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“Throughout the world body modification has been used for many purposes,” notes Days of the Year.com, “and has been practiced by both men and women since pre-history. International Body Piercing Day is an opportunity for you to find a new way to express yourself with this age-old practice.”

To be honest, Sleuth finds piercing the lips—north or south—hard to fathom…likewise the nose and tongue. But since everyone’s first love affair is with the nipple, “putting a ring on it” (to quote Beyoncé) seems perfectly natural. Plus, any babe who’d go to the extent of putting metal to that petal likely enjoys herself and is enthusiastic in bed.

So, to spell it out, that’s the body part we’re going to focus on for Body Piercing Day!

For women, the practice was first popularized by Isabella of Bavaria, Queen of France from 1385-1422. Known for her extravagant fashions, she popularized what were called “The Garments of the Grand Neckline.” Isabella was a fan of dresses that were open in front, to the point where they would be cut down to the navel. Eventually, the Queen began exposing her nipples—or as she called them, “My little apples of paradise,” which she “had rouged and pierced with jewels hanging from them” when appearing in court! Being a trendsetter, “her style caught on and inspired many women to wear similar outfits and to pierce their nipples for display.” That’s Queen Isabella below left, and how she would have looked as envisioned today.

The hugely popular TV series Outlander paid homage to the parts of Izzy that put Paris in a tizzy earlier this season on Starz. As the book by Diana Gabaldon on which the show is based described the scene from the viewpoint of the heroine: “The Queen’s breasts were adorned with a pair of nipple jewels that were encrusted with diamonds. The workmanship was superb and the materials stunning, but it was the fact that each gold loop passed THROUGH her nipple that made me feel rather faint.”

Viewers felt rather faint when actress Kimberly Smart recreated this earliest example of female nipple piercing in the time-traveling TV show this April:

“God Save the Queen,” posted Isabella’s 18th great granddaughter on Pinterest. “And her nipples!”

The practice would be revived in the court of Marie Antoinette, when “the women in France were baring their nipples freely and enhancing them with red rouge and jewelry.”

“They loved the way the piercing made their nipples stay erect,” according to one historian, ‘and as a result found that having constantly aroused areolae made them more sexually appealing to their husbands and lovers. Women in 17th and 18th Century Paris would also pierce their nipples to make them look bigger or keep them from inverting.”

Ironically, women do so today for the same reasons (above) and the current website BodyMattersGold.com lists these identical “Benefits of Nipple Piercing: It makes the nipples larger. They become more sensitive and sexually attractive. Provides constant stimulation. Can prevent nipples from becoming inverted. Greater sexual pleasure.”

No wonder the display—and requisite adornment—of nipples became so widespread at the turn of the 18th Century that British cartoonists mocked the morals of their naughty neighbors, with this example titled: “A Peep into Brest {a city on the northwest tip of France} with a Navel Review.”

Yet chiding the French had the effect of making the females in England curious…and in the late 19th Century “a fad for nipple piercing came into vogue among the fashionable ladies of London,” writes ListVerse.com. Literally into Vogue, it seems, as the magazine published a letter from a British socialite in 1890 in an attempt to explain the excitement: “For a long time I could not understand why I should consent to such a painful operation without sufficient reason,” the anonymous artistocrat wrote. “Until 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 rings inserted. 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 to whom I have spoken on this subject have confirmed my opinion.”

Indeed, these are actual “bosom rings” sold in expensive jewelry shops in Paris and London in the 1890s:

As BodyArtForms.com elaborates: “These anneaux de sein {literally ‘breast rings’} were inserted though the nipple, and some women wore one on either side linked with a delicate chain.” An early English example is below.

“Yes, that’s right,” notes the Body Jewelry blog. “Victorians loved the nipple piercing!”

“It was all the rage,” observes Body Art Forms, “and then it went out of style” {a plague and two World Wars might have had something to do with it}. The revival can be traced to Jim Ward, whom MTV dubbed “The Granddaddy of the Modern Body Piercing Movement.” After seeing “the famous NYC leather man Fernando” (below left) in a gay bar in the early 1970s—the first person with pierced nipples he’d ever seen—Ward (top right below) opened The Gauntlet, America’s first body piercing parlor, and pioneered the procedure {one of his first, bottom right} while inventing today’s most popular adornment, the internally threaded barbells.

Here’s how they are done:

It’s fitting then, that International Body Piercing Day is celebrated on June 28th … Jim Ward’s birthday. He turns 75 today!

Originally performed on gay men—nipple piercings are still TWICE as popular among men as women—hippie chicks picked up on the underground trend…and scoring a hole in one has now fully come to the fore.

As Painful Pleasures points out: “Nipple piercings have waxed and waned in popularity in the years since, but Janet Jackson’s nip slip during the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime seems to have been the spark for the most recent surge in nipple piercing popularity.”

Why, there are even T shirts for those who wish to outwardly advertise their adornments!

“Nipple piercing has gained much popularity in recent years,” notes one social historian, “with many celebrities and fashion models having this type of jewelry. Many are motivated to get a nipple piercing for personalreasons, including self-expression and to feel unique.” Devil or Angel being equally welcome …

“Everyone has their own opinion on nipple piercings,” The Talko’s female blogger chimes in. “I think they look hot.” And tats something most men agree on!

Though Sleuth draws the line at grenades and guns.

Not to mention grannies.

In this case, it’s Oregon housewife Sandra Otterson…who, at age 50, is still the star of the ever-popular amateur site Wifey’s World.

But it’s the pros—female celebrities—who have truly brought nipple piercings out in the open {in many cases, literally}…and it’s them we celebrate today!

