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Point #65: From the Editor

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IMG_3716Kim Zapata headshotBy Kimberly Zapata
The Point Editor

As 2013 draws to close, I—like most—have been reflecting on the year as a whole. When I consider 2013 in piercing, I am in awe at what we as a piercing community have accomplished. The Point, our very own industry publication, saw its first year fully online—reaching a wider audience than we could have imagined. Legislation was passed in numerous states that promotes safe piercing (like New York’s bill requiring parental consent for the piercing of underage individuals) and protects the rights of modified individuals (see Arkansas’s fierce fight to defend scarification). Other countries made equally impressive strides: South Australia is working to ban piercing guns, and just last month the newly formed LBP (Lationoamericana Body Piercing A.C.) hosted their first annual Conference, the first Congreso Internacional de Perforadores Profesionales, in Mexico. While the Conference consisted of a wide array of events and classes, there was also a fantastic announcement: Mexico is officially banning piercing guns!

While some U.S. states and several European countries have already banned piercing guns for use on cartilage, including ears and nostrils, and other areas of the body, Mexico is the first country to ban its use entirely. This is huge, though I don’t need to tell those of you in the piercing community why piercing guns are so dangerous. (Many of you have seen the work of a gun piercing gone bad.)

I have my own piercing gun horror story: the first time my ears were pierced, at nine years old—andPoint65-piercing gun with a gun—the piercing became infected within two weeks. Whether the infection was the result of contaminated equipment, poor quality jewelry, a terrible aftercare regimen, user error, or “twisting” the posts I will never know. I reluctantly removed the studs and waited another four years before having them repierced, again with a gun. (It was the ’90s; my mother and I didn’t know any better and actually assumed it was preferable to the “ice cube and sewing needle” method she knew.) My second experience was worse than the first; while the stud did pierce my lobe, one of the guns mechanisms failed and the jewelry was never ejected. This means my ear was pierced but the gun was still attached. Imagine sitting nervously on one of those cold stools—in front of a floor-to-ceiling window—feeling the jewelry pass through your skin and then hearing the phrase, “Uh oh.” After a few painful minutes of poking and pulling the piercing “tech”—i.e. counter girl—was able to wiggle the jewelry free and I walked away with a pair of pierced ears that miraculously healed.

The APP has taken the following stance against piercing guns:

It is the position of the Association of Professional Piercers that only sterile disposable equipment is suitable for body piercing, and that only materials which are certified as safe for internal implant should be placed in inside a fresh or unhealed piercing. We consider unsafe any procedure that places vulnerable tissue in contact with either non-sterile equipment or jewelry that is not considered medically safe for long-term internal wear…[f]or this reason, APP members may not use reusable ear piercing guns for any type of piercing procedure. While piercing guns may seem to be a quick, easy and convenient way of creating holes, they have major drawbacks in terms of sterility, tissue damage and inappropriate jewelry design.”

However many states and communities have not. (Keep in mind these decisions and regulations are passed at a local, not national, level in America, hence we cannot push for a nationwide ban.) That said, as we start the new year, I have a challenge for all piercers (and piercing enthusiasts): Join together and work to ban piercing guns in your state, city, or municipality. How? Education, education, education. Continue to educate piercees, public health officials, legislators, and anyone who will listen about the dangers of piercing guns, the jewelry they use, and the untrained individuals who operate them. Petition those who have the power to write, present and vote on these regulations. And do what you do best: perform safe and healthy piercings in sterile conditions all day, everyday.

There is power in numbers, so let’s pull our voices together and work to make 2014 an even better year for safe and professional piercing. And, as always, enjoy this issue of The Point.

 

Point #63: From the Editor

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IMG_3716Kim Zapata headshotBy Kimberly Zapata

As we all know, switching The Point to an online-only format has been quite the change. In many respects, this switch was inevitable; the internet is the “way of the future,” though the future has been here for quite some time. But this does not mean many of us—myself included—do not miss the way things were: the touch and feel of freshly printed paper, the glossy cover that slid beneath our fingertips as we flipped through each and every page, and that one piece of mail that made the day better (you know, that something special that wasn’t a bill or brochure for office supplies). So it is in these moments of nostalgia that feedback—like that from Randall Martinez—is all the more important.

