Gender Affirming Genital Piercings- Realistic Reviews

A few years ago I published a blog post that was a series of realistic reviews on genital piercings. There’s a lot of misinformation out there about these piercings, from folks saying they made them orgasm every time they walked to people saying they lost all sensation, and everything in between. Many of these stories were myths or over-exaggerations of the actual experience. So I set out to collect a series of honest, realistic reviews from people who had these piercings to give folks a genuine idea of what to expect from getting them. Today’s blog post is a followup to that one, with realistic reviews of genital piercings done for gender affirmation for trans clients. Gender affirming piercings can be empowering and amazing, but they also don’t always work out as intended. The following collection of stories is designed to provide realistic, honest feedback for anyone curious about these piercings.

“I love my inner labia piercings! I originally got them to wear something heavier in to adjust my walk to be more "masculine", but I ended up wearing smaller lighter CBRs for comfort instead (the pinch between 8g rings is no joke. Even with the more fitted jewelry, I still love the piercings and find them very affirming.

Even the experience of getting them pierced was affirming, as I received the piercing from a piercer I admire deeply (shout out to Rose!) who is also trans. It is a very warm memory in my piercing career to be able to share that moment. As a trans gay masc, I can feel pretty isolated from the gay man community, but my genital piercings connect me to our shared queer history with my fellow homos, even if we don't have the same “equipment" I 100% plan on getting more-- I'm thinking dukes, a triangle, and a fourchette “

“I got my PA pierced on a whim TBH. I’d thought about it on and off and mostly when I was out as a gay man (trans woman here) but didn’t think much of it once I transitioned. I was actually going through a tough time recently and decided to get it randomly one weekend. Not be be TMI but after 8 years on hormones, things down there haven’t really….worked for a while. My piercer mentioned that it might cause erections and sensations for me, which I brushed off. WRONG. I started getting spontaneous erections again my first week with it! It feels so good…and honestly so different. Feeling the ring inside my urethra has such an internal feeling for me….akin to a vagina almost. It’s been really fun to play with, and I got a pink opal bead from Anatometal once I healed and its so cute and and fun, and the sensations it gives make me feel more me. I can’t get bottom surgery for a few more years, but this helps me with the wait.”

“Fall 2023, I booked and waited for and excitedly went for an appointment to have my VCH done. I'd had a consult previously at this shop, with you no less, so it was all aboveboard. The piercer was wonderful, very calming and explained everything, took their time, placement was good. Absolutely the worst pain I've ever felt, but it was over fairly quickly, and I had a sparkly new adornment on my junk.

Even with that particular piercing being a fast healer, I was cautious about being too rough with it. I started becoming hyper-aware of it, not wanting it touched. With my particular anatomy, being more innie than outie, I couldn't really see or easily access my t-dick.

I started dissociating from it. I would tell myself that it was fine, I could definitely find my bits without issues, it was healed nicely, gender affirming piercing, blah blah blah. Except it had the opposite effect. It took me a while to realize, and longer to accept, that my affirming piercing was in fact making my dysphoria rear its ugly head. I dissociated more. I didn't want body parts or lube or a mouth or anything near the piercing, I was constantly stressed that it would get irritated by these things. My sex drive crashed and burned.

Two days ago, with the help of a glove so I could get a better grip, I finally took my jewelry out. It's odd to use the washroom and not have the little bit of titanium and opal in place. I'm sad about it, I think mostly because it's a very pretty piece of jewelry that I have zero use for now. I also feel guilty, it's only been 7 months since I had it pierced. However, the relief is palpable. I'm overall calmer, and I find myself actually thinking about intimacy again.

I've had my nipples pierced, twice, and it's the exact same reaction. My one remaining nip jewelry was removed last month, and just like with the VCH, the amount of relief I felt at no longer worrying about it was staggering. I think this experience has made fairly clear to me that I'm just not inclined to body piercings. It makes my neurospicy brain go on hyper alert, my body refuses to relax and not worry about all the what ifs.

Piercings I DO still have - two sets of holes in my lobes, with 8g clicker rings in all four of them; and my septum, currently 12g clicker. Pretty happy with these, not likely to get rid of them any time soon. I'm also at, uhh, I think it's 19? tattoos now, and that number will keep growing. While a pain to receive, and a mild inconvenience to heal, once it's fully healed and in the skin, there's nothing for my brain to worry or obsess over. I recently bleached and vivid-dyed my hair again for the first time in 7ish years, I'd forgotten how gendered this makes me feel. Back to basics for me, I suppose! “

“Outer labia piercings changed my life. I can’t currently get bottom surgery, the length of time off work would be unsustainable for me, and since I already struggle with chronic UTI’s, theres big concerns about UL for me. I felt so depressed after finding this out. I didn’t know what to do. I was actually on reddit and saw another trans man talking about piercings that felt like balls….and then for months I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. I had them done almost 2 years ago now, and it’s the BEST. It totally changed how I walk, how I sit, how I move. This is what having something down there would feel like. You actually helped me find some custom weights for them once I was healed, and it’s become my favorite body mod, even more then top surgery. It makes me feel so me, and not to be TMI but the feeling of them slapping on my legs when I top is so affirming. The first time it happened I about came just from that sensation alone.”

