I saw a kid with these-they must stretch the lower lobe of the ear-what do your ears look like after you get tired of these things?
I find excessive piercings unattractive, but I find plenty of things unattractive (like Crocs, for example, or excessive makeup). The only assumption I’m going to be making about either is that they have a different sense of aesthetics. One that I find horrible, but one that makes them happy, so whatever.
I can understand that a lot of people think piercings are strange and perhaps even ugly. But there seems to be a somewhat condescending tone here as well, which I find odd. If I went over to the older women/long hair thread and posted something about how I thought older women with long hair seem as though they are clinging desperately with withered claws to their bygone youth, I’m fairly sure I’d be Pitted for it. Yet this thread is filled with people making all sorts of assumptions and judgements about people with piercings and it doesn’t seem to be that big a deal.
Everyone has a right to their opinions, of course. I’m just reminded every now and then that the Dope is more accepting of certain things rather than others.
Count me in as someone else who’s surprised by the strong reactions in this thread. I don’t interpret most piercings as necessarily rebellious, or conformist, or non-conformist… I’d always assume that most people get 'em because they find them aesthetically pleasing, for whatever reason. I may disagree, but there are worse aesthetic crimes. (Leggings as pants, for instance… they may not have a permanent effect on YOUR body, but the memories of these travesties will be seared into my memory forever.) As long as I’m not hiring you, who cares?
And, since it’s IMHO: Multiple ear piercings and nose studs are so common that I barely notice them. Along with most other piercings, they are attractive on attractive people, but add nothing to someone I wouldn’t otherwise be attracted to. There are exceptions - I admit that when I see someone with big gauges, I get an immediate mental picture of that person in 50 years, with their earlobes dangling down to their shoulders, though I do rather admire their dedication (is there some surgery to fix those if you change your mind?) - but really, I don’t care what holes other people put in their bodies.
I’d have guessed that this is partially a generational thing, but then again I’ve had professors with nose studs, tongue piercings, and tattoos (all tasteful, of course, and not all three on the same person!)… and I’m not really in the Counterculture Capital of America. It’s pretty mainstream.
The frenum piercing, on the other hand… I had to look that one up. :eek: Why, God, why…
Oh, and I forgot to ask: which frenum?
Hmmm. I will admit that when I got my nose pierced, aged sixteen, there was a small element of oh-wow-I’m-rebelling about it. (In my defence, they were a lot less ubiquitous then, and also, I was sixteen and dumb.) When I got my lip pierced, aged 27, it was actually pretty much because it had become very common, I’d seen it on others, I knew it wouldn’t seem too horribly shocking to anyone, and I thought it might look kind of… pretty. Decorative, I guess. I wear tiny little diamond studs in both piercings, and I honestly think they look pretty; I know some people don’t, but, well, if I was paralysed with worry about other people not thinking I looked good, I’d never leave the house. If/when I get to a point where I no longer like them, or if I want to apply for a job where they would be a problem (they never have been so far), I’ll… take them out and let them heal up. That’s partly why I like the idea of piercings; they’re actually not permanent.
I would imagine most people who get piercings done today are much more towards the “it’s pretty/fashionable/whatever” line of thinking than “OMG I’m a rebel!!”, since it’s become very common and all that. But even apart from that, I think the whole “oh yes you’re SO rebellious and DIFFERENT just like EVERYONE ELSE” thing that a lot of people have said in this thread is sort of… missing the point? For those people who do get piercings in order to “rebel” or “be different”, they’re not doing it to “be different” from their peers; they’re doing it to be different from their parents and that generation; that’s what they’re rebelling against, if anything, so the fact that it’s common amongst under-30s doesn’t really invalidate the possibility of it being an attempt at rebellion.
(Not that it always works too well. When I showed up at home looking very pleased with myself with my brand new nose-ring, all I got out of my mother was “It’s rather pretty, actually”. Same thing happened when I dyed my hair pink a year later, after which I more or less gave up…)
Okay, I honestly don’t understand why it is that people are feeling the need to dissect every contrary opinion, but here’s my answer.
No, that wasn’t really my point, and I’m a little mystified as to how you come away with that idea.
You said earlier: “Maybe the argument can be made that everything we wear is to fit in on some level, but if you accessorize AT ALL (necklaces, rings, ribbons in your hair, interesting ties, etc), and don’t do it with the desire to be thought of as less boring, I’m having trouble understanding why piercings are so strange.” (emphasis mine)
And I said: “I don’t find piercings to be especially strange at this point. I do tend to think of them on par with doing other things like wearing 4-inch spike heeled shoes with toes pointy enough to spear a fish. Both of those have the potential to leave less than desirable physical effects down the road, which is rather different from ribbons in your hair, interesting ties, or even pants that hang halfway down your butt.”
Yes I was thinking of physical damage or pain. Wearing spike heels with pointy toes leads to bunions and a variety of other painful foot problems, done in the name of fashion. People who pierce parts of their bodies other than ear lobes IMO run a greater risk of yes, getting infections that can lead to scarring, or in the case of those Mayan style ear spools I saw a guy wearing the other day, having to have surgery to fix his earlobes if he ever gets bored of the look and doesn’t want loops of flesh dangling off his head.
I personally am totally happy with just the three ear piercings I have (two on the left lobe, one on the right). The joke of it is that I got the third piercing when I was 17, when extra ear piercings as a statement of “edgy” first made their way out of punk into the New Wave scene, so I know the sentiment. I would never do more because I personally don’t think the fashion statement is worth any extra grief or aggravation that comes with it, and I don’t care for the look anyway. You want to do more, have at it; no skin off my nose.
