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| [[File:Medusa_Piercing-1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Medusa Piercing]] | | The '''Kenyah''' are one of the many tribes of [[Borneo]] that had a strong tattoo tradition. Unfortunately, we only have a few examples of it from the [[Sarawak Museum]]. |
| [[File:Medusa_Piercing-5.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Medusa Piercing]] | |
| [[File:Medusa_Piercing-2.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Medusa Piercing]]
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| The '''medusa piercing''' is sort of like an upside-down [[Labret Piercing]]. It's a piercing through the center of the upper lip; the philtrum, perpendicular to the tissue.
| | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
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| | |[[File:Urang.jpg|thumb|right|131px|'''Urang''', also known as the "prawn pattern" is a modification of the [[Dog design]].]] |
| | |[[File:Toyu.jpg|thumb|right|121px|'''Toyu''' is a crab design. From a tatu block in the [[Sarawak Museum]] (No. 1054-71)]] |
| | |[[File:LipanKatip.jpg|thumb|right|100px|The '''lipan katip''' is a design of the claws of a centipede, and is intended for the breast or shoulder of a man. From a tatu block in the [[Sarawak Museum]]. (No. 1054-20)]] |
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| This piercing was named in the mid 1990s by Kerrick, a hairdresser and model from Toronto, Canada. The piercing was performed by [[Tom Brazda]] of [[Stainless Studios]], although it was certainly not unheard of at that point. It just didn't have a name that had stuck.
| | == Related Articles == |
| | | *[[Kowit]] |
| This piercing is normally worn with a [[Labret Stud]], although rings and other jewelry are possible. Some people stretch this piercing.
| | *[[Borneo]] |
| | | *[[Lasat Mata]] |
| It is important to note that good placement is essential with this piercing. If the placement is not aesthetically balanced, it will accentuate any lack of symmetry in the wearer's face.
| | *[[Borneo Rose]] |
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| ==Alternative Names== | |
| ; Philtrum Piercing
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| : What's interesting is that this is one of the few cases — others include the [[Daith]] and [[Rook]] — where a decorative name has trumped a proper anatomical name. The [[Philtrum]] is the anatomically correct term for the midline groove of the upper lip which is located between the nose and the top of the lip.
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| ; Cleft Piercing
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| : This is a local term in Vermont and other areas, with "cleft" referring to the indented space between the ridges above the lip.
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| ; Upbret
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| : Deviation of ''[[labret]]''; used in some parts of the West Coast of the United States.
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| ; KA Piercing
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| : Pronounced "kay - eh", not "kah", this is a term almost exclusively limited to the USENET newsgroup [[Rec.arts.bodyart]]. Rumor has it, it is so named because the piercer [[Keith Alexander]] — a regular in that newsgroup — does not enjoy doing the piercing.
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| However... rumors are not always true. Keith wrote in to add,
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| : Not true. The term "KA" was coined by [[Yttrx]], then "p0ok", to annoy me. I HATE the bullshit names given to piercings — cindy, madonna, marylin, and especially "medusa." ''Did the mythical Medusa have such a piercing?'' I '''love''' doing those, anyway.
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| It should also be noted that any [[Vertical Labret]] piercing, lower or upper lip, may be referred to as a Medusa in parts of Finland. One reader there writes us,
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| :"That caused some confusion for me when I started browsing BME to say the least. I think this originates from the '''[[Harness Studio]]''' in Helsinki, quite probably from a misunderstanding from the time when piercing was taking its first baby footsteps around here."
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| ==See Also== | |
| * [[Labret]]
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| * [[Madonna Piercing]] | |
| * [[Horizontal Philtrum Piercing]] | |
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| ==Related Risks==
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| * [[Swollen Lip]] | |
| * [[Embedded Labret]] | |
