Category News

Point #62: Legislation Update – South Australia

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IMG_3716Kim Zapata headshotBy Kimberly Zapata

On November 15, 2012 the South Australian government passed a new law—and tougher penalties—regarding the piercing, tattooing or modifying of minors. This new legislation, as outlined by the Attorney General’s Department, made it illegal to “perform a body modification procedure (such as tattooing, body branding or ear stretching) or intimate body piercing on a minor under the age of 18 years[; to] perform a non-intimate body piercing on a minor who is under 16 years of age without the consent of a guardian[; to]perform a body piercing or body modification procedure on a person who is intoxicated (whether by alcohol or other substances)[; or to] sell body modification equipment to a minor.” Those found guilty of unlawfully piercing, tattooing or modifying a minor will be subject to a slew of penalties ranging from a $5000 fine to twelve months in prison. (This is an increase from the previous $1250 fine, or three months imprisonment.) According to Attorney General John Rau—and adelaidenow.com—the new laws represent “the biggest changes to tattoo [and piercing] legislation in decades” and piercers will be held to these standards through written agreements they are now required to enter into with all customers. These agreements will contain any “information required by the [new] regulations…[while also providing customers] with information about aftercare and the possible risks of a procedure.”

For more information about South Australian piercing, tattooing, and body modification legislation, visit the South Australian Attorney General’s Department.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the passage of this law an additional push, driven by the industry, has been made to ban reusable ear piercing guns in South Australia. For more information about the propsed ban, view a recent news story—courtesy of TENnews.

Point #61: BMXnet 2012 Review – Essen, Germany October 12-14, 2012

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By Elayne Angel

The sixth annual Body Modification Exchange Network (BMXnet) Conference in Essen, Germany October 12-14, 2012 was well attended by piercers, tattooists, and body modification artists from around Europe and beyond. Given its great distance from the US, there was a strong representation of American speakers present including Jim Ward, James Weber, Bethra Szumski, Brian Skellie, Ryan Ouellette, Steve Haworth, Paul King, Allen Falkner, and myself. There was also a “Sponsors Expo” featuring vendors of body jewelry and supplies for piercing, tattooing, body modification, and suspension, with merchants coming from as far away as Mexico to participate.

Photo by Rolf Buchholz

The eclectic and wonderful venue, for this years festivities, Unperfekehaus (imperfect house) is a large converted Franciscan nunnery in the heart of Essen. Now it is a combination artist’s colony/gallery, hotel, and  a restaurant/internet coffeehouse. It contains five floors of artists’ studios, plus meeting rooms, performance spaces, and more. The hotel rooms share common bathrooms, a full kitchen, and also a sauna, which was put to good use in the evenings. There is free wireless Internet throughout.

A vast buffet was available in the restaurant 12 hours a day to keep the conference-goers fed, and coffee, cappuccino, and tea were free flowing to keep us warm. Unlimited sodas, juices, and sparkling water drinks were also provided to the participants in this welcoming establishment with the “all you can eat and drink” BMX package deal.

There is no way to impart how incredibly cool the setting was if you weren’t there to enjoy and experience it, and even the best photos won’t do it justice. (One example being the large open space on the upper level had a huge skylight in the ceiling.) Some of the vendors were housed in this area, and others were set up on two of the floors below, which were surrounded by artists’ workshops.

Photo by Rolf Buchholz

Each studio is open to the visiting public and has a plaque out front explaining the individual’s background and artistic philosophy. Costume and jewelry designers, sculptors, and painters shared their colorful creations in the series of connected buildings which form the Unperfekehaus. Artworks of all types (much of it for sale) lined the halls and walls, as well as the studio spaces, lending a festive and creative vibe to the scene. Three separate dining rooms and several other public spaces provided plenty of opportunities for hanging out and socializing.  A rounded alcove filled with comfortable pillows and surrounded by psychedelic paintings was a popular retreat. A well-equipped theater complete with lighting and stage was the location for some classes, suspensions, and the entertainment in the evenings.

The wide array of courses, roundtables, demonstrations, and workshops included advanced body modification topics not in the curriculum at APP conferences such as Ear Reconstruction, Flesh Stapling, Wound Suturing, Advanced Scarification, Tongue Splitting, and Electrocautery and Laser Branding. More standard subjects were covered such as Jewelry Design, Anodizing, Sterilization and Instrument Management for Piercing, Stretching, Aseptic Technique, Troubleshooting and Scars, and Surface Piercings.

Photo by Rolf Buchholz

James Weber presented “A History of Body Piercing US Periodicals: from PFIQ to The Point,” which was a great precursor to Jim Ward’s talk later in the day, Gauntlet and the Evolution of the Modern Body Modification Movement. Many of the conference-goers were very excited to have their photos taken with the “Granddaddy of the Modern Piercing Movement” and have him sign their copies of his book, Running the Gauntlet. Paul King shared his knowledge with a fascinating presentation on the Piercing Rituals of the Plains Native Americans.
Offerings for tattoo artists included Hand-poking Tattoos, Automatic Sketching, Tattoo Machine Tuning, Lasers and the Tattoo Industry, and Sterilization and Instrument Management for Tattooing. Some classes were suited to all of the attending professionals, such as Marketing and Managing Difficult Clients.

