Free Republic

A body piercer who sliced off her own finger because it ‘looks cute’ has turned the severed limb into a pendent. Torz Reynolds decided to cut off her little finger with bolt cutters on Valentine’s Day last year after wanting to do it for a decade. After keeping the stump in the freezer next to a bag of peas for 365 days, Torz decided to mark the occasion by immortalising the frozen finger as a pendant necklace. The 30-year-old body modifier bought a glass vial, filled it with alcohol solution and dunked the detached digit inside attached to a chain...

FAYATTEVILLE, Ga. (WAOK) — Three teens in Fayette County have been suspended from school and face battery charges after they allegedly held down a 13-year old girl and tried to pierce her belly button. The incident happened Aug. 26 during lunch period in the courtyard of Fayette County High School. Fayetteville police Detective Mike Whitlow said the 13-year-old had agreed to let her fellow students pierce her navel but had second thoughts when she saw the size of the needle to be used. The others allegedly went ahead with the procedure. Other students saw what has happening and told an...

These are real pictures of people who have tattoos and piercings that probably keep them from gainful employment.

A woman who lives in the Wilkes-Barre area of PA has been sentenced Monday morning for animal cruelity by the judge of Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tina Polachek Gartley.

To 12-year-old Suzannah Pabla, piercing her nose was a way to connect with her roots in India. To Suzannah's school, it was a dress-code violation worthy of a suspension. To other Indians, the incident was emblematic of how it can still be difficult for the American melting pot to absorb certain aspects of their cultural and religious traditions. Suzannah was briefly suspended last month from her public school in Bountiful, Utah, for violating a body-piercing ban.......

A DURBAN father allegedly killed his teenage daughter after he discovered that she had pierced her tongue. The 17-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly beaten to death with an extension cord. The Ntuzuma township father allegedly punished his daughter on Saturday. The 38- year-old father was arrested yesterday morning, just hours after the killing. He had allegedly accused his daughter of having a boyfriend and misbehaving at school. The incident, which has shocked the community, has left the family devastated. KwaMashu police’s Constable Mumsy Mfeka said the father told the police he beat his daughter with an extension cord because she had...

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — A woman who had her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex was acquitted of aggravated child abuse on Thursday. The girl, now 16, had testified that her mother asked a friend in 2004 to shave the girl's head to make her unattractive to boys and later held her down for the piercing. A jury deliberated for about three hours before deciding the mother's actions didn't involve punishment or malicious intent, or cause permanent damage or disfigurement. The 39-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity,...

WASHINGTON - A sun shines on Dan Yu's back, alongside a swimming koi fish. A tree soon may grow on his arm. "Your body's an empty canvas, so you almost want to continue to add to it," said Yu, 28, as he showed off his tattoos. A generation or two ago, Yu's tattoos — to say nothing of his pierced nose — probably would have placed him in a select company of soldiers, sailors, bikers and carnival workers. But no longer: The American University employee is among about 36 percent of Americans age 18 to 29 with at least one...

Tattoos and piercings are ways for an individual to express their personality, but most employers are looking for presentable employees. "I think that appearance is very important, [because] it lets the employer know that you know how to take care of yourself," said Eric Constantine, the manager of Athlete's House in Nashville. It can be a very difficult choice whether or not to have your ears pierced or to get a tattoo, as Lisa Stevens, a freshman, found out. "I really wanted the lifeguard job at the local pool back home," she said. "The only thing was that I also...

Just think of the special moments you and your daughter will share -- that first day of school, the first grown-up dress, and even a first date. And then, of course, there is a trip to the tattoo parlor, where a guy with a lip stud and spiked hair will stick a needle in her belly button. Haven't you had the talk yet? It is coming. Trust me. When a young lady reaches her teens, her thoughts used to turn to puppy love. Now she's thinking whether she'd rather have a piercing in her belly button or her nose. Shocked?...

A 13-year-old was in critical condition and her mother faced criminal charges Monday for failing to get medical help after the girl's attempt to pierce her own belly button caused a severe infection lasting weeks. By the time Deborah Robinson's daughter was taken to the hospital last week, the former middle school track runner weighed about 75 pounds and was near death, authorities said.

Authorities have charged a Massachusetts woman whose daughter nearly died after trying to pierce her own navel. Prosecutors say the mother failed to seek medical treatment after the 13-year-old developed a near-fatal infection. Deborah Robinson faces a felony count of permitting bodily injury to a child under 14, and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment. Authorities say the girl was likely in extreme pain within a day or two after the start of her infection, which caused organ damage. She was hospitalized last week after family members called paramedics to the home, where she was found emaciated and near death....

NASHUA — A Brookline woman is suing a Nashua tattoo shop because of a belly button piercing that allegedly went horribly awry. Kaitlin M. Brew, 20, said an employee at Tattoo America pierced much too deep, poking straight through to Brew's stomach. The injury, which went undiagnosed for more than two years, caused months of constant pain and eventually required exploratory surgery, Brew said. "It's not a pretty thing whatsoever, I have to admit," Brew said yesterday, describing her experience. A Brookline woman is suing Tattoo America, a Nashua tattoo and body-piercing shop, because of an injury allegedly inflicted by...

The advent of "poke and stick" parties is causing a stir as more of our nation's youth are choosing to have their new tattoo or piercing done by a teenage friend, rather than a professional. Since these parties could be happening in your community, the Pennsylvania Medical Society cautions that this fad not only may violate a new state law, but it also could spread infectious diseases, like HIV and hepatitis. The organization's member doctors recommend that parents and teens carefully consider safety measures to protect themselves from serious health consequences. The ancient arts of tattooing and body piercing appear...

MIAMI (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in the Florida Keys are mystified by a bizarre new pastime -- young people dangling themselves from meat hooks on a popular sandbar.

DOES THIS LOOK PAINFUL?: Adam Aries spins while attached by a metal beam and hooks through the skin of his back to another person during the Suspension Convention in Providence, USA. Reuters PROVIDENCE: Tony Troiano grimaced as he was lifted off the floor by giant fishhooks pierced through the skin on his shoulders. Within minutes, he started to spin, swing his feet and declare the painful experience "the greatest thing" ever. "I was on Cloud Nine," the Wethersfield, Connecticut teenager said as he joined fellow body suspension practitioners at an annual convention over the weekend. "It was euphoric. It was...

I remember when elephant bell bottoms were the craze..

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A woman who was fired by Costco in 2001 for refusing to remove her eyebrow ring has accused the company of religious discrimination, saying she is a member of the Church of Body Modification. Kimberly M. Cloutier said she wears her eyebrow ring as a sign of faith. She has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider hearing the case. The church, established in 1999, counts about 1,000 members who participate in practices such as piercing and tattooing, according to a December ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a trial judge's...

SPRINGFIELD -- Inserting jewelry into the surface of the eyeball soon could be against the law in Illinois. A House committee approved legislation 11-4 on Thursday that would criminalize the practice. Sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Joyce, D-Worth, the proposal would make it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison for anyone who performs the procedure. State Rep. Constance Howard, D-Chicago, was one of four lawmakers who voted against the measure. Howard questioned whether the prohibition was an infringement on people's rights. "I don't want people to get earrings on their tongues and navels and all that...