Point 88: Upcoming Educational Conferences

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Outreach Committee

Upcoming Educational Conferences

The 5th Annual APP Members’ Retreat

Portland, Oregon: October 1–5, 2019

With the theme of ALIENS, the five year anniversary of Camp APP will be taking place at Mount Hood in the Pacific Northwest! Spaces are limited so register soon. Learn more about this amazing retreat on Facebook or by using the Member Login at safepiercing.org.

The 4th Annual UKAPP Conference

Manchester, United Kingdom: October 6–8, 2019

Join piercers from the UK and surrounding countries for another astounding educational conference at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel and Convention Center. Find out more information on Facebook or visit ukapp.org.uk.

Point 88: Health Canada Warns about Gentian Violet

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At the beginning of June, Health Canada warned Canadians of potential cancer risk associated with gentian violet. This was concerning to many professional piercers in Canada and internationally, due to the fact that gentian violet is a product commonly used for marking before a piercing. There has been some debate in the piercing community over whether the gentian violet product recall should affect our industry.

In Issue 89, we’ll have a thorough examination of the studies that triggered the product recall and what that may mean for professional piercers and consumers in general. Thankfully, in the meantime, there are non-gentian violet options available in the form of pressure marks and non-gentian markers. It should be noted that when opting for markers, skin specific pens and surgical markers should be used rather than permanent ink pens and markers.

Point 88: Female Genital Mutilation & Piercing in the UK

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by Lola Slider, UKAPP Medical Liaison

Headline from The Times from April 12, 2019
Photo by Paul King

In the United Kingdom right now there is a cloud over the legal classification of female genital piercings.

Their current legal status is effectively non-existent; they are neither legal nor illegal. This creates a vast cavity of misinformation available for gross misinterpretation.

I first contacted my local police department in September of 2016, after my failure to get clarification on this subject from my licensing authority, and got a response almost immediately. A short and clear, “yes, in a licensed shop on a consenting 18+ year old adult, this is legal.” Three short years later, in April of 2019, after three weeks of sending multiple reminders to two departments, I received a reply from the same police department. They told me, “I am not in a position to advise if any offence has been committed. In the event a complaint was made it would be a matter for the courts to decide.”

In that three year period no laws have changed in Scotland, which suggests to me it is the attitude that has changed. The Serious Crime Act 20151 is applicable only in England and Wales. Scottish female genital mutilation (FGM) law falls under The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 20052. Both acts, however, contain the key word “mutilation” at the center of all this legal ambiguity. With a word so charged with connotation, it can be difficult to find legal clarification on exactly what it covers. With the intention of clarifying and standardizing the definition, the World Health Organization has classified FGM into four major types3. Unfortunately, the term “piercing” is used in Type 4, possibly in reference to the stitching involved in infibulation or forms of Sunna, where the clitoris  and labia are pierced and encouraged to bleed freely.

The Great Wall of Vagina (2008). Detail.
Photo by Jamie McCartney

The National Health Service (NHS) is “collecting data about women and girls with FGM who are being cared for by the NHS in England. This collection includes data items that will be routinely discussed by the patient and health professional as part of the standard delivery of care and that are included in the patient’s healthcare record.”4 Due to the classification by the WHO, “genital piercings are included” in this data collection, because “the data item FGM Type 4 Qualifier allows users to specify that the FGM was a piercing.” The FGM Enhanced Dataset—Frequently Asked Questions5 text goes on to state that “labiaplasty and genital tattoos are not included.”

What the piercing community needs are clear amendments made to the existing legislation that state cosmetic genital piercings on consenting adults, performed in licensed premises, are excluded from the classification of Type 4 FGM. This will eliminate the current legal ambiguity we face and protect us from investigations that, even if ultimately do not result in prosecution, could be career ending. This will allow women in the UK parity with men seeking genital piercings and it will prevent the NHS from recording women with genital piercings as FGM suffers. Under current Department of Health policy, patient permission is not needed to do so.

