Shock and Ow: Janet Jackson's Flash of Jewelry

(Bodypunks.com)

Anyone who has spent much time looking at video footage of runway shows or flipping through fashion magazines, particularly those produced in Italy and France, would have developed a certain immunity to the shock value of a naked breast. Professional models never wear a bra when they are on the job, unless lingerie happens to be the product they are selling. Breasts are regularly displayed in their full glory or shielded by only the sheerest scrim of chiffon. There are any number of occurrences on the fashion stage worth getting exercised about, but the appearance of a nude breast is not one of them.

But when Janet Jackson's right breast made an unexpected, split-second appearance on the Super Bowl halftime stage on Sunday, it was enough to send networks, the FCC and a host of viewers into spasms of shock, horror and outrage. Nearly a week later, the finger-pointing hasn't stopped, and there is so much aggressive censorship and anti-breast lobbying underway one worries that new mothers will soon be asked to breast-feed through a woolen pullover.

To some small degree, part of the furor over Jackson's exposed breast seems to be that it made its dramatic entrance costumed in silver nipple jewelry. So instead of merely a collective gasp, there was also a collective "ouch." It's worth noting that body piercing has a long history that extends back centuries before the arrival of purple-haired teenagers who thought that the best way to rile their parents would be to jam a hole through their tongues. Historical tradition, however, does little to lessen the fact that Jackson's breast was an unwelcome guest in many homes -- no matter that it was dressed for the occasion.

Jackson has issued a statement explaining that nudity was not her intent in the final seconds of her halftime performance with Justin Timberlake. But because Timberlake's bodice-ripping was perfectly timed to the line "I'll have you naked by the end of this song," most folks assumed that the duo's plan had always been to make good on the song's promise. And seeing a breast that was glittering silver when it abruptly appeared from beneath Jackson's shiny black dominatrix suit only furthered the theory that the peekaboo moment had been choreographed.

The presence of nipple jewelry, however, is not enough to indict Jackson. Although a pierced earlobe suffers no ill effects without jewelry for a short period of time, pierced navels, nipples and other body parts can quickly heal over. The Association of Professional Piercers advises that jewelry should be left in at all times because even years-old piercings can "shrink or close in minutes," according to the group's Web site. It is for this reason that on the runway, one can see models dressed in the most elegant silk evening gowns with the outline of a nipple ring poking through the fragile fabric.

Of course, Jackson was wearing something a bit more elaborate than a simple ring or barbell-style stud. But then, who has ever known a celebrity -- that peculiar breed that popularized the cashmere sweat suit -- to do anything simply?

Jackson was wearing a nipple shield in the style of a Mexican sun. It attaches to the nipple the way in which one might put a tie tack on a four-in-hand. The shield circled the nipple and its flares radiated out and around the areola. If one can overlook the "ow" factor, it is an attractive piece of jewelry.

Owing to its extreme method of attachment, one might assume that Jackson's look wouldn't be readily copied. Of course, that would be a foolish bet. If a celebrity drove a wooden stake through the palm of her hand, one suspects there would be a good number of folks racing to the nearest lumberyard to try to find a similarly carved length of pine. It is possible to order a Janet Jackson nipple shield on the Internet and at piercing parlors. At BodyPunks.com, where business in the last week has reportedly been booming, the sterling silver shield costs $23.95. It is on back order. Presumably those who purchase it will be more cautious about who will be allowed to admire it.