Frenum Piercing - History and Culture

History and Culture

The earliest literary reference to frenum piercings occurs in Die künstlichen Verunstaltungen des Körpers bei den Batta. Zeitschrift für Ethnologie (16:217-225, 1884), which states: "Amongst the Timorese of Indonesia, the Frenulum beneath the glans penis is pierced with brass rings...the function of the ring is to enhance stimulation during sex." Anecdotal piercing lore associates this piercing (along with many other male genital piercings) with various chastity devices that have been used throughout history, although there is little hard data to back up this claim.

In contemporary society, frenum piercings were primarily found amongst the members of gay BDSM subcultures, until body piercing became re-introduced to mainstream society in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Frenum piercings are often intended to provide sexual pleasure to both the bearer and the person he is having sexual intercourse with. They may also be used to attach chastity devices to the bearer, denying them sexual pleasure.

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