United against FGM, from Not Again Campaign
Photo: Uncredited

From January to March6 of this year alone, an astonishing 1,990 cases of FGM were recorded in England. We can only hope policymakers take the time, as I did, to find that only 1,015 of those cases were new and of that, 750 where recorded  as  “unknown”  as  opposed to being classified as Type 1 through 4. Of these, 85 were Type 4 and 65 were “not recorded”; how these   65 somehow became part of the statistics is anyone’s guess. By simply reading the first quarterly7 NHS Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Enhanced Dataset of this year, the number has potentially been reduced  from 1,990 to 115.

  1. “Serious Crime Act 2015,” UK Public General Acts, legislation.gov.uk delivered by The National Archives, up to date as of August 13, 2019,
    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/contents.
  2. “Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005,” Acts of the Scottish Parliament, legislation.gov.uk delivered by The National Archives, accessed August 13, 2019,
    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2005/8/contents.
  3. “Female Genital Mutilation,” Fact sheets, World Health Organization, dated January 31, 2018,
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation.
  4. “Health professionals and NHS organisations,” Female Genital Mutilation Datasets, NHS Digital, last edited October 3, 2018,
    https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/female-genital-mutilation-datasets/health-professionals-and-nhs-organisations#publications.
  5. NHS Digital, “FGM Enhanced Dataset—Frequently Asked Questions,” updated May 2019,
    https://digital.nhs.uk/binaries/content/assets/website-assets/clinical-audits/fgm/frequently-asked-questions.pdf.
  6. “Female Genital Mutilation January-March 2019,” Female Genital Mutilation, NHS Digital, published May 24, 2019,
    https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/female-genital-mutilation/january-to-march-2019.
  7. “FGM 2019 Q1 – Report,” Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Enhanced Dataset, NHS Digital, published May 24, 2019,
    https://files.digital.nhs.uk/18/643E66/FGM%202019%20Q1%20-%20Report.pdf.
  8. “Strengthening protection from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): consultation,” Publications, Scottish Government, published October 4, 2018,
    https://www.gov.scot/publications/strengthening-protection-female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

Point 88: LBP 2019 Review

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by Luis Garcia

Photos by Autumn Swisher

I had the pleasure to attend the 6th Congreso Internacional de Perforadores Profesionales, and as  usual the Latinoamérica Body Piercing A.C. did not disappoint. Usually held  in fall during Dia de los Muertos, 2019 brought a change with it being held in the first week of April. Many attendees and instructors welcomed this, as the warmer weather made for more recreation time by the pool. The conference was held in Taxco, Mexico for the second year in a row. Taxco is a small mining town known for silver mining and silver jewelry.

The journey to the conference starts in Mexico City. Attendees and instructors met at LBP Board Member Axayacatl Nochipa’s studio, Ónix MX Estudio Tatuaje Piercing, for registration and to wait for the four large buses that would take us all down to Taxco for LBP. Many would dread a several hour bus ride, but the ride is always a lot of fun as everyone is excited for the conference and in great spirits. Before we knew it two hours had gone by and we were at the host venue. We had a few hours to settle down and have some lunch. Then there were classes before the opening party; a relaxed dinner by the pool with traditional local performers and dancers.

Now, let’s get to the best part of the conference: the classes and instructors! This year the instructors consisted of Sergi Tinaut, Didier Suarez, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Mauricio Torres, Aldo Gissi, Alicia Cardenas, Autumn Swisher, Paul King, Elayne Angel, Danny Yerna, Erika Gomez, Jef Saunders, Roberto Briseno, and yours truly. I got the chance to check out most of the classes taught by these instructors (except for the ones that were going on while I was teaching), and as usual all were stupendous. A personal stand out for me was Mauricio and Aldo’s class How to Elevate Your Studio to its Maximum Potential. They did some interesting things to make studio owners consider how they deal with their employees, and employees consider how they deal with their managers and bosses. Their approach created a great dialogue between the two groups. Another stand out for me was Paul King’s XXX History of Piercing in Porn, which isn’t shocking, as Paul’s classes tend to be very informative and entertaining.