Since it seems so important that I draw some parallels to some other fashion looks/accessories in recent years that I find comparably undesirable, I would include low-rider jeans (especially with thongs sticking up out of the back), tramp stamps, overly plucked eyebrows, bejeweled flip-flops worn with “better” clothes like business attire (yes I have seen this), shoes styled as Mary Janes in any way, heels so high and thin that the wearer wobbles with every step, and guys’ pants with the waistband hanging off the edge of their asses, as well as those “shorts” that look more like manpris.
What I think when I see all these things: this person is trying hard to draw attention to themselves somehow, but they haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet in a way that makes them truly individual. And yes, I regard it as a bit immature, but I expect that of college-age kids still working their way into adulthood. That’s just my perspective as a forty-something person, stated for what it is.
By th way, another thing I’ve acquired as I’ve gotten older: I care much less about what the general public thinks of the way I style my hair, or the jewelry I wear, or the car I drive; what’s important is how they perceive me as a person. It’s truly liberating not to worry about the superficial stuff so much. Some folks in this thread might do themselves good to take that thought to heart.
Sorry, I wasn’t really clear in my intention in bringing up your quote and the other people’s I quoted. I meant that I saw that you had drawn a line about what you thought looked ok and what didn’t (though I guess I didn’t understand it fully), and so I got what you were saying about piercing. You don’t think that absolutely every piercing means you’re a childish attention-seeker.
My point was that from some of the other comments in the thread, from the people who seemed like they were dismissing piercing entirely, that I needed to see where they had drawn lines in terms of accessories and fitting in with society in general. I grokked with you-- sorry it seemed like I was still being combative 
Idiot. Loser. Psychological issues.
Those were the first three that I thought of.
I have more than one?
I thought it was any connective tissue that attaches to movable organs. Although most people get it below the head of their penises (penii?), I could have sworn I’d seen one in the connective tissue under a tongue. Maybe I’m just making that up.
As others have said, the reaction you will get will probably be mostly generational.
I’m 41. I think multiple piercings just say you are young. But no matter how rational I am, I’ll never get past the huge holes in the ear as posted above. (i.e. will never indicate anything but short-sightedness)
If you want to see how others may perceive you, then think about how you might perceive someone who has a name tattooed on their neck. (I’m assuming that’s still a pretty edgy fashion statement. ;))
My opinion is that it’s ugly and lowers a person’s attractiveness level by about 5 on a 10-point scale. Is this hostile? No, it’s my opinion. Hostile would be if I went up to the pierced, tattooed, tooth-filed person and said “That’s ugly and makes you look like an idiot”. So I don’t do that. If my opinion is asked, I’ll give it, usually with a bit more tact than I’ve shown here.
TO me, it’s like someone said earlier - there are other fashion don’ts that are equally unattractive. The problem with piercings is that mostly they stay in, so running to the grocery store in sweats and crocs (ugliest shoes ever), is not the same as running to the store in your piercings, then going to the doctor wearing your piercings than going to work, the theatre, and the movies in your piercings. Hopefully, most people who make a 10 minute milk run dress better when they’re going to be out and about. What’s appropriate in one setting isn’t appropriate in all.
StG
I work as adjunct faculty at a community college downtown - one of the teachers wore CROCS to work today. He bid me good morning; it was all I could do not to step back and shriek in response, “WTF ARE YOU WEARING?”
HazelNutCoffee - They’re clown shoes. I’ve thought about buying a pair to slip on when I go out to feed the horses or get the mail, but I just can’t bring myself to spend money on anything so hideous. And I’m so not the fashionista.
My point is, just as it’s inappropriate to wear something like that to the office, people can have the same horrified opinion at people serving them food with those giant plugs in their ears. It’s off-putting, but not easy to take off.
StG
I took the eyebrow ring out. I wasn’t all that that big of a fan anyway, and I’m certainly not dedicated enough to deal with the judgmental attitudes it brings out.
Besides my ears (normal piercings) I have my tongue and belly button pierced. Anyone that thinks less of me for it is probably someone I wouldn’t want to be around anyway.
Sleeps With Butterflies - Oddly, my nieces, who are both pierced and tattooed, enjoy being around me and I around them. I don’t love them less because they chose to alter their bodies. They don’t love me less because I don’t think it’s attractive. It’s just one part of a person, and there’s so much more about them than that. I believe that when I look at most people, I see more than just their piercings and tattoos, but it does mean that when I first know them, I have to overcome that preconcieved notion. You have preconcieved notions about the people you meet, too.
StG
Why is that odd? I made a statement about MY opinion, I don’t speak for your nieces.
I don’t care if people think it’s attractive or not, I’m talking about people who think “people who do that are stupid” or “people who have piercings are unprofessional” or other types of things like that. Attractive? Who cares? We all have things that we prefer or dislike with physical things.
Basing an opinion of my abilities or mental capacity on the fact that my tongue has a hole in it that I paid for is silly, and makes me wonder about the person who thinks so. A person not finding my tongue stud attractive? That’s just a preference and doesn’t concern me in the slightest.
Ah, well the problem with the “piercing are unprofessional” is that its a very common opinion of many people in hiring positions at companies. And, if you want a job, you do want to be around them and you do care.
I have a friend at work who is pretty heavily tattoo’d. He’s been trying for a decade to get out of desktop support and into a job in IT with a career path. Unfortunately, it take a lot in corporate America to get over the tats. He’s really talented, but it’s going to limit him - at least until the people making the hiring decisions see that level of tattooing to be normal.
Seriously? Fashion? I’ve known half a dozen girls who had pierced tongues or were seriously considering getting them and every. single. one. of them said it was about giving head when asked what the appeal was. If that’s the reason they give other women when someone asks, what are the guys supposed to think?