Raelyn Gallina
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| Raelyn Gallina | |
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| Death Date | September 8, 2014 |
| Occupation | piercer, scarification artist |
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Raelyn Gallina was one of the first modern western practitioners of cutting, and was an influence in the lesbian s/m scene which some argue as being the first subculture group in modern western history to revive cutting.
According to BME QOD's Shawn Porter
- Raelyn Gallina was an early pioneer in the Scarification Culture and certainly influenced a decent amount of Lesbians into the scene, but actual statistics are pretty hard to confirm. I think it's fair to say that Raelyn's influence in the lesbian s/m scene did have an impact on who was getting cut (and it's true that of the 'old school' males it was mainly Fakir who was into cutting- Jack Yount, Jim Ward, Sailor Sid and the others didn't seem to have an interest)...[1]
Unfortunately in 2003, Gallina was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was posted on Annie Sprinkle's website on December 7, 2003:
- Upon the day Raelyn returned home from her Mother's funeral in September, she was diagnosed with the rarest, deadliest form of breast cancer. She had to start chemotherapy immediately. On December 8th, she will be having a double mastectomy. After that, she will have more hemotherapy and start radiation treatments five days a week for many months. Raelyn is just 49 years old, and has always been extremely healthy, energetic and powerful, so this comes as a huge shock.
- The good news is that Raelyn has a chance of getting through all this, as the cancer seems to have been caught in time. Her devoted partner of ten years, Babs is by her side every step of the way and of enormous help and comfort. (Babs' beloved brother died just before Thanksgiving.)
- Raelyn has been a pioneer of the body modification movement since 1982; the first to make 18k gold body jewelry, inventor of the fishtail labrette [sic], and an innovator of scarification. She touched and adorned many as she brought her magic all around the country over the years. Her focus was always on the spiritual, and on generously sharing the wealth of her knowledge with others and showing us how to do body modifications safely, pleasurably, and meaningfully in numerous demos, workshops, and presentations. Being a Santeria priestess, over the years Raelyn has ministered to many of us with problems, and given us so much of her love, which has trickled down throughout our communities. Her strong faith and spirituality have been an enormous source of strength and support.
Update: November 15, 2004
- ... it's been one year since the first batch of chemo (4 batches)? Whew. After that, she had her double mastectomy and then the 2nd round of chemo. Then came the radiation which really knocked out her energy. It seems to be back although the body is taking its dear sweet time to recover. [2]
Sadly, Raelyn passed away on September 8, 2014