Randall is from a small town in Nebraska. Having lived in major metropolitan areas for the last 17 years—and having never been to Nebraska—I can only speculate what “small town” means. What I know it means for Randall is that, until recently, Randall was never exposed to an issue of The Point. However, once The Point became a fully-online APP publication, Randall took note. He contacted Elayne Angel in April, commenting on her President’s Corner:

“This is really cool that they [the issues of The Point] are available online. I [have] never seen an issue of The Point until now. Thanks from Nebraska.”

As simple a gesture as this comment was, it means a lot not only to myself, Elayne Angel, Kendra Jane, Jim Ward, Brian Skellie, and the entire Point team, but to our community as a whole. In this digital age we often think of ourselves as closer than ever before, but we’ve also become lulled into a false sense of security that everyone—everywhere—knows what we are thinking and doing at all times. We tend to forget how very big this world is, and how very small we are. While the internet helps to bridge this gap—what could possibly help us achieve our mission of the “dissemination of information about body piercing” better—notes from Randall remind us just how far we have come, as an organization and piercing family, and how far we have to go.

So while it’s okay to feel nostalgic (hell, that is one reason we will be publishing an annual “Best of the Best” anthology), to quote Dolores Umbridge—”progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged,” but progress for the sake of change—change like Randall and others have no doubt experienced—is worth each and every painful step. So sit back and enjoy this issue of The Point, whether you are reading it from a computer screen in your shop, the comfort of your home, or your cellphone, laptop, or e-reader at the 2013 APP Annual Conference and Exposition.

 

Point #62: From the Editor

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IMG_3716Kim Zapata headshotBy Kimberly Zapata

We have focused a lot of energy in the last few issues of The Point on various aspects of the internet (from piercing videos to social media and content sharing), and for good reason. As everyone is already aware, especially us “old-heads” who grew up in the pen-and-pencil days of yesteryear, the internet has permanently altered every aspect of our lives: from how we communicate to how we conduct research, business, and even shop. The pros and cons of the digital age can be debated at length, and without a true resolution, but like it or not, the information era is here to stay. Why do I bring this up? I’m glad you asked.

This issue of The Point is full of coverage that may not have been possible just a few decades ago. It is no doubt cliche to say we are more connected now than we have ever been—not only as a global culture but also as a piercing community. (Just one look at the reach and scope of the Association today is a testament to that.) It is because of this connectivity we can learn what is going on in our global community almost instantaneously. For example, in November 2012, the South Australian government passed legislation making it illegal to perform body modifications on minors. Before the internet, who knows when this would have come to light. Thanks to the digital age, articles about this new law were appearing in my Facebook feed in less than 24 hours—the same goes for the February 21 TENnews story about a proposed amendment to this law, which would also ban reusable ear piercing guns in the region. (For more information on both of these stories, check out our South Australian legislation update.)

However, this 24/7 culture—with its access to, and overabundance of, information—isn’t always a blessing. As Kendra Jane explores in “What age are body modifications appropriate?” this connectivity also breeds contempt. Everyone, expert or not, now has a voice, and platform to stand on. Message boards are full of the ignorant, the combative, the judgemental, and the uneducated. This is not to say that productive discussions cannot occur online (in fact, they do each and every day), it is—however—a downside of our tech-savvy, about.com society: Everyone now has a place to share their thoughts and opinions, for good or ill. For us, as an industry, this should be seen as an opportunity: we now have a chance—unlike any other—to educate the public about piercing, and to tear down long-standing misconceptions. This is our chance to lead a healthy discussion, and I encourage you all to heed the call (which is why I feel all of this “internet” coverage is so very important).

That said, The Point is a direct (and positive) result of this modernization, and we hope to use it to point you in the right direction (pun intended). Beyond the aforementioned content, this issue includes the final installment of the “Making Safe Piercing Viral” series, intended to teach piercers and other industry professionals the basic ins and outs of social media. It also includes a video from our President, in Mexico; coverage of our recent APP outreach efforts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and an article about the APP brochures, written by several volunteers across the country.

So sit back and enjoy this issue on your computer screen, Kindle, or smartphone; much of what you are reading, and the way you are reading it, are thanks to technology. Just remember, as Voltaire once said (or Uncle Ben from Spiderman), “with great power comes great responsibility,” and we have a huge responsibility to act as the voice of our industry—not only in our day-to-day encounters but online as well.

