Way back in the distant past when I experienced BDSM for the first time, my partner and I relied on books to learn what we could do. One of our favorite resources was the Leatherman’s Guide. This was a book intended for a gay male audience. At the time, we couldn’t find very many resources. Since we decided that I would be the bottom, this book was actually perfect for our purposes.

She tried techniques from the book that caught her attention. One of her favorites was penis piercing. She was taken by the idea of a frenum piercing. She envisioned using it as a connecting point for a leash. At the time, we had no idea about finding professionals to do this. She went to our local BDSM store, The Pleasure Chest in Greenwich Village. They obliged with a piercing needle and a ring to insert in my penis.

I was pretty apprehensive about this rather permanent operation on my favorite body part. After calming me down and tying me spread eagle on the bed, she did the deed. It wasn’t particularly painful or bloody. She had a little bit of trouble threading the ring through the new hole she made. She didn’t know that she was supposed to insert the ring into the hole in the hollow needle and let it follow her as she went through the skin. Somehow, she got it in.

This is the second frenum piercing done by professionals.

This piercing took several weeks to fully heal. I developed an infection and the site and it was pretty sore. After a couple of weeks, she removed the ring and let it heal. Before it came off, she only had one opportunity to play with it. She attached a leash to my ring and tied it to a doorknob. My hands were fastened behind my back. She liked that I had to stay there and wait for her to release me. She was disappointed we couldn’t do other things.

I liked the idea of having the piercing. It was sexy and fun. I think she liked the way it felt inside her. It wasn’t long after the ring came out that we broke up. A few months later after I was fully healed, I read an article about a San Francisco piercing studio. My curiosity was aroused. It turned out that they had a branch in Manhattan. I wasn’t with anyone at the time so it seemed like a good opportunity to get my ring back.

I made an appointment and went for my piercing. The operator noticed the scar from my last attempt. I explained what happened. She said that regular care with antibiotic ointment would prevent that from happening this time. She suggested a 12gauge piercing. That looked about the same as the one I had before. I agreed.

When she pushed the needle through my skin it felt like a small electric shock. Again there was no pain and almost no blood. This time everything worked. I applied the antibiotic ointment daily and worked it through the hole. It took about six weeks to fully heal. I enjoyed how it felt.

I decided a thicker ring might look better. I purchased a 10 gauge ring and the appropriate tools to remove and replace the existing one. It was no problem. I wore either that ring or a barbell for the next 15 years. The piercing came in handy when I reviewed some of the chastity devices that require that sort of fastening.

In the early 2000’s at a BDSM convention, I met a renowned piercer and discussed what else I might do. I was feeling adventurous. She suggested a Guiche piercing. This is a ring placed through the perineum. It’s quite private and I thought sexy. I went up to her hotel room to have it done.

I was naked on all fours. She gently touched different spots on my perineum reaching it from behind me. At one point she said, “Aha, there it is.”

This shot with me on the sling shows both my frenum and guiche piercing. I thought the little barbell would be immune to twisting. It wasn’t.

I asked her what was? She replied that I “winked” at her. Apparently, there is a spot on the perineum that when touched will cause the anus to tighten. That’s where the piercing goes. She kept her finger on the spot, got her alcohol wipe, and pierced me. This is a pretty easy piercing. It isn’t painful and heals quickly. Sadly, my ring kept twisting painfully under my clothes. At one point it actually twisted itself out. That hurt, but not a lot.

At a subsequent convention, I had it re-pierced. This time I had a barbell put in. Unfortunately, the same thing happened again. I’ve wondered if I replaced the ring with a barbell if that wouldn’t prevent losing it. It didn’t. I still would love to try again. I think the placement was too low. Also, a curved barbell would have probably stayed out of the way. If you look at the picture, you can see that the piercer placed the piercing vertically. Traditionally this piercing is horizontal. That might’ve also contributed to my difficulty.

barbell on frenum penis piercing
This is the barbell on my penis. I wore this almost all the time for the last five years I had the piercing.

For at least five years before I finally removed it, I had a barbell in the frenum piercing. It was less trouble because they ring twists uncomfortably once in a while. Finally, Mrs. Lion didn’t seem interested in that piercing, I removed it and let it heal over.

I know that a lot of the male chastity crowd likes the Prince Albert piercing. I’ve never been a fan of it. It puts a hole in the urethra and is prone to leakage. It’s also a long-healing piercing. There are male chastity devices explicitly created to use the Prince Albert as a fixing point. Connecting the cage to a genital piercing certainly gives an increased sense of security.

