Piercings...?

[Lynne]

I'm not sure, but we may have talked about this before, perhaps in the tattoo thread?

In any event, a Facebook post of mine raised this subject lately.  I've been working on my jewelry-making (An intro class was my Christmas gift and I'm loving it!), and I mentioned that getting my ears pierced when I was 12 was a rite-of-passage for me.  Mom built it up in my mind, by denying me for several years leading up to the 'big event'.  Then we went to the mall to do the deed for my birthday - I got the 'diamond' stainless steel studs - my birthstone.

I went to some frat parties the summer before my freshman year, took the temperature of the crowd, and added another piercing to each ear.  (Mom about had a cow over that one, though.)

Now I'm asymmetric with three in my left ear (a fourth grew up - didn't like it) and two in my right.  And one more, which is another story entirely, though I can say that I debated so long that it's no longer either fashionable or attractive for me.  C'est la vie.

So...long story...but when I asked about ear piercings on FB a woman I know from Meeting said her mother was opposed to it - saw it as 'bad' as tattoos and she doesn't have her ears pierced to this day.  Upon reflection, this probably makes sense theologically, because many Quakers still espouse some form of 'plain dress' and certainly over-the-top jewelry wouldn't be consistent with that philosophy.

Not that I personally agree think one cannot wear some jewelry in a tasteful manner.

What do y'all think??  I'd love to hear your stories too if you care to comment or had a similar coming-of-age thing like I did.

[Lynne]

(PS - If you don't have pierced ears, do you ever wear clip-ons?  I tried some of those before I was 'allowed' to have my ears pierced, and can I just say - "Ow!!"?!)

[Brown Eyes]

I agree about the clip-on earrings being much more painful than pierced earrings. I've very occasionally worn clip-ons when I've wanted to wear really large/heavy earrings (mainly in high school).  My grandmother was entirely opposed to pierced ears (or anything)... but I think she kind of tortured herself by wearing heavy, clip-on earrings every day.  *Shudders*  

I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was 9.  I remember my Mom picked me up from orchestra practice and out of the blue asked me if I wanted to get my ears pierced.  I remember being so surprised... and of course I said yes.  She said later that she kind of sprung it on me so that I wouldn't have time to get nervous about it.  I remember I was a bit scared of the procedure, but my excitement about it outweighed that.

Then, in grad school I got them pierced a second time.  So, I have two in each ear.  There was a time I really wanted more.  I wanted to get a little ring for the top of my ear.  I still love the way that looks.  But, ultimately, I was too afraid of getting a piercing through cartilage.

The kinds of piercing that I really don't like are lip piercings, eyebrow rings and those really extended large piercings people sometimes get in their ears.  But, in general, I kind of like piercings better than tattoos.  And, it's so much easier to get rid of a piercing if you don't want it anymore.

I've had friends with all manner of crazy piercings.  My best friend in high school had her tongue pierced our senior year.  And, in college and grad school I knew tons of people with tongue piercings, other random facial piercings and body piercings (lots of belly button rings... and I knew one woman who had a genital piercing... she said it was a mistake.  Interestingly, I don't think I've ever known anyone with nipple piercings... at least not to my knowledge).  I even have a male friend from grad school who has his belly button pierced.  He had it done when he was in high school and then let it close up in college.  Then in grad school he wanted to have it again, so I remember going with him when he got it re-done on South Street in Philly (where there are tons of famous tattoo shops and piercing parlors).

There is something strangely fascinating about talking about things like piercings and tattoos.  

[Lynne]

I agree about the clip-on earrings being much more painful than pierced earrings. I've very occasionally worn clip-ons when I've wanted to wear really large/heavy earrings (mainly in high school).  My grandmother was entirely opposed to pierced ears (or anything)... but I think she kind of tortured herself by wearing heavy, clip-on earrings every day.  *Shudders*  

I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was 9.  I remember my Mom picked me up from orchestra practice and out of the blue asked me if I wanted to get my ears pierced.  I remember being so surprised... and of course I said yes.  She said later that she kind of sprung it on me so that I wouldn't have time to get nervous about it.  I remember I was a bit scared of the procedure, but my excitement about it outweighed that.