"For me personally piercings r an integral part of my gender transition, there's a lot of empowerment in reclaiming your body, something that a lot of trans folk are brought up with no autonomy with. Being forced to shave/have certain hairstyles/dress in skirts and dresses and essentially have no sense of self expression without consequence by my family, peers, school and the general public, being able to reclaim my body by being able to control what my body does and doesn't look like is so insanely affirming, and it was/is one of the most accessible forms of expression available to me where hormones and surgery are still unfortunately out of reach for me. Beyond accessibility and bodily autonomy I love the way you can use piercings to both highlight and take away from certain features, my bridge piercing and large guage Septum help announce the harshness of my nose (which I love), my anti-eyebrow also draws attention away from the rounder shape of my face (which is often perceived as more feminine) beyond that jewellery is an amazing tool of communicating different forms of gender expression, such as masculinity, femininity and androgyny and I often use it as a tool to express my removal away from the conventional standard of what society perceives as feminine and its one of the primary things that have helped me express myself more loudly and prominently as someone masculine presenting.”

“Non-binary transmascish. For me, large gauge piercings are super gender affirming. I cannot explain why. There’s just something about the chonk that gives me masc/ nonbinary vibes and it makes me very happy. So far, I only have an 8g septum and I’m going to get my lobes repierced at a 4g. I plan on starting all of my future piercings at a 12g minimum, but especially for when I eventually get my bridge I’m going to request the largest they’re comfortable going with my anatomy.

I would describe my gender aesthetic as “queer 2009 emo boy”. For me there are just certain inspo pictures I look at and I’m immediately like YES THAT IS GENDER. Don’t know why, but it’s just chef’s kiss.”

"Back in June I had my triangle pierced as a Transman, and I absolutely adore it. The pain was immense, but I came out of it knowing that there (probably) wouldn’t be a piercing that would ever top the pain, and that was incredibly inspiring for me. I now can look at piercings I want (like paired labias and vertical hood piercings) and go “well, it can’t be as bad as my triangle, let’s do it!”, and I love that. I feel now I have even more courage to try more “scary” forms of body modification, like suspension, scarification, and play piercings. Hannah, (the piercer I went to) was so, so fun and respectful, and I’m so happy I could be there and help her teach a junior piercer that was shadowing the procedure. Helping her to carry on teaching genital piercing, especially being Trans, was such an honor as someone new to the piercing industry (I’m a FoH staff member that started in my first studio this May!). As for the piercing itself, it’s the coolest thing ever. Pierced at a 10G with a 5/8” circular barbell, it’s the chunkiest jewelry I have, and you already know I’m gonna stretch it! I never had much issue with my genitals, but getting to adorn them with cool, chunky jewelry makes me so happy. I love that even if people try to assume what I have “down there”, they’ll never know I got a $100 worth of metal hanging from it! It makes me feel connected to not only the early days of piercing, but with my queerness and the leather community. ANYWAYS, I love it, I think everyone should give them a shot (if comfortable), and I’m so grateful of my courage to get it pierced, and my piercer for helping me.  "

“I am a non-binary person and have one inner labia piercing up towards my clitoral hood.

Having one inner labia piercing felt very affirming to me, as it “atypified” my genitals. It’s an uneven look—like a nose ring for my vulva. It felt like I was purposely adorning my genitals in a way that went against typical beauty standards and made them “weird”.

I also liked that the piercing doesn’t have any sensation function. I felt ownership of it—I was doing something just because I think it’s rad without it needing to serve a practical reason. I think this factor, as well as getting a genital piercing generally, was also really affirming of my asexuality, which I feel is intertwined with my experience of gender. I can adorn my junk and make it funky and fun and that can just be between me and my piercer—it’s truly just for me. I think the fact that the look is uneven and atypical also affirms my asexuality in a similar way.

I got a few consultations before deciding what to get pierced and who by. I didn’t connect with one of the piercers. It was clear to me that my motivations for getting a vulva piercing weren’t clicking for him. I explained that sensation was a non-factor or even a negative for me, and that I wanted a piercing to create an atypical/kinda odd aesthetic. He then suggested a VCH because it looks great, can be great for added sensation, and can be great for partnered sex (I hadn’t said I was asexual, but this also was not aligned with what I had already talked about). I ended up going with someone else. I think it’s so important to go to a piercer that understands WHY you are getting the piercing.

The piercer I went with clearly was open to my motivations and made me feel really confident. She talked about how fun just getting one was, that the uneven aesthetic was cool and different, and how she loved my nose ring comparison. It was really lovely getting complimented in ways that clearly understood my intention for the piercing, rather than defaulting to compliments about it looking nice or comments about how it would be functionally good.

I want to get more genital piercings—I actually was booked in to get a VCH today that I cancelled a few weeks back—but I’m worried that a lot of the piercing will create different sensations that will be dysphoric for my gender and/or sexuality. I like the way my body feels pleasure and I’m worried that making that different/more intense will make me feel disconnected from myself. Also, getting something on my clitoral hood could affect the way I masturbate with toys, and since no one else is down there doing anything, it would be more of a hindrance than anything. I want something else that creates the same vibe that my inner labia piercing does, but my options for that are really just another labia piercing. Maybe I can go for a double nose ring.

That being said, now that I have my inner labia piercing that’s uneven and affirming, I feel more comfortable with the idea of getting another piercing that is more symmetrical, pretty, or that creates sensation. I think it’s good to consider the order you get genital piercings in, as something that may be dysphoric initially may be less so/may not be after you get something else done. Getting a VCH would have been visually dysphoric without my labia piercing, but now it would not be (but I cancelled the appointment due to concerns about it being sensationally dysphoric. I might still get it later, I’m just not in the right headspace currently).”

I hope these realistic, honest reviews of these piercings help you with your decision to get pierced, or not. And if you have a review you’d like to submit for this page, please feel free to email me at lynnloheide@gmail.com!

Cover art by @funfettiheart on IG