Health board wants to regulate body art

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo---The business of professional tattoo work and body piercing, an industry not regulated by state statute in Wyoming, is likely to come under guidelines and restrictions imposed locally by the Teton District Board of Health.

At 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the board will take public comment on proposed “Rules for Body Art,” which outlines how the Teton Public Health District will define and license body art practitioners, what sterilization and technique standards they must maintain, and what body art modifications would and would not be permissible.

“The body art issue, I think, is long overdue,” said Dr. Dan Forman, who sits on the board and also practices veterinary medicine. Forman noted that many areas are moving to regulate the body art industry in the interest of providers and consumers alike. “It will allow us to be in sync with several other states.”

In Jackson Hole, Sub-Urban Tattoo & Piercing, located on Broadway at the Mountunes music store, is the only commercial parlor currently in operation.

Owners Suzi and Will Woodward – both adorned with multiple piercings and partially covered in patterns and images rendered in vibrant, permanent ink – take issue with some of the proposed standards.

For example, Chapter 16, which addresses “prohibited procedures,” states, “All procedures not defined as body art shall be prohibited, including, but not limited to, piercing of the genitals and piercing of the tongue, branding, lacing, scarification.”

While branding and scarification are not currently offered at Sub-Urban – Mrs. Woodward explained that was due mainly to a lack of customer interest so far – piercing of genitalia is as is tongue piercing, a procedure second only to piercing of the ear lobe.

“We are in favor of regulating this industry, but there is no medical reasoning behind [a proposed ban on tongue and genital piercing],” Mrs. Woodward said. 

“If it’s just a judgment to what [the Public Health Board] thinks is acceptable, then that’s a civil liberties issue.”

The Woodwards also are concerned at the proposition of the Sheriff’s Office running a background check on their artists who do the piercing and tattoo work.

They currently keep two artist in-house full time, with five who come and go as guest artists.

“We’re afraid of making it unreasonable for guest artists to come here,” Mrs. Woodward said. “This seems to me to be slightly prejudicial … why single out our industry?”  

Currently, the proposal is in a 45-day public comment period that ends April 7.

Photo by Amdrew Wyatt. Jason Kikta does tattoo work at Mountunes.

PERMALINK:
Health board wants to regulate body art | Planet JH News Article: General Health And Fitness

Leave a Comment