one of simonton's other notable contributions to the development of body piercing in contemporary society was his pamphlet "body & genital piercing in brief", which is responsible for a large portion of the myths surrounding the origins of many piercings, most notably genital ones. simonton's personal enthusiasm for body piercing as an erotic practice and his love of the fantastic came together in this document, which contains some fictional and/or speculative information. many of the theories regarding the practice and origins of various piercings historically have been distorted by the widespread circulation of this document or later documents which quote it.