performance class at the University of Kansas. She also volunteers for the Douglas County hospice program once a week and has worked at a daycare center for special-needs children in Kansas City, Mo. She said she planned to major in speech pathology.
"I guess I'm a freak in my own way," Strickland said "But I'm not a scary person —I'm generally nice."
Strickland said she thought that, in other's eyes, it may be an added novelty to be a woman and a piercer.
"I think it's helpful that I'm female," she said. "A lot of women feel more comfortable with me than with a man, and some men feel more comfortable, too. I was told by one man that I was a lot more gentle."
Strickland said she became interested in body piercing by looking at piercing magazines and other magazines that her older brother owned. But she first decided she wanted to become a piercer more than a year ago when she saw many botched jobs and thought there was a need for a trained piercer
in the area, rather than kids doing it in their bathrooms. She called around to different jewelry stores and tattoo shops to find a professional body piercer. After about a year, one moved to Kansas City and she contacted him.
Strickland said her apprenticeship would last for one more month. She spends two nights a week at the shop, for a total of eight hours a week. Piercings range from $55 to $60, which includes jewelry. She said she was qualified to do all types of piercings, both ornamental and functional. Ornamental piercings include things such as noses and navels, while functional piercings are for the nipple, penis or clitoris and designed to increase sensation.
"I'm most interested in doing functional rather than ornamental piercings because I feel as if I'm helping the person," Strickland said.
"I'm surprised by how different people's skin is," she said. "Women who tan a lot have thicker skin. It's difficult to know what kind of skin it is until you pierce it."
Strickland said that people from all walks of life got pierced but that right now she mostly saw women more than men. She gives navel piercings more than any other kind. Navel piercings take about 10 to 15 minutes, but the majority of that time is spent explaining how to take care of the piercing to ensure that it will heal properly. The actual piercing, which is done with a needle, only takes a couple of minutes.
Strickland said there were several reasons why people got pierced.
"They've become really popular and 'cool'," she said. "But I think largely it's because people recognize that their bodies are theirs to do with what they want."
Heather Strickland, Lawrence sophomore, (back right) talks to a friend while waiting for customers to come into Grimm's Tattoos, 3825 Main, Kansas City, Mo. She said Saturdays were the busiest days. In the foreground and upstairs, tattoos are being given.
B Rebecca Quinn, Overland Park sophomore, laughs while Heather Strickland, Lawrence sophomore, cracks jokes as she prepares to give Quinn a navel ring. Afterward, Quinn said she was surprised that the pain was less than getting her ears pierced.
The actual piercing, performed with a special piercing needle (above), only takes a couple of minutes. The majority the process, which takes 10 to 15 minutes, is spent teaching people how to take care of their piercings. (Bottom) Both Teen (left) and Heather Strickland perform piercings at Grimm's Tattoos, 3825 Main, Kansas City, Mo. Strickland will be his apprentice for one more month.
Heather Strickland, Lawrence sophomore, started body piercing last November. While she does have an unusual job, she said she did not fit the stereotypes people had about body piercers.
In the final stages of a piercing, a permanent ring is put in as the needle is pulled out, and then it is connected by a ball in the center.
Story and Photos By Heather Lofflin
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