Steve Santiago
[email protected]
Courtesy nairaland.com Americans get their ears pierced because it is the fashionable thing to do or in some cases, it is done out of rebellion.
Pierced earrings have been a symbol depending on where someone lives.
Eric Hong got his piercing because of his need to rebel.
“When I was younger, I saw a lot of my friends getting their ear pierced. I wanted it really badly but my mom was very traditional and didn’t let me. One of my friends said his sister knew how to do it and I got it done behind my mom’s back. I got into a bunch of trouble but I don’t regret it.”
The way these piercings have been accepted over the years compared to now have changed rapidly in America but in countries where this has been tradition for centuries, the same cannot be said.
Many teens get their ears pierced to rebel from their parents or because many of their friends are doing it.
Piercings, no matter what the reason, have become very controversial depending on the age or gender or the person who may be wearing them.
Tay Morton, 19, a sophomore at Penn State, has many ear piercings.
“I got my one ear pierced because I thought it was an interesting idea. I didn’t even tell my parents I was getting it done. They were upset for a little while but they got used to it. After I started seeing more and more people with one ear pierced it started to feel less special. I wanted to be as unique as possible and kept getting piercings. I now have multiple in each ear and I think they look great.”
Many teens are getting piercings because they are restless and like to rebel against rules their parents or guardians may set.
“I didn’t get them pierced because I wanted to rebel, I did it out of fashion. I like to be on top of what is new and acceptable, and then try to put my own twist into it,” Morton said.
Lauren Piazza has a different point of view of her earrings.
“When I was born, my parents decided to get my ears pierced. While I have come to love my earrings and have many different ones to match my outfits, sometimes it bothers me they chose for me.”
There tends to be a gender bias when it comes to ear piercings. Some people look down on men with ear piercings, even though many centuries ago, it was completely acceptable. The mold of what is acceptable is rapidly changing as time goes by. Earrings went from being accepted by all genders, not being accepted, and then back around again.
In the 1970s, earrings did not serve as a positive symbol for males. Homosexuality was a big issue among many people as it is today. Males who wore one earring were labeled homosexuals without anyone even knowing whether it was true or not. This caused false accusations among many people and was highly controversial. While this was no way to be 100 percent accurate, people who disliked the idea of homosexuality still would shun most men who had piercings.
“When I was younger, kids used to call me a homosexual all the time because of my earrings but all I had to do was ignore them. The true friends I had knew I wasn’t and that was all that mattered,” said Morton.
Piercings have meant many different things throughout time. They have been a symbol of a bond between parents and children, a symbol of fashion, a way for naïve kids to go against their parent’s strict rules, to show wealth, or foolishly used to try to label a man as homosexual.
Despite what any one person believes, the symbols of one or more ear piercings have meant many things to many civilizations. Even if you do not like earrings personally, it is impressive how such a small piece of jewelry in ones ear could mean so much to so many people around the world.