Then, in grad school I got them pierced a second time.  So, I have two in each ear.  There was a time I really wanted more.  I wanted to get a little ring for the top of my ear.  I still love the way that looks.  But, ultimately, I was too afraid of getting a piercing through cartilage.

The kinds of piercing that I really don't like are lip piercings, eyebrow rings and those really extended large piercings people sometimes get in their ears.  But, in general, I kind of like piercings better than tattoos.  And, it's so much easier to get rid of a piercing if you don't want it anymore.

I've had friends with all manner of crazy piercings.  My best friend in high school had her tongue pierced our senior year.  And, in college and grad school I knew tons of people with tongue piercings, other random facial piercings and body piercings (lots of belly button rings... and I knew one woman who had a genital piercing... she said it was a mistake.  Interestingly, I don't think I've ever known anyone with nipple piercings... at least not to my knowledge).  I even have a male friend from grad school who has his belly button pierced.  He had it done when he was in high school and then let it close up in college.  Then in grad school he wanted to have it again, so I remember going with him when he got it re-done on South Street in Philly (where there are tons of famous tattoo shops and piercing parlors).

There is something strangely fascinating about talking about things like piercings and tattoos.

Thanks for the reply, A.  I think it's neat that your mom surprised you with that one.  

The small ring at the top of the ear in the cartilage is the one that I didn't like and have let close.  I didn't think it suited me.

Navel piercings were ultra-popular when I was actively playing soccer among the women on my team - I thought they looked really great.

As for nipple piercings - I have known a few people who have them - male and female - not something I think I would consider, but they seem very happy with them, particularly from an erotic perspective.

[Penthesilea]

I have a thing for piercings, but don't have any body or facial piercings myself. They weren't available when I was a late teen/in my early twenties. You bet I would have gotten some had I known about it.

I have five piercings in my earlobes, exactly the same way Lynne has; three in my left earlobe, two in my right.
I had to beg my mother for years to get the first two. She never allowed it (found it pure idiocy), but finally said I could have two after my confirmation, which is regarded a rite of passage here. I was fourteen then.

I wanted to have more ear piercings badly but of course wasn't allowed. Since I couldn't get it done by a regular piercer (they ask for parents' permit) I had a friend of mine pierce my left earlobe. We used a simple sewing needle which we layed in alcohol and heated with a lighter for sterilization. Didn't work though and it got infected very badly. I had to take it out after a couple of days.

As soon as I was 18 I went and got me a second piercing in my left earlobe. I always wanted it to be asymmetric. Few years later got two more. I wanted to have my leaft ear pierced all the way up to the top, with many piercings, but the third hole already made problems with healing. I was told that they heal worse and hurt more the further up you go.
Don't know if it's true, but that kept me from getting more piercings in my ear.


Years later facial and body piercings became en vogue. I would like to have an eyebrow piercing, but meanwhile I feel too old for that. I wouldn't want to give the impression of chumming up with my teenage kids. People in their forties trying too hard to be cool, trendy and youthful are simply ick.
And don't get me even started on moms doing the false "We're BFF" pose with her teenage kids .
But that's a whole other topic.

[Monika]

I have always had a thing for tattoos, but never for piercings in other places than my earlobes (got one in each that I got in my teens - and you´re right, Chrissie, it was kinda of a rite of passage). I think I at some point considered piercing the top of my ear but never did for some reason I can´t remember.

[CellarDweller]

I only have one piercing, my left ear.

I got it there because the word around school was that if you got it in your right ear, it meant you were gay. 

I'm not a fan of face piercings, specifically around the mouth.

I won't pierce anywhere else on me, just looks sooooo painful!  I've seen guys with Prince Alberts, and all I can think of is that when they piss they must make a complete mess in the bathroom.

