Board of Health bans extreme forms of body art in Teton County

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo--“It’s done,” said Terri Gregory of the county-wide ban on more extreme forms of body art and modification. Gregory is the Public Health Manager for the Teton County Board of Health that decided Tuesday to make illegal the practice of “piercing of the genitals and piercing of the tongue, branding, lacing, and scarification.”

“I know there is the concern that this will drive people to do these things at home,” Gregory added. “And we will be monitoring that. If we notice evidence of this, we will go back to the drawing board and think about changing the rule; maybe loosening up regulations, maybe making them stricter.”

The county rule and regulation – equivalent to a town ordinance – will impact Jackson’s only current tattoo parlor, Sub-Urban Clothing Tattoo, where owner and operator Susan Woodward is less worried about her bottom line than she is the government intrusion and potential for increased health risk to piercees. “The problem with banning is we have already seen home brandings and piercings being done,” she said. “That’s dangerous. Our piercers are experienced.”

Woodward says she was tabbed a liaison to the Board of Health and sat in on early meetings concerning the regulation of tattoo parlors, proposing several directives herself. “We have no problem with rules. We think [the industry] should be regulated. In fact, some of the rules the board came up with were not stringent enough and we pointed this out to them.”

But Woodward missed the meeting Tuesday when the hammer came down on extreme forms of body art and feels betrayed. “They seemed reasonable about listening to people with experience in this field,” she said. “But I’m incredibly disappointed more than anything. I still don’t understand their rationale behind the ban. There isn’t any information showing there is risk factor problem here. No statistical evidence. It is pre-emptive.”

“We did it as more of a pre-emptive move,” said City of Casper-Natrona County Health Department Environmental Health Specialist Ruth Heald. Her agency instituted a similar ban in October 2004, outlawing invasive procedures like branding, implanting objects under the skin and skin braiding. “We had the impression that it was too invasive and had high potential for infection.”

Gregory, also, was cognizant of infection issues. “We looked at medical information both pro and con,” she said. “With tattoos, there is much less health risk than, say, tongue piercing. From a nursing standpoint, the deeper you are penetrating, the greater the risk.

Pertaining to Woodward and others’ speculation that the ban may have been more of an attempt to enforce community morals, Gregory said, “We considered only health issues, not personal bias toward anyone. Nor was any attempt made to shape social behavior.”
Woodward said she may consider soliciting the aid of the Association of Professionals Piercers (APP), who were successful at thwarting a female genitalia piercing ban in the state of Georgia. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go that route, but I know they are very concerned here about the ripple effect.” Her only option now is to get the county rule amended.

Woodward is also worried about what the ruling will mean to the immediate safety of piercees. “It’s just going to push it over the county line,” she said. “It won’t stop it. It will make people do it in an unsanitary environment. In Idaho Falls, I know of a shop that does not sterilize their jewelry. That’s not OK. The customers don’t know that. They don’t know what to look for.”

Woodward admits she has done no branding or scarification at her shop since they began offering body art in August of last year. Her business has performed “about six” genital piercings since then and tongue piercing is “very common,” according to Woodward.
Woodward also claims her shop on Broadway has made her more high profile than former tattoo parlors in Jackson like Scorpions Den, Chrome and American Spirit. “The Health Department never once walked into one of those places,” she said. “If feels like the three places that were here before were a non-issue because they were not on Broadway.

We became a concern because we are right in their face.” Gregory said, “Doing something to standardize and address the concerns of parlors and their patrons has been on our radar for a while.
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Board of Health bans extreme forms of body art in Teton County | Planet JH News Article: General Health And Fitness

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