 However , records do exist that refer to practices of nipple and genital piercing in various cultures prior to the 20th century . Kama Sutra , dated to the Gupta Empire of Ancient India , describes genital piercing to permit sexual enhancement by inserting pins and other objects into the foreskin of the penis . The Dayak tribesmen of Borneo passed a shard of bone through their glans for the opposite reason , to diminish their sexual activity . In the Talmud ( Tractate Shabbat <unk> ) , there may be mention of a genital piercing in the <unk> against the <unk> , which medieval French Talmudic commenter Rashi interpreted as a chastity piercing for women . Other interpreters have , however , suggested that the <unk> was rather a pendant shaped like a vulva or a girdle . 