[Brown Eyes]

Yeah, I think there is still the convention that the right ear is associated with being gay.  I think of it as a sign or signal to others in the community.  Often I'll wear a black triangle in my right ear if I feel the urge to help others along with their "gaydar".
 

[Lynne]

...I have five piercings in my earlobes, exactly the same way Lynne has; three in my left earlobe, two in my right...

Cool to know that we set the trend - we had to be ahead of Buffy/Sarah Michelle.

 

I only have one piercing, my left ear.

I got it there because the word around school was that if you got it in your right ear, it meant you were gay. 

I'm not a fan of face piercings, specifically around the mouth.

I won't pierce anywhere else on me, just looks sooooo painful!  I've seen guys with Prince Alberts, and all I can think of is that when they piss they must make a complete mess in the bathroom.

That right ear was the story in my high school as well - now I see the younger generation of men with two hoops - one in each ear - pirate style, and I think it looks really good for the most part.

And thanks so much, Chuckie, for sharing about the Prince Alberts...I love the visuals I can get from no one else but you.   

[CellarDweller]

And thanks so much, Chuckie, for sharing about the Prince Alberts...I love the visuals I can get from no one else but you.   

anytime.

and regarding Prince Alberts.   Really?  I mean, some guys have a hard enough time hitting the toilet, why add a piercing that will only make it require more skill?

[Monika]

  Often I'll wear a black triangle in my right ear if I feel the urge to help others along with their "gaydar".
 

Is a black triangle (had never heard of it before) soley used by lesbians or also by gay men?

[Kelda]

I have the normal lobe piercings - got that done when i was like 11.. and as other say a right of passage!

At about 15 I got a small ring at the top of the left ear in the cartilage

and then m,y frst year at unit - just before I turned 17 - i got my belly button pierced.

It was 2004/2005 before I got a tat.

[CellarDweller]

Is a black triangle (had never heard of it before) soley used by lesbians or also by gay men?

Hiya Monika,

Gay men use the pink triangle as a gay pride symbol.



Hitler used the pink triangle to mark prisoners in his death camps who were arrested for being homosexual.  I have a pink triangle tattooed on my left arm.



The black triangle is a little more vague.  Accoding to Wikipedia (not the most reliable source) the symbol originates from Nazi concentration camps, where every prisoner had to wear one of the Nazi concentration camp badges on their jacket, the color of which categorized them according to "their kind." Individuals deemed "anti-social" had to wear the Black Triangle. Many of Black Triangle prisoners were either mentally retarded or mentally ill. The homeless were also included, as were alcoholics, the habitually "work-shy," prostitutes, and others (including draft dodgers, pacifists and even aristocrats).

Lesbians have over time claimed the black triangle as a symbol of defiance against repression and discrimination, and it is considered a counterpart to the gay pink triangle. Today, it is as a lesbian symbol that the black triangle is most widely recognized.

In the Nazis' meticulous records, there is no word of the black triangle having been imposed on lesbians, or of lesbians as a group being confined to concentration camps. However, some have theorized that since the Nazis believed strongly in a traditional social role for women, lesbians and other sexually unconventional women might logically have been considered "asocial" from the Nazis' point of view, and would therefor have a black triangle on their uniform.

[oilgun]

My earlobes are both pierced.  I first had the right lobe pierced because it was supposed to be a gay signifier.  I was a real militant, lol!  Then I got the other one pierced when it became fashionable.  I also had the holes stretched gradually until I could insert 00 gauge tunnels or plugs (about 1/4"). I've since left them shrink but they'll never close up that's for sure.

I also had a nipple pierced.  The plan was to get both done but the first was so damn painful that I stopped there.  I had a small barbell in it which I removed recently after an unfortunate and excrutiatingly painful incident involving a shower puff. Yes, there was blood...

