Pocketing - Piercing Prohibitions and Taboos

Piercing Prohibitions and Taboos

While body piercing has grown more widespread, it can remain controversial, particularly in youth. Some countries impose age of consent laws requiring parental permission for minors to receive body piercings. Scotland requires parental consent for youths below 16, while in 2011 Wales began considering a similar law. In addition to imposing parental consent requirements, Western Australia prohibits piercing private areas of minors, including genitals and nipples, on penalty of fine and imprisonment for the piercer. Many states in the US also require parental consent to pierce minors, with some also requiring the physical presence of the parents during the act. The state of Idaho has imposed a minimum age for body piercing at 14.

In 2004, controversy erupted in Crothersville, Indiana when a local high school featured a spread on "Body Decorations" in its yearbook that featured tattoos and body piercings of teachers and students. That same year, in Henry County, Georgia, a 15-year-old boy remained in in-school suspension for a full month for violating school policy by wearing eyebrow, nose, labret and tongue piercings to school before his mother decided to homeschool him.

According to 2006's Tattoos and Body Piercing, corporate dress codes can also strictly limit piercing displays. At that time, Starbucks limited piercings to two per ear and jewellery to small, matched earrings. Employees of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts were not permitted to display piercings at all.

Body piercing in some religions is held to be destructive to the body. Some passages of the Bible, including Leviticus 19:28, have been interpreted as prohibiting body modification because the body is held to be the property of God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken an official position against most piercings unless for medical reasons, although they accept piercings for women as long as there is only one set of piercings in the lower lobe of the ears and no other place on the body. Wearing of very large nose rings on Shabbat is forbidden by the Talmud.