Let’s not forget about the coveted jewelry expo, held in a lovely old church building. This year had more vendors than ever, featuring Namaste Adornments, Xamacalli, Gold Piercing, Tsar Jewelry, GL Pyrex Jewelry, Biometal, Industrial Strength Mexico, Diamonds MX, Kraken Jewelry, Ukuri Jewelry, Inari Organics, Quetzalli Jewelry, Gorilla Glass, Kiwi Jewelry, Sacred Symbols, Maya Jewelry, and Auris Jewelry. The expo hall was often packed between classes (and a little during classes), with everyone trying to maximize their time for buying all the gorgeous jewelry.

Mid week, the organizers set up a caminata (translation: walk or hike) through town to the center of Taxco and back. Guided by locals with donkeys carrying beverages, and local musicians, we walked through the small streets taking in the local architecture and artwork until we reached the zócalo (or “main square”), where we milled about the lively area and mingled with the locals. It made for an amazing evening.

As the conference came to an end, the Gala provided an interesting way to close out the event. After  dinner we were treated to a very powerful performance from Grupo de Danza Ozomahtli and Alfredo Martinez. The performance was a fusion of traditional Mexica (Aztec) and traditional Japanese butoh dance. They took us on a journey of all the animal energies of the Aztec calendar using slow rhythmic dancing that paid homage to Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain.

The LBP always puts on a great conference for the Latin American piercing  community,  and  I  look  forward to hopefully being invited again to participate in the future. If you are a Spanish speaker, I highly encourage you to go and take part in this amazing experience.

Point 88: Membership Committee Update

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by Monica Sabin, Membership Liaison

Membership Committee

  • Monica Sabin, Membership Liaison*
  • Pablo Perelmuter, Membership Coordinator*
  • W. Barron
  • Sabrina Egan**
  • Vivi Madero**
  • Johnny Velez
  • Cody Vaughn

* New position

** Incoming committee member

APP Membership Corner (Series 1)

Now that we’ve returned home after the 2019 APP Annual Conference and Exposition, are you feeling inspired to join the growing number of industry professionals becoming Members of the Association of Professional Piercers?

We have membership types1 for piercers, counter staff, jewelry specialists, business owners, and many more!

We would like to offer some tips to help you through the application process, including some of the common questions we receive!

  • Shoot your 360° studio walk through video horizontally—or you will have to reshoot 🙁
    • Videos that are shot side-to-side (rather than upand-down) provide an easier and more comprehensive viewing of the studio.
    • Generally this results in higher quality footage that makes the little details easier to see.
  • Before starting the application, use the Membership Requirements2as a checklist to gather all necessary documents.
    • Each application is specific to the membership type. During the application process, the applicant will be prompted for each item on this checklist, so preparing everything in advance will make the application process much more streamlined.
    • It can be handy to have all your documents organized in a folder on your computer. It will make life easier when it comes time to upload all your documents, since they’ll all be in one place!
      • This is especially helpful in situations of multiple applicants (coworkers) applying for the same studio!
    • Personal Criteria apply to all piercing membership types: Business and Associate Piercer.
    • Environmental Criteria apply to the studio location where the applicant will hold membership. Items under this heading will be required on all Business and Associate (Piercer and Non-Piercer) membership applications.
  • Renewal/resubmission of studio environmental criteria is required at least every two years if a Member joins the staff or if significant changes are made in the studio.
  • Print out the ‘Video Walkthrough’ section and carry it around with you while shooting your membership video! Everything we  are looking for is listed there, both requirements and suggestions. This will keep you from missing any areas or items, as missing items can cause a delay in application processing
  • Complete your application in one sitting
    • Neither yourself, the Membership Committee, or our Administrators will be able to access a partially completed application!
  • We want you to become a member!
    • We are our own worst critics. Many applicants tell us they fear rejection or harsh judgement. Our committee members work with every applicant directly and discreetly with any requirements or suggestions in order to help them achieve membership.
    • Every committee member is an active industry professional, working in studios. Many of us have been where you are and have all worked hard to obtain APP membership, just like you.
    • Think about it more like a mentorship, if anything!
  • Want to gain membership by the time your business opens or to attend our events as a Member? Plan ahead!
    • Application review and decision turn-around time can be upwards of 6 to 8 weeks, although the committee tries to keep that time as low as possible.
    • Pay attention to deadlines!

