Why do females get tongue piercings?

Question

I’ve been noticing that I’m seeing more and more women with pierced tongues. It always takes me by surprise when one of them opens their mouth and I see a little ball on top of their tongue. To me this looks painful and seems like a weird thing to do. Does a pierce tongue have any special meaning? Why do women get their tongues pierced?

Answer 1

Tongue piercing has been a growing trend amongst young people since the 1980s. Its popularity has grown along with other body piercings in unusual places like eyebrows, nostrils, lips, navels, nipples, and elsewhere. It’s considered a form of body art and is no longer reserved for those considered rebels or freaks, but can be found in men and women of all social classes.

There is some history to the act of tongue piercing, though it’s not done now for the same reasons it was back then. In the days of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, tongue piercing was part of their religious and performance rituals, though the piercing was not used to hold jewelry or kept open on a permanent basis. It was meant as a sacrificial offering to their gods.

The practice was not really seen again until the early 20th century when carnival workers used tongue piercings as part of their attraction to side shows.

It’s unclear why body piercings became trendy in the last couple decades. Women I’ve talked to told me they got their tongue pierced because they thought it looked cool, or because it was something different that made them stand out from other women, and a couple even confessed to doing it so their men would have a better experience when she performed fellatio.

Comments

Yes, at least that's why do females get tongue piercings, especially for those teens. They go for everything that's they think cool.

Answer 2

I don’t have an answer for your question, because to me it seems bizarre. For one thing, I am so not into pain. I can’t imagine willingly allowing someone to ram a needle through my tongue. Yes, I know some women get pierced tongues and they seem comfortable with it. They talk plain, they eat normally (they don’t even get spaghetti wrapped around the stud), and I’ve not seen any of them swallow their tongue ring yet, but I still don’t get it, especially with doctors and dentists discouraging the practice.

Both the Canadian Dental Association and the American Dental Association have voiced concern about the negative effects of tongue piercing. They say that the tongue ring causes damage to teeth, especially if the wearer forms a habit of playing with it and rubbing it against their teeth, wearing away enamel.

They also say more serious complications such as infections can occur. The mouth is a hotbed of bacteria and when the tongue is pierced it’s an open invitation for those germs to slip into the body and enter the bloodstream. There have even been a few cases of brain or heart abscesses believed to be directly linked to tongue piercings.

So you got me on this question because I’ll never understand why anyone would want their tongue pierced.