Nipple rings are one of Hollywood’s sexiest little secrets,” proclaims Hollywood Life, “and the trend is everywhere—even though you may not know it! Kylie and Kendall Jenner, for example, both rock the fact that they have their tatas pierced.”

“Nipple piercings have invaded Hollywood these days,” Hollywood Life continues, “with countless celebs sporting bejeweled boobs” {we count down our Favorite Fifteen below}.

Body Piercing Day is the time to join the ever-growing number of people who have started getting piercings,” concludes Day of the Year.com. “Women, as usual, are leading the charge into this newest form of fashion”—72% of all Americans with body piercings are female. “Piercing Day is your day to be daring, so get out there and get pierced!”

But only after you’ve done your “research” here.

AMBER ROSEthe longtime lover of Kanye West; he dumped her for Kim Kardashian …

… Rose “wore a dress so tight,” wrote the Daily Mail in March 2011, “that the outline of her twin pierced nipples was clearly visible through the sheer lycra” (above left)

BLAC CHYNA – Amber’s former amour

… is now engaged to reality reject Rob Kardashian {sex degrees of separation}

KENDALL JENNER – Rob’s hot half-sister

"I wanted to get the piercing for SO long before Kylie,” Kendall announced last October after she had it done. “Having my nipple pierced isn’t really something I make a big deal out of, but I think people are obsessed with the topic because it seems so unexpected of me. Before I even decided to go for it, I just liked showing my nipples through some of my outfits—there’s something understated, yet sexy, about it.”

NICOLE RICHIE – Her younger sister Sofia, age 16, is being called ‘The Next Kendall Jenner’

Nicole naughtily exposed both breasts at the Joey and T runway fashion show in October 2003 because “I was excited and wanted to show everybody my new nipple piercing! I’ve gone through so much in life that pulling up my top doesn’t seem like that big a deal.”

CANDICE SWANEPOEL – Speaking of runway show•offs, the South African supermodel is prominently pierced and proud to put 'tit' out there

EBONEE DAVISSports Illustrated swimsuit star is another model with modified mams

“Add ‘nude’ to her name in a Google search,” posted Frankenchrist last month at Mixed Martial Arts forum, “if you wanna see them pierced nipples. Amazing!”

CHRISTINA AGUILERA– One of the first celebs, and first singer, to publicly reveal her rings

PINK– The first celeb to post a video of her getting pierced, post-performance in 2006

“One night after a concert in Germany,” the singer born Alecia Beth Moore recounts, “I ran backstage and I had a piercer ready to go in my dressing room and he pierced my right nipple and my mom was sitting right there and it was pretty wild. I tried to get her to do it, but --. I did it right after the concert because your adrenaline is just so up, it was then or never.”

RIHANNA – The songstress might have a screw loose…but also one tightly threaded through her left udder!

“Let’s start with the most ‘outspoken’ nipple ring-bearer, Princess RiRi,” Hollywood Life headed its look at Celebrities with Pierced Nipples. “Since way back in 2013, Rihanna has proudly shown off her nipple piercing in sheer tops and revealing dresses.”

PIXIE GELDOF – The surviving daughter of ‘Singing Saint’ Sir Bob Geldof …

… her mother Paula Yates and older sister Peaches Geldof both died of heroin overdoses—14 years apart, in 2000 and 2014

COCO AUSTIN – Rapper Ice T’s buxom bride likes the limo life

The former Miss Ujena Swimwear 1998 pageant winner debated before her 2015 Las Vegas show opening: “I am trying to figure out if I should rock the nipple rings for my role in Peepshow because—it’s weird to say, having this conversation about my boobs is really funny—but when I have my rings in, it looks really dainty and pretty. They are really little (com•paired to her pair!}. People think it’s hardcore, but when they see mine, they think, ‘I want mine done.’”

BJORK – The quirky singer bared her breasts for body piercing in the 2001 Pagan Poetry music video

“I wanted to strip her down,” explained director Nick Knight. “She’s actually quite raw, womanly and sexy. Bjork approached me with the idea. Her original concept in Iceland was to sew pearls into her nipples. She wanted to show her sexuality.”

ROONEY MARA – The actress took film preparation to a new level by getting her nipple pierced for 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

“I didn’t even have pierced ears,” Mara moaned. “I thought, ‘She has a nipple piercing in the book, so she should have it in the movie.’ Plus it would always feel sort of like I was in costume, even if I was naked. It just felt like a good one to get.” And to keep: “My nipple is not something I want to get re-pierced,” Rooney reasoned about possible sequels. “So I’m going to keep it in.”

KENDRA SUNDERLAND – Oregon State coed arrested for public indecency after flashing her breasts and masturbating in the campus library in 10/14 for a video that went viral

“Kendra is known for having large natural breasts,” states Boobpedia, “wearing a 32G cup, which is unusual for someone with such a slender frame. Both of her nipples are pierced and she wears studs through them.”

And what list of ‘Ladies of the Rings” prized for pierce•picacity would be complete without the ‘Nasty’ Girl whose Super Bowl stunt made it chic to be a freak …

JANET JACKSON

Nipplegate’ is credited with the success of TiVo and the creation of YouTube, and ‘Janet Jackson’ remains the most searched term and image in Internet history! And though she swore it was “an accident” and “was not meant to go as far as it did,” the sexy singer happily intended to get distended: “I let Rene {Elizondo, her second husband} choose where he’d like me to get pierced,” Janet cooed. “He got so turned on watching me, because the piercer said, ‘You have to get your nipple hard.’ So I’m playing with myself, saying ‘Is this hard enough?’ And they’d both say, ‘Just a little bit longer.’

Still childless, Jackson told Larry King on CNN: “There’s something about breastfeeding that worries me. Although I don’t mind having them being sucked on, obviously.”

Perhaps we better END before there’s another ‘accident.’