On Ethics, Experimentation, and Age.
At A Glance Author Meagn Barber Contact [email protected] IAM MissMeg When N/A
Let me start by introducing myself to those who don't know me. My name is Meagan Barber, better known as Miss Meg, and I am a professional body piercer with about 11 years in this industry. I have worked in Ohio, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and as of right now, I call Venus By Maria Tash in NYC my home. I have been at this studio for just over a year.
Over the years, I have sat back and watched piercing evolve from an underground activity practiced by the fringe of our society to one that is so mainstream it's unbelievable at times that it's the same thing. Today's clients range from the uber-punk to the uber-celebrity, and all manner of people in between. I pierce doctors, lawyers, soccer moms, and high profile musicians and actresses. I pierce little kids' lobes, and 80 year old men's nipples. And this is as it should be. We are not an exclusive club.
The thing I have noticed more and more in recent years though is the willingness to experiment on clientele for procedures that we aren't sure of. It used to be, if there was a new or wacky thing you wanted to try, you did it on your room mate, or your lover, or on yourself, but not any more. These days, it seems piercers are drawing from their client base for these experiments, and that is simply dangerous and foolish.
The main argument you always hear is.."if this isn't stopped, body piercing will be banned.."
I doubt body piercing will ever fully be banned. As long as there is a town councilman's wife with a navel piercing that he just thinks is the sexiest thing on earth, or a mom on the PTA board who wants her daughter's lobes pierced, there will always be piercing. But the thing that WILL happen, is that we will become so regulated it will be impossible to operate in the way we are accustomed, thus pushing more extreme practices underground again.
Of course, this could have two outcomes.. Either the trend for piercing, standard and otherwise, dies away significantly, or rogue hacks spring up in even greater numbers, putting more and more people into the realm of the guinea pig. Both are less than ideal for all of us.
With the recent ModBlog controversy over the eyelid microdermal, it really brings to the forefront the question of "when is it OK to experiment on clients?"
The simple answer is a blanket "never". A more in depth answer would be "when the procedure is in fact tested, just not in THIS particular situation". A good example would be fully informing a client that they have a less than ideal navel for piercing, them insisting on having it done anyway, and then the piercer using a different placement to make it work Remember all the 45* angled navels of the 90's on those less than perfect navels? Case in point. No harm done really, just a little trail and error. And a few funky navel piercings as a reminder.
The last answer, and the most common it seems in terms of today's hot-shot piercers, is "Always! I have ideas I need to test!"
The next question that begs to be answered is, if clients are acceptable guinea pigs, then, specifically, which clients are the best for this?
Again, going back to basic answers, you have "The heavily pierced client who is extremely careful and knows their body enough to understand what may happen", who would be, of course, the best person for that role, and "Who cares. If I tell the client the risks, and they still want it, OK", which is of course, how it seems things go these days.
Personally, I will admit to playing around with different theories on how things will heal with clients. BUT (and there is ALWAYS a "but") I was very careful to only do things that were deemed "experimental" on clients that were heavily modified, who were fully informed, and who I knew I would see often enough to keep tabs on the healing and any complications. Over the years, I have had 3 test subjects, and I saw all of them at least weekly.
I never would have put a client at risk for something truly dangerous and damn sure never would have done something so foolish on a minor, regardless of age of consent in that particular area.
The legal age of consent in some places for sexual intercourse is 14. Does that mean that the 14 year old in question is mentally mature enough to handle the possible side-effects of that sexual relationship? How many 14 year olds make good parents? Doubtfully many.
The same thing goes for piercing. To those of us who pierce minors, how many of them actually listen to you when you tell them how to care for the piercing? How many will actually listen to you about changing the jewelry too soon? At 16 years old, many kids are still very flighty, and are risk takers by nature. If a piercer suggests something that is super edgy and hip, who are they to say no?!
I'm not saying that Lane didn't have the young lady evaluated for her level of maturity. I'm not saying he isn't best friends with her. I'm not saying he hasn't seen her heal 28 piercings this year alone. What I AM saying, is that even if those above statements are true, a 16 year old is not a good candidate for a procedure that could possibly leave her with a damaged eyelid/eye. Especially not at the hands of someone who should know better and have some common sense.
Piercers like this make us gods in the eyes of teenagers, and a menace in the eyes of the health department. Add to that the rumors of injectable anesthetics, and you have a cocktail for disaster.
We as piercers have a certain responsibility to uphold basic standards of ethics and morals with our job. We wield a lot of influence and power with our younger clients, and it needs to be used in a positive light. For positive education and helping the growth of our industry, rather than taking the risks presented to us to potentially destroy it.