There are deadlines for obtaining membership for certain events such as our annual Camp APP: Members’ Retreat and our annual APP Conference and Exposition.

  • Research your jewelry companies and ask for mill or material certificates
    • There has been an influx of jewelry distributors or manufacturers using  non-conforming  titanium and making claims to meet APP minimum jewelry standards. Buyer beware! You can read more about this in Issue 873 of The Point: Journal of Body Piercing.
  • Mill certificates are typically many pages and are updated as often as a manufacturer obtains new material stock.
  • If you are provided with a one page mill certificate that is some years old, there may be an issue!
  • When in doubt, reach out to a Membership Committee volunteer or email members@safepiercing.org.

  • Checks & Balances
    • Committee members can not review applications for applicants that work in their own area.
    • Acceptances and Declinations are based off a set of fixed, publically available criteria known as our Membership Requirement.This means there is no room for personal biases to keep someone from gaining membership.
    • In all cases, applicants are notified of additional suggestions from the committee to increase health and safety in the studio.

If you have questions, someone may have already asked it in the APP Future Members4 forum. Of course, you’re also always welcomed to contact the Membership Committee by emailing members@safepiercing.org.

  1. “Membership Types,” Association of Professional Piercers, accessed August 7, 2019, https://www.safepiercing.org/membership_types.php
  2. “Membership Requirements,” Association of Professional Piercers, accessed August 7, 2019, https://www.safepiercing.org/membership_requirements.php
  3. “Issue 87,” The Point: Journal of Body Piercing, Association of Professional Piercers, published Summer 2019, https://www.safepiercing.org/docs/The_Point Journal_of_Body_Piercing-Issue87-Summer2019.pdf
  4. “APP Future Members,” Groups, Facebook, accessed August 7, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/APPfuturemembers/

Point 88: The BPA Contributes to the Musēe de L’Homme

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The Body Piercing Archive contributed material and guidance for the Piercing exhibit at the Musēe de L’Homme in Paris, France. The exhibit will run March 13, 2019 to March 9, 2020.

Project leader: Alexix Amen

Scientific Commissioner: Franz Manni

Piercing: L’ Exposition

Parallèlement à l’exposition Dans ma peau, Piercing propose un point de vue anthropologique sur le piercing. Mêlant représentations artistiques, objets préhistoriques, photographies et bijoux, l’exposition présente des pratiques du piercing depuis 45 000 ans. Différentes traditions seront abordées : des Kayapos du Brésil aux Dayaks du Bornéo, des «Primitifs Modernes» aux États-Unis aux usages contemporains.

Trouer la peau et y placer un objet visible est une pratique qui remonte à la préhistoire et dont on trouve des traces sur tous les continents, une pratique qui a perduré jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Ces modifications du corps prennent des  significations  diverses  : appartenance à un groupe, rites de passage, signes de prestige ou marques d’infamie, signes de soumission, de beauté et de force.

Si en Europe seule la boucle d’oreille semble avoir traversé les époques pour devenir une tradition bien ancrée, aujourd’hui les Occidentaux ont adopté de nouvelles modes et utilisent l’ensemble du corps comme moyen d’expression.

