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Roman Centurions wore leather armour breast plates which were shaped to fit the
body and rings were sometimes placed in these breastplates where the nipples appeared
to be, the rings were used to hang a cape from. This has led to the belief by
some people that the actual nipples were pierced to hang a cape from, but anybody
who has had their nipples pierced would tell you that this would be a very uncomfortable
practice.
"In the middle of the 14th century...Many women suddenly wore 'such low
necklines that you could see nearly half their breasts', and among the upper
classes in the same century, Queen Isabella of Bavaria introduced the 'Garments
of the grand neckline', where the dress was open to the navel. This fashion
eventually led to the application of rouge to freely displayed nipples, those
'little apples of paradise' and to placing diamond studded rings or small caps
on them, even to piercing them and passing gold chains through them decorated
with diamonds" "Dreamtime" Hans Peter Duerr
In the late 1890s the 'Bosom Ring', came into fashion briefly, and sold in
expensive Parisian jewellery shops. These 'Anneux De Sein' were inserted through
the nipple, and some women wore on either side linked with a delicate chain.
The rings enlarged the nipples and kept them in a state of constant excitation...the
medical community was outraged by these cosmetic procedures, for they represented
a rejection of traditional conceptions of the purpose of a woman's body."
"Anatomy & Destiny" Stephen Kern
"For a long time I could not understand why I should consent to such a
painful operation without sufficient reason. I soon, however came to the conclusion
that many ladies are ready to bear the passing pain for the sake of love. I
found that the breasts of those who wore rings were incomparably rounder and
fuller developed than those who did not. My doubts were now at an end...so I
had my nipples pierced, and when the wounds were healed, I had rings inserted...with
regard to the experience of wearing these rings, I can only say that they are
not in the least uncomfortable or painful. On the contrary, the slight rubbing
and slipping of the rings causes in me an extremely titillating feeling, and
all my colleagues I have spoken to on this subject have confirmed my opinion."
London socialite writing in "Vogue" 1890
Nipple piercing was once practised by the Karankawa indians of Texas adn is
still practised in the Mountains of Algeria, by women of the nomadic Kabyle
tribe. In the west nipple piercing has made a resurgence, with many famous people
having their nipples pierced ie. Lenny Kravitz, Jaye Davidson (The Crying Game),
Gerry Connelly (Comedian), Tommy Lee (Drummer Motley Crue- Husband of Pamela
Stephenson Baywatch) and Axl Rose (Guns & Roses).
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