When I was 12 years old, my mum went through a sort of "mid-life crisis" and decided to act the age she felt as opposed to what she was. Not that I have a problem with this. In fact, I thought it was a good idea she was doing her own thing instead of taking on a role like every other mother. First decision she made was to get her navel done. Now, being only 12 at the time, I didn't really see the difference between one piercer and the next, as long as it looked ok. Damn was I wrong.
At A Glance Author Becky Chaos Contact Becky Chaos@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist some girl who's name I forgot because it was too long ago Studio Dr Feel Goods Tattoo Parlour Location Poole, Dorset, S. UK A local tattoo parlour (Dr Feel Goods) would do the piercing, but an appointment was needed and I think at that point my mum and her friend were doing this purely on an adrenalin rush so that was no good. Up the road was a tanning salon that also did basic piercing. We went, had a look around, and everything seemed ok and the piercing was done.
Within three weeks the new addition had well migrated due to the bar being too short and to be perfectly honest, I could have done a better navel piercing.
But that's not the point of the story. Just before my mum jumped into the chair she asked me if I wanted it. Having only got my self stretched 8ga lobes at that age I didn't think a navel piercing would be a good idea. Also the fact I was rather a tomboy and thought the idea of something as girly as that was disgusting. And to think how many 12 year old girls would have jumped at my opportunity.
Just over a year later and I realised being a tomboy really wasn't me and naturally, I once again came across the navel piercing. The idea kept floating in and out of my mind and I finally thought "fuck it, I'm gonna get it done". So, I brought the subject up with my mother and to my complete surprise she said no. How had her view on such a basic piercing change in the space of a year, and a bit? Surely, she would want her almost 14 year old daughter to get it done as opposed to her 12 year old? Obviously not.
After a lot of arguing, convincing of which I showed her a lot of research, she admitted she wasn't a fan of piercing anymore and caved to letting me get it done. ("I suppose it's not anything too drastic") And that was that. I was off to the initial choice of Dr Feel Goods to get my belly button stabbed.
I walked in to a little room and my mum proceeded to ask all the questions and we were there for a good half an hour. Deciding against the piercing then and there (gig in evening, new piercing wouldn't be too happy) and went for an afternoon appointment the next day. I was stupidly over excited and envied by many of my peers who's parents were against anything but a standard lobe piercing done with a gun at a hair dressers.
The next day I walked in, every so slightly nervous and led to a back room, cleaner than anything I'd ever seen, but the off putting fact was three very large, very inked males sitting around chatting with tattoo artists and piercers alike. Needless to say, I was feeling a little patronised. But, turns out they were some of the nicest people I could meet. I chatted with my piercer about the little things such as my 'pistols 79 tour t-shirt and my self done lobes, (which supposedly were done at such a young age) before we decided to get on with it. She was very insistent on using a ring, but that didn't bother me; I was more fond of rings that a boring bar every other girl had. To this very day I still have that ring, in fact, I'm wearing it right now, three years later.
She went through the whole procedure with me, telling me everything she was doing as she was doing it, which I found reassuring as I was not too familiar with the art of piercing.
Thinking about it, the clamps were the only painful thing. And that wasn't pain, more discomfort. I'm not a fan of pinches, pain yes, but not pinches.
"Take a deep breath in and then out, and keep doing that. I'm going to do the piercing on your third deep breath. If you're not ready tell me and..." I was too high on adrenalin to say no. Breathe in, needle through. I was disappointed. I was expecting a little bit of pain, but nothing. I felt the needle go through, I felt the ring being closed with the same black ball I play with not, but no significant pain. None the less, the I fell instantly in love with it. It looked gorgeous and it made me feel, grown up maybe? I'm not entirely sure, but I had the biggest smile on my face. Strict aftercare was gone over with me, such as salt soaks and zinc tablets but this was all familiar with my lobes. I tipped the piercer Claire (I think that was her name?!) and left the shop with a big gauze patch over my tummy.
After care went perfectly well. 5 weeks and I was able to change it for a bar (which didn't last long as I missed the ring) and within two weeks after I was already getting it measured and having a much smaller black metal ring put in. No hassle since. No scar tissue, no infections, nothing.
To a certain extent, I'm disappointed with this piercing. A sudden boom in body modifications amongst "normal" people has meant navel piercing are more than common. In fact, it's rare to find a girls belly without a sparkly cheap metal bar through it. However, I don't intend on taking it out soon. It marks my first piercing done with a needle (I only had lobes before) and I'll admit to even liking the way it looks. My boyfriend adores it and I'm constantly playing with it, like a comforter. I'm considering stretching it to a larger size but this might just be due to the absent of a new piercing since July just gone.
So, navel piercing are considered mundane now, right? Screw it, mine means a lot to me and just because everyone else has one, it shouldn't stop you getting it done. Certainly didn't make me retire mine.