Photo by Rolf Buchholz

As the conference progressed additional sessions called “barcamps” were scheduled into the times and spaces allotted for them. Once planned, they were announced via a bulletin board in the entryway. This permitted a useful spontaneity for new topics to be covered, or more in-depth discussions held on subjects of greater interest. I was asked to do a barcamp session of my Safe and Effective Female Genital Piercing course with a German translator present.
This allowed the students who were not fluent enough in English to understand the entire content of my class. Jim Ward, Paul King, and I also gathered for a showing of  “A Social History of Body Piercing,” an MTV documentary in which we all appeared.

In addition to the numerous educational courses, there was plenty of entertainment in the evenings. Fetish-pinup-glamor model and burlesque performer Courtney Crave graced the stage on both Friday and Saturday nights. The first evening she played doctor with a teddy bear to Weird Al Yankovic’s song, “Like a Surgeon” and eviscerated the stuffed animal to find it filled with sex toys.

Photo by Rolf Buchholz

Coco Katsura gave a dramatic performance as a flying ninja suspended from hooks while brandishing a flaming sword. And finally, in the Superfly Suspension Show, two young men, hanging one from the other, swung around the stage at length with contented expressions on their modified faces. On Saturday night, Courtney performed her  “Sympathy for the Devil” floor routine to the Guns ‘n Roses cover of the tune. It was a dark and sexy show full of back bends and contortion work. CoRE staged their Embers of the Lotus suspension performance, and SchmerzMöbel (the “Pain Furniture Performance Crew”) created their Living Harp for the audience as a lyrical finale for the evening’s festivities.

There was widespread accord among the repeat attendees that this was best BMXnet gathering ever. Warm thanks and hearty congratulations to Stephan Stresik and his crew for hosting a truly wonderful event!

Point #61: New York Legislation Update: New Law Requires Parental Consent for Body Piercing

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by Kimberly Zapata

On July 30, 2012, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a new law into effect that will require all minors in the state of New York to “have written parental consent before obtaining a body piercing.” While this law, in many areas, may come as surprising news (since 38 states already have a similar statute in place), until this bill was signed, “New York law stated that there was no minimum age requirement for body piercing.”

However, it is important to note that the new law does not include piercings of the ear. For the purpose of the law, New York State has defined body piercing as: “any piercing located on a part of the body other than the ear.”

The new regulation not only requires body piercers to “check the identification of teens” and asks “underage teens [to] provide a consent form signed by a parent or legal guardian” (consent that must be given in the presence of the owner of the body piercing studio or a body piercing specialist), but includes the expectation that studio owners then retain this information for no less than 12 months.

The law is slated to take effect on October 30, 2012, though many New York piercing establishments began adopted the new regulations shortly after it was signed into effect.

For more information about the new piercing legislation in New York, view New York state’s official press release.

[Editor’s note: Regardless of local legislation, the APP’s stance on piercing minors remains that “a (proof positive) parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a consent form…for any piercing of a minor.”]

Point #60: Legislative Update

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By Mike Martin

After a great conference I have been having so many thoughts and I’m trying to sort things out. One realization that became quite clear is that legislation on body art is a hot topic all over the world. That seemed to be the subject most talked about at the international meeting, our annual Members’ meeting, and just in general with people I spoke to during the week. Small talk always became legislation talk in some form.

Christina Shull gave us a glimpse of her legislative efforts in Oregon and the progress that was made in that state. She even had two Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) women join us at Conference: one who works on the state’s testing requirements, and one who works on drafting and creating regulations. They attended the full conference and sat in on many classes, workshops, and roundtable discussions. They were impressed with the event and how much they learned while there.

We heard from Steve Joyner about the legislative efforts he has been involved with throughout the year and all over the USA. Since conference he has been working with Stephanie Segal, Rob Hill, and the Iowa State Health Department researching language used in other state regulations. I also spent time with him and APP Vice President, John Johnson at the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) conference the following week. We talked to many people from around the country and some were a little surprised to know that I was wearing two hats (Legislation Liaison for APP, and President of the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, APT).

I learned a lot from John Johnson and saw Steve Joyner in action once again. It is amazing how one little word can completely change the meaning of an answer or the asking of a question. Steve is very aware and aggressive when it comes to “little words” that may be spoken or written that could have a long-term impact on our businesses and bottom lines. I wish we could make 50 Steve clones and have one as a representative in each state. I believe it would save the APP money and really help piercers as regulations are being promulgated or updated.

With that thought in mind I also believe that if we could have “State Reps” the APP would have an opportunity to encourage other piercers to get involved with the lawmaking process. APP State Reps would also have access to other piercers in their state and encourage them to join the organization. State reps could keep in touch with other piercers in their region and would be the “goto guys/girls” for matters involving training, legislation, and establishing rapport with local and state legislators.