Parti de la Californie libertaire des années 1970, le renouveau de cette pratique ancestrale est inspiré par des précurseurs qui cherchaient à libérer le corps. Se définissant eux-mêmes comme « Primitifs Modernes », ils réinventent et réinterprètent les pratiques dans un nouveau contexte où le piercing se réalise désormais dans des conditions stériles et maîtrisées. C’est ainsi que le premier studio de piercing voit le jour en 1975.

D’abord réservée aux subcultures naissantes (gay, punk, SM), cette pratique va progressivement s’étendre à toute la société et s’imposer à l’échelle mondiale grâce à un phénomène d’imitation, soutenu par l’essor d’Internet, et s’imposer désormais sous un nom mondialisé : le piercing.

1 http://www.museedelhomme.fr/fr/programme/expositions-galerie-lhomme/piercing-3791

From prehistory to the present day, discover the variety of piercing traditions and practices around the world.

Piercing: The Exhibition

Piercing offers an anthropological perspective on piercing. Combining artistic representations, prehis- toric objects, photographs, and jewelry, the exhibition presents piercing practices for 45,000 years. Different traditions are discussed: from the Kayapos of Brazil to the Dayaks of Borneo, from the “Modern Primitives” in the United States to contemporary uses.

Finding the skin and placing a visible object on it is a practice that dates back to prehistoric times and has been found on every continent, a practice that has continued to this day. These changes in the body take on various meanings: belonging to a group, rites of pas- sage, signs of prestige or marks of infamy, signs of submission, beauty, and strength.

If in Europe only the earring seems to have crossed the ages to become a well-established tradition, today the Westerners have adopted new fashions and use the whole body as a means of expression.

Starting in liberal California in the 1970s, the renew- al of this ancestral practice was inspired by precursors who sought to liberate the body. Defining themselves as “Modern Primitives,” they reinvent and reinterpret practices in a new context where piercing is now per- formed in sterile and controlled conditions. This is how the first piercing studio was created in 1975.

Initially reserved for emerging subcultures (gay, punk, SM), this practice has gradually spread to the whole of society and impose itself on a global scale thanks to a phenomenon of imitation, supported by the rise of the Internet, and now impose itself under a globalized name: piercing.

Piercing: The Exhibition

Piercing offers an anthropological perspective on piercing. Combining artistic representations, prehistoric objects, photographs, and jewelry, the exhibition presents piercing practices for 45,000 years. Different traditions are discussed: from the Kayapos of Brazil to the Dayaks of Borneo, from the “Modern Primitives” in the United States to contemporary uses.

Finding the skin and placing a visible object on it is a practice that dates back to prehistoric times and has been found on every continent, a practice that has continued to this day. These changes in the body take on various meanings: belonging to a group, rites of passage, signs of prestige or marks of infamy, signs of submission, beauty, and strength.

If in Europe only the earring seems to have crossed the ages to become a well-established tradition, today the Westerners have adopted new fashions and use the whole body as a means of expression.

Starting in liberal California in the 1970s, the renewal of this ancestral practice was inspired by precursors who sought to liberate the body. Defining themselves as “Modern Primitives,” they reinvent and reinterpret practices in a new context where piercing is now performed in sterile and controlled conditions. This is how the first piercing studio was created in 1975.

Initially reserved for emerging subcultures (gay, punk, SM), this practice has gradually spread to the whole of society and impose itself on a global scale thanks to a phenomenon of imitation, supported by the rise of the Internet, and now impose itself under a globalized name: piercing.

