''PFIQ'' (''Piercing Fans International Quarterly'') was a magazine published by Jim Ward from 1977 to 1997. It was the first publication about body piercing. Ward pioneered the field of

body 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 may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word ''piercing'' can refer t ...

and operated The Gauntlet, which was the first commercial establishment to offer the service in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

History and profile

The first issue of the magazine appeared in October 1977. The first 14 issues of ''PFIQ'' were in black and white with single-color highlights in a few issues. From issue #15 on, the covers and centerfolds were in full color. The first issue was 16 pages long; by issue #31, ''PFIQ'' had grown to 32 pages. Page count continued to gradually increase. Issue #50, the final issue, contained 64 pages. All issues were 8½×11" in size. Only the first five issues were dated on the cover, though most of them included a copyright year. However, every issue was independently numbered. In spite of calling itself a quarterly, the publication was chronically late and the average number of issues per year, over the lifetime of ''PFIQ'', was about 3. Issues #1 and #3 were reprinted in the 1980s. The reprints are not hard to distinguish from the originals. The original issue #1 was black and white with two spot colors; the reprint has only the purple on the cover. Issue #3 was a complete redesign and bears the words "Revised Edition" on the cover. Tattoo Samy appeared in ''PFIQ'' #18 (1983) and #19 as the magazine’s first documented tongue piercing. ''PFIQ'' contained a wide variety of material, mostly about body piercing, but occasionally about other forms of body art and body modification. A long series of articles by Jim Ward, "Pierce with a Pro," gave detailed information on how to perform many different piercings. Gauntlet also produced three "how-to" videos under the same title. Part 1 on male piercings appeared in 1988; part 2 covering female and unisex piercings was issued in 1994; part 3, an update of the first video came out in 1996. The magazine contents also included interviews, accounts of piercings, letters from readers, book and video reviews, photographs, artwork, and fiction. PFIQ also contained advertising from a few businesses in closely related fields. Subscribers also received ''Pin Pals'', a sheet of classified ads created to enable people with body piercings to meet each other.

Reception

''PFIQ'' was a controversial publication, due to its graphic portrayal of

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

and the piercing process. In some countries it was considered

obscene An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...

, and confiscated by postal customs officials. It ceased publication in 1997 when Jim Ward sold Gauntlet. (Gauntlet failed under its new owner and closed in 1998.)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cover of the first issue of PFIQ, October 1977
Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Body piercing Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 1997 Magazines published in Los Angeles