Point #61: From the Editor

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By Kimberly Zapata

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Søren Kierkegaard

The Point: The Quarterly Journal of the Association of Professional Piercers is a sixty-one issue publication, in its seventeenth year (and counting). It is – without a doubt – the living history of our industry, but we cannot move forward without stopping to look back at where we have been.

When The Point began in 1995, it was a black and white Xerox-copied leaflet that provided APP members with legislation information, early organizational outreach updates, and general piercing-related stories. There was no particular editor; instead, a handful of individuals worked to create issues #1 through #17; as such, there was no regular print schedule. Instead, the first seventeen issues trickled out over the course of six years. (These early issues of The Point, along with all back issues, can be viewed here.)

In 2001, Elayne Angel took the reigns as Editor—a position she held until June 2005. During her time, Elayne managed to bring something to The Point it very much needed: a consistent publishing schedule. She oversaw 16 issues during this period, authoring many articles herself and worked diligently to expand the content and scope of The Point. However, the most obvious and sweeping changes came about—in full color—in issue #33. Without even opening the cover, it is apparent when James Weber took the helm. He was responsible, with the design work of Jon Loudon, for much of what you see today. As James pointed out in that issue of The Point:

“The Point, like the APP, has come from very humble beginnings to become an established publication   with distribution among not only it’s membership, but to diverse medical professional and legislators in not only this country, but around the world.”

Our publication would not look the same without the work of these two men over the last six years, and I personally owe them a great deal of gratitude. If it were not for James introducing me to The Point and the piercing industry in 2009, I would not be taking the reigns today.

I began my own work with The Point in late 2009, just after I started working at Infinite Body Piercing, Inc. Both positions were obtained as a result of being at the right place at the right time. Prior to my employment at Infinite, I worked in corporate America as an administrative assistant in your typical dress-or-pantsuit sort of position. I came of age in this environment, learning that while I was growing as a person, corporate America wasn’t growing with me. As each year passed, I became more and more visibly modified—and more and more publicly scrutinized. I began looking for a new job the day I was forced to write a policy banning visible tattoos, body piercings, or “unnatural” hair colors or styles in our workplace.

The Point is the perfect culmination of my passion for this industry and my passion for writing. Aside from my work at Infinite and with The Point, I also hold an AA in Liberal Arts and Certificate in Creative Writing, and I am currently an English major at Temple University. I am the founder and editor-in-chief of Transient Publishing, an online literary magazine and writing community, and I continue to write on a freelance basis.

In issue #59, James’ last as Editor, he noted that The Point “belongs to all of us, our industry and our community. It’s going to be what we choose to make of it.”  So what are my hopes for the next phase in The Point’s “life?” What are yours?

By now you are aware of the most obvious change—that The Point is entirely online—but I personally hope to devote some more time to exploring the many names and faces of our industry. In issue #59, Cody Vaughn conducted an extensive interview of Paul King. While many of us know Paul—have taken his courses at Conference, spoken with him in the halls, or simply chatted online—I think few of us knew “all-about” Paul. This seems especially true of younger piercers and, as much as I hate to date myself, my generation. We all know their names, have seen their faces; however, I believe there is still a great deal to learn about their early professional lives and rise in our industry.

I also hope we can begin some open dialogues about topics that we tend to shy away from. Elayne Angel began one of these dialogues, also in issue #59, when she broached the topic of piercing videos online, putting out a call out for quality videos to combat all of the poorly performed procedures that tend to top YouTube view lists. In the current issue, we are opening yet another one of those dialogues with Kendra Janes’s  article “An Exploration of Pain:” where Kendra attempts to define pain and its relationship to the piercing industry.

As a member of the piercing community, I am very much in my infancy. I know I still have a great deal to learn, and I look forward to learning it from you, my piercing friends and family.

So now I ask you to sit back and enjoy this very special issue of The Point—the first ever fully-online APP publication.

Point #60 From the Editor: Elayne Angel

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By Elayne Angel

The Point has gone through quite a number of changes since it was first launched as an undated newsletter in the mid 1990s. At that stage, it was little more than a half-dozen photocopied pages stapled together. I’ve personally been involved with this periodical for over a decade. I’ve authored numerous articles, served as editor from issues #17-32 (2001-2004), and co-editor with James Weber from issues #46-55 (2009-2011).