Point 88: 2019 Members’ Meeting Update

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APP Officers

APP Board of Directors

  • Cody Vaughn, President* — president@safepiercing.org
  • Becky Dill, Vice-President** — vp@safepiercing.org
  • Cale Belford, Outreach Coordinator** — outreach@safepiercing.org
  • Monica Sabin, Membership Liaison** — members@safepiercing.org
  • Steve Joyner, Legislation & Regulatory Affairs — legislation@safepiercing.org
  • Brian Skellie, Medical Liaison — medical@safepiercing.org
  • Jef Saunders, Public Relations Coordinator* — pr@safepiercing.org

APP Outgoing Board Members

  • Luis Garcia, International Liaison
  • Kendra Jane B, Events and Operations
  • Ryan Ouellette, Outreach Coordinator

* New position

** Incoming Board Member

Point 88: APPE (Asociacion Profesional de Perforadores Espanoles)

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by Luis Garcia

Photos by Ruben Mac-Lean and Kent Tonning

APPE Attendees

The APPE (Asociación Profesional de Perforadores Españoles) is a newer organization— about 4 years old—and I’ve been lucky to have been invited to teach at their conference for the last two years. Held an hour outside of Madrid at a camping style resort with cabins, it’s a relaxed and laid back event. Attendees meet in Madrid and then board buses for the hour-long drive to the resort. The conference organizers and instructors are taken a day early to the venue, so we can get everything ready for the attendees to arrive. I enjoy this time, helping the APPE Board, and watching how they’ve evolved and improved everything over the last year.

The next day around noon, the attendees arrived at the venue, got assigned to their cabins, and had a few hours to get settled before the welcome meal. APPE doesn’t mess around and had four classes scheduled for the first afternoon and evening of the conference.

Checking out the
jewelry selection

Being a newer, smaller conference, there were only a few of us as instructors, with most of us teaching two classes. This year they had Anskar Caballero teaching Piercing History of Spain and Empathy and Laughter, and it’s Application in Piercing, Lani Soleil teaching Piercing Kids’ Earlobes, Eugenia Delphine teaching Optimizing Buying, Selling, and Displaying Jewelry, Laura Vikt teaching Nipple Piercing and Sterilization, Ruben Lew teaching Mystical Daiths and Photography and Portfolio, and lastly I taught Honing in on High Nostrils and Industrials: Keeping it Simple. The classes were all great, and it made me happy to see newer instructors like Lani and Eugenia kill it with their first classes.

Lani Soleil, Luis Garcia, Jesus “Sala” Cabanas, Laura Vikit, Anskar Caballero, Gladix Porca Miseria, & Ruben Lew

The time between classes was designated to use in the Expo for jewelry buying. Expo vendors included Quetzalli Jewelry, Sacred Symbols, Millennium Body Jewelry, Kraken Body Jewellery, Maya Jewelry, Industrial Strength Europe, Auris Jewellery, NeoMetal, Tsar Jewellery, Neilmed Piercing Aftercare, and Inari Organics. The Expo and the classes were in the same area and separated by a curtain, so this worked well to keep people focused on classes when needed, and gave vendors some breaks in between rushes.

Luis giving a presentation

On the evening of the second day they had their gala dinner at the resort’s restaurant and then the closing party, featuring sideshow entertainment from Håvve Fjell, Princess Tweedle Needle, and then a dance party with Norwegian DJ, MDR. Spirits were high, and the dancing went on well into the early hours of the morning.

Havve Fjell performance being captured by an attendee

The APPE Conference this year was a great experience, and I hope to be invited back for next year, so I can continue to see the organization grow and evolve. Many thanks to Jesus “Sala” Cabanas, Gladix Porca Miseria, and Jose Carlos Calvo (who are the three sole Board Members for the APPE), and all the instructors, attendees, and vendors that helped make this conference so great!

Point 88: The Remembrance Altar

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by Alicia Cardenas

Photos by Marina Pecorino

As the professional community grows in so many ways, we also have experienced some profound losses including industry pioneers, longtime vendors, and close supporters of the APP. This year at Conference and for the coming years, we will have a community remembrance space that is open to all to participate in. It is an ongoing movement to learn our past as we spring into the future. Each and everyone of us has also experienced loss and some of that loss makes us who we are. This is also the space to honor those people as well.