Pearling or genital beading is a form of

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 earring, ear piercing in ...

, the practice of permanently inserting small

beads A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...

made of various materials beneath the skin of the genitals—of the labia, or of the shaft or

foreskin In male Human body, human anatomy, the foreskin, also known as the prepuce (), is the double-layered fold of Human skin, skin, Mucous membrane, mucosal and Muscle tissue, muscular tissue at the distal end of the human penis that covers the glans ...

of the

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

. As well as being an aesthetic practice, this is usually intended to enhance the

sexual pleasure Sexual stimulation is anything that leads to sexual arousal or orgasm. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a stimulus. Sexual stimulation is a broad term, usually understood to mean physical touching of the genitals ...

of partners during

vaginal In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The vaginal introit ...

anal intercourse Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris ...

Procedures

There are two common procedures, one being very similar to a

frenum piercing A frenum piercing is a body piercing, piercing of the human penis, penis shaft's underside. A series of Parallel (geometry), parallel frenum piercings is known as a frenum ladder. A frenum ladder may extend to include Lorum (piercing), lorum, haf ...

and the other being similar to inserting a

subdermal implant A subdermal implant is a body modification placed under the skin, allowing the body to heal over the implant and creating a raised design. Such implants fall under the broad category of body modification. Many subdermal implants are made out of si ...

, and requiring more medical knowledge and specialized tools. Either procedure is relatively safe with risks and healing much like a subdermal implant in any other part of the body, although, like many

genital piercing Genital piercing is a form of body piercing that involves piercing a part of the genitalia, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of jewellery. Nevertheless, the term may also be used ''pars pro toto'' to indicate all body p ...

s, the generous

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

flow to the genitals can reduce healing times considerably. Inflammation is very common, during and after healing, although careful healing can minimize this. Rejection is rare, but can occur.

Jewelry

A wide variety of inert implant materials can be used for this implant.

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a spin-off from ...

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

surgical steel Surgical stainless steel is a grade of stainless steel used in biomedical applications. The most common "surgical steels" are austenitic SAE 316 stainless and martensitic SAE 440, SAE 420, and 17-4 stainless steels. There is no formal definiti ...

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

are commonly used materials. Prior to the availability of modern materials, there is a long history of

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s being used in this implant, hence the name pearling. There is an alternative form of this implant, where short curved "ribs" are inserted, rather than pearls.

History and culture

The precise origin of pearling is unknown, but early documentation in China indicates that it had been imported from Southeast Asia no later than the early 1400s. Historical documents refer to the inserts as ''miǎnlíng'' (), literally translating to Burmese bells. In the Philippines, researchers have established that these were present in various forms from the Visayas to southern Luzon. In the Visayas, pins made of gold, ivory, or brass were inserted in young boys through their penis heads, according to research by the pre-eminent historian of pre-colonial Philippines, William Henry Scott. As the boys grew older, these pins would be decorated and they would later fasten bluntly spiked rings for the stimulation of their sex partners. In ''Barangay'', his study of 16th century Philippine ethnography, Scott wrote, "these ornaments required manipulation by the woman herself to insert and could not be withdrawn until the male organ was completely relaxed." Scott added that there were as many as 30 different kinds to "cater to a lady's choice." The best-known historical use of pearling involves the

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

syndicates of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, whose members perform several notable types of

, including large body

irezumi (also spelled or sometimes ) is the Japanese word for tattoo, and is used in English to refer to a distinctive style of Japanese tattooing, though it is also used as a blanket term to describe a number of tattoo styles originating in Japan, inc ...

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

s and

Yubitsume or ''otoshimae'' is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology and remorse to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. In modern times, it is primarily perfor ...

, the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

of finger joints in penance to their superiors. Pearling is performed in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

by the yakuza, with each pearl supposedly symbolizing a year spent in prison. Pearling, called 'bolitas', has become a common practice among Filipino sailors, especially among the older ones. Journalist Ryan Jacobs, writing in ''The Atlantic'', reported in 2013 that sailors use bolitas to differentiate themselves from other international sailors, especially to curry favor from prostitutes. The practice comes from Pre-colonial period in the Philippines wherein instruments such as the Tudruck (Penis-pin) and Sakra (Penis-ring), often made up of gold or ivory, were inserted to the penises of young adults.

Antonio Pigafetta Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was a Venetian scholar and explorer. In 1519, he joined the Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the world's first Magellan's circumnavigation, circumnavigation, ...

, Italian chronicler of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

, once wrote about this practice in his journals:

References

External links

BME Wiki: Genital beading
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721200927/http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Genital_beading , date=2006-07-21 Genital modification and mutilation Human penis