[Lynne]

My earlobes are both pierced.  I first had the right lobe pierced because it was supposed to be a gay signifier.  I was a real militant, lol!  Then I got the other one pierced when it became fashionable.  I also had the holes stretched gradually until I could insert 00 gauge tunnels or plugs (about 1/4"). I've since left them shrink but they'll never close up that's for sure.

I also had a nipple pierced.  The plan was to get both done but the first was so damn painful that I stopped there  I had a small barbell in it which I removed recently after an unfortunate and excrutiatingly painful incident involving a shower puff. Yes, there was blood...

Ouch...I'm hurting for you...seriously.  Evil shower poof!   

[Lynne]

anytime.

and regarding Prince Alberts.   Really?  I mean, some guys have a hard enough time hitting the toilet, why add a piercing that will only make it require more skill?

No arguments here - I have a brother and a male cousin-in-residence.  And I've cleaned toilets.  Enough said.

[Brown Eyes]

What I remember learning about the black triangle as suggested in part of what's posted here..is that it was used on independent women and women who the Nazis would have seen as anti-social in not conforming to the expected position of wife and mother.  It seems that within Nazi thinking lesbianism was so completely invisible... or even thought of as impossible, that it didn't have its own category.  But, that lesbians were usually caught up in the broader black triangle group.   Amazingly, I remember learning this on a tour of Dachau that I took when i was visiting the Munich region the summer after my first year in grad school.

But, yeah, in contemporary society I really think of the black triangle as specifically lesbian.  Most of my lesbian jewelry involves the black triangle, including the earring that I mentioned in my earlier post.  That earring actually once belonged to my most significant ex-girlfriend (she gave it to me when she moved away) so it's very sentimental to me personally.

Though, these days, there are plenty of lesbians who also use the pink triangle too.

Hiya Monika,

Gay men use the pink triangle as a gay pride symbol.



Hitler used the pink triangle to mark prisoners in his death camps who were arrested for being homosexual.  I have a pink triangle tattooed on my left arm.



The black triangle is a little more vague.  Accoding to Wikipedia (not the most reliable source) the symbol originates from Nazi concentration camps, where every prisoner had to wear one of the Nazi concentration camp badges on their jacket, the color of which categorized them according to "their kind." Individuals deemed "anti-social" had to wear the Black Triangle. Many of Black Triangle prisoners were either mentally retarded or mentally ill. The homeless were also included, as were alcoholics, the habitually "work-shy," prostitutes, and others (including draft dodgers, pacifists and even aristocrats).

Lesbians have over time claimed the black triangle as a symbol of defiance against repression and discrimination, and it is considered a counterpart to the gay pink triangle. Today, it is as a lesbian symbol that the black triangle is most widely recognized.

In the Nazis' meticulous records, there is no word of the black triangle having been imposed on lesbians, or of lesbians as a group being confined to concentration camps. However, some have theorized that since the Nazis believed strongly in a traditional social role for women, lesbians and other sexually unconventional women might logically have been considered "asocial" from the Nazis' point of view, and would therefor have a black triangle on their uniform.

[Kelda]

owwwwwwwwwwww oilgun!

[Lynne]

What I remember learning about the black triangle as suggested in part of what's posted here..is that it was used on independent women and women who the Nazis would have seen as anti-social in not conforming to the expected position of wife and mother.  It seems that within Nazi thinking lesbianism was so completely invisible... or even thought of as impossible, that it didn't have its own category.  But, that lesbians were usually caught up in the broader black triangle group.   Amazingly, I remember learning this on a tour of Dachau that I took when i was visiting the Munich region the summer after my first year in grad school.

But, yeah, in contemporary society I really think of the black triangle as specifically lesbian.  Most of my lesbian jewelry involves the black triangle, including the earring that I mentioned in my earlier post.  That earring actually once belonged to my most significant ex-girlfriend (she gave it to me when she moved away) so it's very sentimental to me personally.

Though, these days, there are plenty of lesbians who also use the pink triangle too.

