PFIQ
Encyclopedia
Body piercing
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice...
and operated The Gauntlet
Gauntlet (body piercing studio)
The Gauntlet, also known as Gauntlet Enterprises, was a business founded in November 1975 by Jim Ward that pioneered the field of body piercing in North America. It was inspired by Ward's friend and mentor, Doug Malloy...
, which was the first commercial establishment to offer the service in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The first 14 issues of PFIQ were in black and white with single-color highlights in a few issues. From issue #15 on, the covers and centerfolds were in full color. The first issue was 16 pages long; by issue #31, PFIQ had grown to 32 pages. Page count continued to gradually increase. Issue #50, the final issue, contained 64 pages. All issues were 8½×11" in size.
Only the first five issues were dated on the cover, though most of them included a copyright year. However, every issue was independently numbered. In spite of calling itself a quarterly, the publication was chronically late and the average number of issues per year, over the lifetime of PFIQ, was about 3.
Issues #1 and #3 were reprinted in the 1980s. The reprints are not hard to distinguish from the originals. The original issue #1 was black and white with two spot colors; the reprint has only the purple on the cover. Issue #3 was a complete redesign and bears the words "Revised Edition" on the cover.
PFIQ contained a wide variety of material, mostly about body piercing, but occasionally about other forms of body art and body modification. A long series of articles by Jim Ward, "Pierce with a Pro," gave detailed information on how to perform many different piercings. Gauntlet also produced three "how-to" videos under the same title. Part 1 on male piercings appeared in 1988; part 2 covering female and unisex piercings was issued in 1994; part 3, an update of the first video came out in 1996.
The magazine contents also included interviews, accounts of piercings, letters from readers, book and video reviews, photographs, artwork, and fiction. PFIQ also contained advertising from a few businesses in closely related fields. Subscribers also received Pin Pals, a sheet of classified ads created for the express purpose of allowing people with body piercings to meet each other.
PFIQ was a controversial publication, due to its graphic portrayal of nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
and the piercing process. In some countries it was considered obscene
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, and confiscated by postal customs officials. It ceased publication in 1997 when Jim Ward sold Gauntlet. (Gauntlet failed under its new owner and closed in 1998.)