I’ve never lost my interest in genital piercings. My partner before Mrs. Lion had a small ring through the hood of her clitoris. It was quite attractive. It wasn’t a particularly useful piercing. It didn’t provide her sexual stimulation and had no value in bondage or BDSM, but it was pretty.

It might be fun to have another piercing. I don’t think I would do a frenum. It would get in the way of the chastity devices I own and I am not sure Mrs. Lion would like working around it. On the other hand, every partner I had while the piercing was in place enjoyed it, particularly for oral sex. They also said they could feel it during intercourse.

Those two piercings are the only body modifications I’ve ever had. I don’t have or want tattoos. I certainly don’t want a piercing that is visible to the general public. I imagine I will continue the status quo. Of course, it’s all up to Mrs. Lion.

8 Comments

  1. Ah, great book. I had a copy back in the early nineties along with a copy of “Urban Aboriginals” that, along with all my gay brethren in the leather/Levis scene, helped me to become the man I am today. Caged or not. Able to get hard or not. Still a man, just a different kind of man who enjoys power exchange/loss of power after all.

    1. Author

      The Leatherman’s Guide changed my life.

  2. I am one of those Prince Albert fans you mentioned. I think the general consensus is that it’s actually a pretty quick-healing piercing (about a month before you can start playing seriously with it), and its infection rate is extremely low due to the frequent irrigation with nearly sterile urine. And having it done was really easy and painless. Of course, it helped that mine was done by the (late, unfortunately) legendary Fakir Musafar who, with Doug Malloy, invented the modern version of the piercing in the first place.

    I haven’t found the leakage to be much of a problem at all, and it has certainly been a *lot* of fun! It feels great, and is easy to up-size; mine is now a 00-gauge – about 3/8″ – which I personally feel is starting to border on absurdity, but my wife likes the look and feel of inside her a lot. I think that 0-gauge is about the ideal size to target, especially if it will be used for chastity play.

    I’ve considered having a guiche piercing also, but have been concerned about its healing time and likelihood of infection and physical damage, due to always being rubbed by clothing while sitting. Apparently, the physical concerns are not ungrounded, based upon your description, but I may try it anyway.

    By the way, the PA was my first (and so far only) piercing, at age 51, and I cannot be more positive in my opinion of it. I highly recommend anyone considering it to go ahead and try it. Of course, it’s great for chastity play (I personally very much dislike “ball capture”-style devices), and the leash thing is always a fun time, but it’s also just a really nice-feeling modification.

    1. Author

      The Guiche heals very quickly and painlessly. I had both a horizontal ring (which clothing caused to drop off) and a vertical barbell. The vertical piercing was nice but it also managed to work its way out due to friction. I’ve considered a scrotal ring which could be fun for play. It’s obviously purely decorative otherwise. I did love the frenum piercing. It didn’t do anything for Mrs. Lion and at one point I just decided to take it out.

      I might get it put back if Mrs. Lion agrees. We just started talking about it.

    2. Thanks to Mark for his comments on the PA. I have worn a metal cage device for several months. It is very comfortable, compact and easy to stay clean in. Security is now the only issue.

      I made an appointment last week with a local piercing artist to talk about incorporating a piercing, which could be used with a thin cable seal to prevent pull outs. She is very open to the idea. But, I’m worried that whatever piercing that I get may not work as intended.

      Based on my past experience, chaffing and pinching can occur in spite of having a device that is polished smooth. Once I’m pierced, if the location or style doesn’t work with the cage or cable, how difficult is it to relocate the piercing to another area very near the original. A millimeter to the left or right may mean the difference between secure comfort and a wickedly uncomfortable situation.

      My wife wants the added security but is also concerned about a solution that doesn’t work. Her goal is to cut my orgasms back to 90-day intervals. I can easily wear the cage for a week at a time without removing it with no chaffing or pinching, which is a first for us. But, we are concerned that the piercing could set us back. Any advice?

  3. lovely description of the why and how. i probably will never have any piercings there. Always wanted my nipples pierced but never thinght about my penis who knows maybe some day

    1. Author

      Nipple piercings are painful and take a very long time to heal. Most genital piercings are simple and heal relatively quickly. My frenum piercing was healed in about five weeks. I could have sex and about two. It was hardened enough foreplay after about three months.

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