 By the early part of the 20th century , piercing of any body part had become uncommon in the West . After World War II , it began increasing in popularity among the gay male subculture . Even ear piercing for a time was culturally unacceptable for women , but that relatively common form of piercing began growing in popularity from the 1960s . In the 1970s , piercing began to expand , as the punk movement embraced it , featuring nontraditional adornment such as safety pins ; and Fakir Musafar began popularizing it as a form of Modern Primitivism , which incorporated piercing elements from other cultures , such as stretching . 
