Prince Albert (genital Piercing) - History and Culture

History and Culture

The origin of this piercing is unknown. Many theories suggest that the piercing was used to secure the penis in some manner, rather than having a sexual or cultural purpose.

In modern times, the Prince Albert piercing was popularized by Jim Ward in the early 1970s. In West Hollywood, Ward met Doug Malloy and Fakir Musafar. Together, these men further developed the Prince Albert piercing. Malloy published a pamphlet in which he concocted fanciful histories of genital piercings in particular. These apocryphal tales—which included the notion that Prince Albert invented the piercing that shares his name in order to tame the appearance of his large penis in tight trousers—are widely circulated as urban legend. No historical proof of their veracity has been located independent of Malloy's assertions. Like many other male genital piercings, it has a history of practice in gay culture in the twentieth century and became known outside that culture at the same time that body piercing began to emerge in popular culture in the late 1970s.