The San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 27, 1992:

On March 9, a San Francisco woman in her 30s was hung from 28 wire-suspended fish-hooks, all pierced through the flesh of her back, legs, and buttocks. This was a women-only event. More than 80 spectators and friends were in attendance at the black-walled South of Market space, drumming, chanting, coaxing her on.

Raelyn Gallina, an East Bay piercer who has a lot of female clients, organized the event and did much of the piercing. "It was women doing it for women," she says. "It was a very powerful experience. There were women who needed to be there. This was a major, history-making thing. There were three videographers and two still photographers. Women would cheer every time a hook went in." ...

Gallina has her own thoughts on the popularity of body play. "Basically," she says, "the world is meaningless. There's just your body and you. That's all you've got."

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