James did a truly commendable job during his years at the copy desk. Taking the helm in 2005, he brought issues #33-59 into print, and the most obvious and sweeping changes took place during his tenure. He transformed the publication from a black-and-white newsletter into a full-fledged, glossy journal with color covers, a full-color online version (starting with issue #46/47), and a full-color print version (starting with issue #55).

After devoting countless hours to overseeing twenty-six colorful and informative magazines, James has now retired from the position—and he is surely deserving of some rest. There’s currently an ad out for a new editor, but as of this writing, the vacancy has yet to be filled. So here I am, jumping back in–briefly–to bring to fruition this issue, #60, the last in our quarterly print schedule.

Our grandest makeover in quite some time is forthcoming: The Point is becoming an online publication. We are putting the final touches on the technology that readers will use to access our digital content. Don’t despair if you prefer traditional ink and paper; we do plan to produce an annual Best of The Point print edition.

It’s been a great run, and I know that a tremendous amount of useful piercing-related information has been widely circulated as a result of the efforts of everyone who has contributed. There have been multitudes: a pack of proofreaders and assistants, scores of writers, an assortment of graphic designers, and the hardworking volunteers and staffers who have mailed out piles of publications. The Point has been a true collaboration, and it will continue to use a teamwork approach. In fact, you are invited to participate. Content submissions are open to members and nonmembers alike, and really anyone who has relevant material to share with the piercing community.

We have had our current and back issues posted and available online for free download in .PDF format for quite some time now (thanks to additional volunteer work). The figures show that digital viewing has vastly surpassed our print circulation. I am confident that going forward we will be able to do an even better job by making use of the latest technology, and employing the immediacy and enormous scope of the internet. More timely and extensive sharing and facilitated networking bring increased opportunities for exposure. We will also be able to have richer content with more photos, slideshows, and videos. Then there’s clickable ads, which are undoubtedly more effective than print ads for our advertisers, and easier to use for our readers.

Let’s not disregard the desirable detail that this is an eco-friendly move. Sadly, the piercing profession is not even a pale shade of “green” because we must use so many disposable and non-recyclable items. Therefore, I feel it is important that piercers be as conscientious as we can in other areas of our lives to protect the environment.

Since we’re saving money by eliminating substantial quarterly printing and postage costs, the Board of Directors has decided that the online Point will be free to everyone who wishes to view it! After all, the core mission of the organization is to disseminate information.

If you have issues remaining on your Point subscription you have a few choices: 

  1. You can donate the balance to our non-profit educational organization, which is preferred by our treasurer and deeply appreciated by the association.
  2. You can let it ride and apply your balance to the annual print issue. (The actual cost will be determined when the project is undertaken.)
  3. You could use the balance as a credit toward other APP merchandise.
  4. You can request a refund of your subscription balance if need be.

We all know that the Internet has become the hub from which most personal and commercial interactions across the globe now take place. The web has affected the way we do nearly everything, including live, work, and play. Technology is not just changing how we furnish The Point, it is actually affecting the topics we cover in the magazine.

Just two issues back, in The Point #58, my President’s Corner article addressed the problem of online videos showing bad piercings, and I made an appeal for readers to inundate the web with videos of safe and skillfully done piercings. In that same issue there was an article penned by Bethra Szumski about the online photo sharing site, Pinterest, and the impact it had on the popularity of the triple forward helix piercing. Now, a host of articles in this current issue make it abundantly clear that the writing is on the wall, or rather, on the web:

Internet Posting Etiquette cautions us to think before we post; Social Media for Piercers discusses pros and cons of a number of the common websites we use in our online marketing, and Making Safe Piercing Viral is a dialogue with several savvy piercers who provide suggestions for achieving good metrics in reach, share of voice, engagement, and more. To round it out, we have a piece on the legal risks of performing adult piercings on minors and also a legislation update. And naturally, since this is the post-Conference issue, we have coverage of our absolutely astounding annual affair.

Feel the silky smooth pages, inhale the distinctive aroma of ink on paper, and revel in this historical moment, knowing that you are currently reading the final quarterly print issue of The Point. Look for us online.