Motivations, Expectations and Experiences of Genital Piercings in the Transgender Community: An Exploratory Study

Purpose. Motivations and experiences of people who have body modifications has been studied over the past several decades. However, the majority of these studies may include, but do not exclusively, study the motivations and experiences of genital piercings in the transgender community. This study uses a qualitative design to explore the motivations, expectations, and experiences of getting a genital piercing within the transgender community, as well as how genital piercings relate to transgender identities. Methods. Participants were required to be at least 18, have a genital piercing, and identify as transgender. Recruitment was conducted through Facebook and a professional piercer. Participants were directed to take an online screener survey before being invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Four participants completed the screener survey. One of those four participants followed through with the online interview. To analyze the interview transcript, a hybrid-method of thematic analysis was used. Double-coding was used to validate the code developed. Results. The analysis found eight themes: Motivation to Reclaim One’s Body; Support; Piercers Should Create a Safe Environment; Genital Piercing Leads to Acceptance; Connecting to One’s Sexual Identity through a Genital Piercing; Use of a Genital Piercing to Self-Express and Identify with One’s Gender; Lack of Information or Resources; and An Alternative Modification. Discussion. The results from this study can be used to give direction for future research. One important finding was the utility of a genital piercing to develop self-acceptance and an alternative to less accessible transition-related procedures. MOTIVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF GENITAL PIERCING 6 Motivations, Expectations and Experiences of Genital Piercings in the Transgender Community Interest in why one chooses to modify their body in a way that is not mainstream began in 1989 and continues to be a topic of interest today (Scott, 2015). Body modification refers to “the alteration of the body from is natural state”, such as a body piercing or tattoo (Scott, 2015, p. 55). Much of the literature surrounding body modification focuses on the motivations and experiences of people who choose to modify their bodies, including genital piercings. Genital piercings are frequently studied under the umbrella of body modifications, or body piercings in combination with tattoos, and it has been documented that this form of body piercing has been important to individuals who get them for reasons such as sexual expression and enhancement, self-expression, resisting cultural norms, finding community and others (Armstrong, Caliendo & Roberts, 2006; Armstrong et al., 2007; Caliendo, Armstrong & Roberts, 2005; Myers, 1992; Pitts, 2000). However, the existing literature on body modification centers around cisgender individuals. Cisgender is a term that refers to a person whose gender matches their sex assigned at birth (LGBTQ+ Definitions, n.d.). Additionally, the limited research that covers the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is often restricted to LGB individuals and excludes those who identify as transgender. Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to anyone who does not identify with their assigned sex at birth (LGBTQ+ Definitions, n.d.). Examples of identities that are considered transgender are genderqueer, gender fluid, nonbinary, bigender, and agender. This is not an exhaustive list as many other identities fall under the transgender umbrella term. For definitions of these terms, please refer to Appendix B. When the MOTIVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF GENITAL PIERCING 7 transgender community is not excluded from the research, they are discussed in combination with the LGB community and not explicitly. The practice of, or the desire to engage in, other forms of body modifications in the transgender community have been documented (Cole et al., 2012; Grant et al., 2011). The types of body modification referred to are medical procedures done in order to change the appearance of one’s body to match their gender. Matching one’s gender with their assigned sex at birth has been found to be motivated by a desire to avoid experiencing stigma due to their minority status (Bockting et al., 2013). Although a large portion of the transgender community desires to modify their bodies, the stigma faced that leads to wanting these modifications also acts as a barrier to getting them. For example, many report having to pay out-of-pocket for these procedures and are unable to afford them (Grant et al., 2011). It is important to note here that, although for some the end goal is to fully align their body and gender, not everyone has the goal of changing all or any part of their body to match their gender. A search on the motivations behind and experiences of having a genital piercing was expanded to chatrooms and blogs due to the limited nature of the literature exclusively on this population. This search found that there are some who have used a genital piercing similarly to how some use medical procedures to change the appearance of their genitals. Some chatroom users indicate that they desired to reclaim or reconnect with their bodies, and a genital piercing helped them to achieve that (FTM Triangle Piercing, 2016; NSFW Transgender genital piercing MTF, 2017). This search also found some motivations commonly reported in other populations: sexual enhancement and expression and self-expression. The purpose of the study is to explore the motivations, expectations and experiences of those in the transgender community to get a MOTIVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF GENITAL PIERCING 8 genital piercing. It also explores how a genital piercing may relate to one’s gender identity and expression.