Ethel Granger (born 12 April 1905 in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

as Ethel Mary Wilson; died January–March 1982 in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

) was one of the most famous main figures in the development of contemporary piercing and

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common ear piercing in many so ...

in Europe. As world record holder with the narrowest documented waist size, she entered the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

with a waist circumference of only 13 inches.

Life

As a young woman, Ethel met astronomer William Arnold Granger (b. 1 July 1904; † 4 March 1974), whom she married in 1928. The marriage produced a daughter, Wilhelmina Granger (1930-2001). Her husband required Ethel Granger to wear a corset so that she would have a narrow waist. She wore it day and night, eventually cinching her waist to a circumference of 33 centimeters. Her husband's fetishism led him to start

piercing Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal ...

Ethel himself. Thus, in the following years, she received several piercings from her husband in her nose, lips,

cheeks The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the insi ...

and

nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth m ...

Reviews

In September 2011, the Italian edition of the fashion magazine ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' Ethel Granger an issue. In 2019, the ''Association of Professional Piercers'' and the ''US Body Piercing Archive'' created the exhibition ''Mr. Sebastian and the European Piercing Underground'' to be presented at the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Conference in 2020. The exhibit also highlights piercing pioneers

Horst Streckenbach Horst Streckenbach “Tattoo Samy” (August 5, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was a well-known German tattoo artist and historian of the medium, who had been tattooing since 1946. Streckenbach is considered important in the development of tattooing in ...

and Ethel Granger. Lecturers include Jeremy Castle of the Alan Oversby/Mr Sebastian Archive,

Manfred Kohrs Manfred Kohrs (born 24 January 1957) is a German tattooist and conceptual artist, who has been tattooing since 1974. He was a student of Horst Streckenbach ("Tattoo Samy") (5 August 1926 – 27 June 2001). Together they developed the barbell p ...

of the Institute of German Tattoo History, art historian -focusing on European body art- Matt Lodder of

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

, Paul King of the U.S. Body Piercing Archive, and Jim Ward.''Mr Sebastian and the European Underground - BPA 2020 Exhibit Las Vegas.''
Retrieved September 23, 2021.

Literature

* ''Guinness World Records 2015 Volume 60'' Publisher Guinness World Records 2014, . *

Elayne Angel Elayne Angel (born Elayne Steinberg, August 6, 1960) is an American professional body piercer. Early life and education Angel attended Canoga Park High School and Chatsworth High School. In 1982, she earned an associate degree in Sign Langua ...

: ''Piercing Bible: The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing.'' Crossing Press 2009, , p. 13. * Valerie Steele: ''Fetish: fashion, sex and power.'' Oxford University Press 1997, . * Martin Mobberley: ''Return to the Far Side of Planet Moore: Rambling Through Observations, Friendships and Antics of Sir Patrick Moore.'' Springer 2015, , p. 60-62. * Meredith G. F. Worthen: ''Sexual Deviance and Society: A sociological examination.'' Routledge 2016, , p. 303. * Rossie Atwell: ''The Grangers of Peterborough - an astronomical family. In: Journal of the British Astronomical Association'', Vol. 100, No. 5, p. 214-217

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Ethel 1905 births Body piercers People known for their body modification British women Guinness World Records 1982 deaths