If you have any thoughts on this approach please share them with us.

Legislation in the United States is a huge undertaking, there are 50 states to be covered and in each state there are multiple counties. For example, in California there are 62 counties. In each county there are multiple cities, towns, and villages–and sometimes they have their own body art regulations to work with. As you can see, the need to have proactive professional piercers leading the way is important. That way no one gets tripped up on that “one little word” that could ruin or change everything. We can talk to legislators and explain to them what we do for a living and help them know the difference between an implant and a surface anchor, a suspension and an energy pull, or a piercing needle and a piercing gun.

Almost all of the states have regulations in some form; many need updating and have begun that process. A couple of states are regulated through the Cosmetology Commission or Board of Cosmetology. The Kansas Board of Cosmetology regulates Kansas, and the Cosmetology Commission regulates South Dakota. Body art in New Mexico is regulated by the Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. “Thirty-two states have laws that prohibit both body piercing and tattooing on minors without parental permission.”1 Iowa, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no age limits in place. This is a prime time to get involved in “the process” and give back to the industry that puts food on our tables and shoes on our kids.

At this time, the following are the members of our Legislation Committee: Steve Joyner, Christina Shull, Ashley Misako, and myself. If you would like to join our committee or assist us in any way please contact me (legislation@safepiercing.org) or fleshskingrafix@gmail.com, or call my cellphone: 619-719-2291.

Point #60: To Pierce a Minor

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By Jezebel Voule

I live in a land with no legislation of the piercing field. A land where tattoo artists are regulated and need to be licensed, but piercers are free to do whatever they please. Like the Wild West at its peak, we run by our own rules and our own code of ethics (if any). And much like the West, we have our outlaws: people who are willing to do that which many refuse. These are people who believe that they are allowed to do whatever is asked of them to whoever desires it since there are no rules. (For example, there are piercers who will pierce private areas of minors.)

I have heard many tales of people under the age of 18 getting their nipples pierced throughout my state. It is because of this, and the knowledge that there are a number of states that lack age restrictions, that cause some piercers to believe it is permissible to pierce the erogenous zones of minors. Should you be in a state that has no restrictions on minimum ages for piercings, at least be sure to know the local laws.

In Iowa, doing a “private” piercing on a minor can lead to a charge of Indecent Contact with a Child, as an Iowa statute reads: 

“A person eighteen years of age or older is upon conviction guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor if the person commits any of the following acts with a child, not the person’s spouse, with or without the child’s consent, for the purpose of arousing or satisfying the sexual desires of either of them: Fondle or touch the inner thigh, groin, buttock, anus, or breast of the child.” 

Since piercing an erogenous zone can increase sensation in the area, this will often cause an arousing or sexually satisfying result, so the act of piercing can qualify as a crime.

And an aggravated misdemeanor is only the beginning; a lawyer could easily get a conviction for Lascivious Acts with a Child, which is a class “C” felony: 

“It is unlawful for any person sixteen years of age or older to perform any of the following acts with a child with or without the child’s consent unless married to each other, for the purpose of arousing or satisfying the sexual desires of either of them: Fondle or touch the pubes or genitals of a child. [Or] inflict pain or discomfort upon a child.”

With a piercing there is no way to steer clear of discomfort. If no pain or discomfort is experienced during a piercing due to the application of some sort of anesthetic, it could be argued that the whole process of healing is a ramification of the piercing procedure.

It would not be impossible to obtain the conviction of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, a class “B” felony. For reasons already stated, the piercing of a minor in an erogenous zone could be classified as sexual abuse.

“A person commits sexual abuse in the second degree when the person commits sexual abuse under any of the following circumstances: During the commission of sexual abuse the person displays in a threatening manner a dangerous weapon, or uses or threatens to use force creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury to any person.”

A piercing needle is a dangerous weapon because it is designed to puncture skin, and doing a piercing can be perceived as a threatening manner because it does break the skin.

Only 34 states have age restrictions pertaining to piercings, leaving 16 states without any sort of regulation on the piercing of minors. The laws quoted in this article are specific to my state and serve as an example of possible crimes that any piercer could be charged with who performs an adult piercing (nipples or genitals) on a minor.

I urge people to look up their state’s laws to learn what they could be up against before performing nipple piercings on a 15-year-old boy or a hood piercing on a 17-year-old girl. Just because there may not be a law specifically restricting a piercing does not mean that it is appropriate to perform such a task–or that there are no potential legal ramifications. Think smart before a minor’s piercing starts.

(Editor’s note: Regardless of any local legislation being more lenient, the following is the APP’s suggested minimum standards policy on piercing minors: 

“For any piercing of a minor, a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a consent form. Proof positive, state issued photo identification is required from the legal guardian, and a bona fide form of identification from the minor. In the event the parent has a different last name and/or address from the child, court documentation is needed to prove the relationship, i.e., divorce papers, or a remarriage certificate.

Under no circumstances is it acceptable or appropriate for a piercer to perform piercing on the nipples or genitals of an individual under 18 years of age.”)