Individuals with tattoos and piercings tend to have their first intercourse at earlier ages than those without body modifications (BMs), Polish researchers report.
Those with BMs also tend to have more liberal attitudes about sex. However, they are not more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors.
The study, published online in May in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, focused on 120 healthy adults between the ages of 20 and 35. Their mean age was 24.93. Sixty people without any body modifications served as the control group. Twenty-eight participants had tattoos and 32 had piercings.
All participants responded to a questionnaire prepared by the researchers. This questionnaire asked about sexual history, including age at first intercourse and number of lifetime partners. It also asked about participants’ current sexual practices and the quality of their relationships. People with BMs were asked about their tattoos and piercings, how such BMs influenced their sex lives, and how their partner(s) responded to them.
In addition, the participants were asked if they engaged in risky sexual behaviors, which included having multiple partners and one-night-stands, inconsistent condom use, and sex involving drugs or alcohol. Sex with prostitutes, homosexuals, bisexuals, or partners known to have HIV was also classified as risky behavior.
Participants with BMs had their first sexual intercourse at earlier ages than the controls, with mean ages of 16.61 for those with tattoos, 17.16 for those with piercing, and 18.79 for those without BMs.
Other findings included:
• Participants with tattoos had had the most sex partners. They were also more sexually active than the controls were.
• Participants with piercings were more likely to have a regular partner than those with tattoos.
• Participants with piercings had a higher frequency of intercourse than the controls did.
• Participants with BMs were more likely to have anal or oral sex as a dominant sexual activity than the controls were.
• When compared to controls, participants with BMs were more likely to have had sex in places other than a bedroom, such as a car or public place.
The researchers reported no statistically significant differences in sexual orientation, preferences, risky sexual behaviors, frequency of masturbation, or history of sexual abuse.
Approximately 34% of adults with piercings said that their pierced areas were more sexually sensitive. About 78% of them said that the piercing was sexually exciting for their partner. For those with tattoos, about 82% said that the tattoos excited their partner sexually.
No association was found between body modifications and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. The authors wrote that “this group should not be stigmatized just because of having any type of BMs.”
The researchers suggested that their study results may help clinicians better understand the sexuality of patients with BMs. They also pointed out that some BMs can cause injury when used as a “sexual enhancement device.”
Resource
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Nowosielski, Krzysztof, MD, PhD, et al.
“Tattoos, Piercings, and Sexual Behaviors in Young Adults”
(Full-text. First published online: May 22, 2012)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02791.x/full