Hey there, A - you've been to Dachau?  It's on the list of places I will try to see.  If you get a chance, swing by my countdown thread and tell me about the best places you went when you were in Germany...please?
 

[louisev]

piercings destroy the nerve endings at the acupuncture meridians and inhibit the body's natural healing capacity at very vulnerable spots, i.e. the earlobes.

[Lynne]

piercings destroy the nerve endings at the acupuncture meridians and inhibit the body's natural healing capacity at very vulnerable spots, i.e. the earlobes.

Vicki used to say I could stop her hiccups by rubbing her earlobe vigorously.  Empirically, I saw no evidence it was true.  Interesting, though.

[Brokeback_Dev]

My coming of age peircing experience was both traumatizing and stupid. I got my ears peirced for the first time. First I did not have my parent's permission. Though you would figure I should have since i was only 10 years old! Second, I was in Columbia, South America with our nieghbors whose daughter was my very best friend. I was drunk.  Her mom was Columbian and they went to Columbia every summer one year inviting me.  My dad said yes and paid for it all.  

Well we were up in the mountains at one of her mom's friends house.  They got me drunk on a very familiar Columbian Alcoholic drink called something I can pronounce perfectly, but I have never had to spell it tho.  I even saw the sisters talking about it on FB.

They got the first one done using a needle, I was wasted and dont forget I was 10 years old.  Mind you this was not the first time I got drunk with these friends.  Once at a party I dipped into the whiskey sour punch enough times the everything was spinning.  I was about 8yrs old.  Back to the story.  Well  apparently I squeezed my friends hand so hard as they pushed the needle through that they asked me if I would wait a few days till they had ether to knock me out and I wouldnt feel the piecering.

CRAZY SH5T.  

[delalluvia]

Have my earlobes pierced - twice in one earlobe and once in the other.

Nowhere else.  A college friend and I one-time considered belly button piercing, but after doing a quick call of local doctor's offices, I could find no doctor who recommended it.  Most said it would be longer healing than I could imagine and it would be difficult to keep clean while it healed.

Which of course then makes me gross out at all the piercings in people's private parts.  Even a nose piercing, while traditional in many cultures makes me wonder...does it leak when they blow their noses?  And of course, the ability to keep it clean completely depends on the person's diligence, so who knows how many people have stopped worrying about how clean they keep their clitoral piercing or Prince Albert?

 

[Lynne]

(((Dev)))  I'm so sorry.  What an awful experience and it really speaks eloquently about the things you've shared elsewhere here and your early life.  I love you, Friend.  You're a strong and brave woman.  Don't ever forget that.

[Lynne]

Have my earlobes pierced - twice in one earlobe and once in the other.

Nowhere else.  A college friend and I one-time considered belly button piercing, but after doing a quick call of local doctor's offices, I could find no doctor who recommended it.  Most said it would be longer healing than I could imagine and it would be difficult to keep clean while it healed.

Which of course then makes me gross out at all the piercings in people's private parts.  Even a nose piercing, while traditional in many cultures makes me wonder...does it leak when they blow their noses?  And of course, the ability to keep it clean completely depends on the person's diligence, so who knows how many people have stopped worrying about how clean they keep their clitoral piercing or Prince Albert?

 

Yes, I think cleanliness is certainly key...even in the earlobes.  If you leave earrings in too long, gunk, for lack of a better word, will accumulate.  It's probably dead skin cells mixed with natural body oils.

Enough of that.

I didn't have any problems whatsoever with my navel piercing.  I did get 'high' about ten minutes after leaving the piercing salon with my instructions - so much so that I had to find a seat fast.  I guess it was a surge of endorphins (or adrenaline, or something) caused by the shock of the invasion.  It suddenly made sense to me about how some people can become 'addicted' to body piercing.  I've never felt anything like it before or since.

The waistbands of most of my clothing chafed the area while I was healing, so I wore shirts outside with the pants zipped but unbuttoned with the flaps tucked in for about six months.

By some weird twist of immune system logic, after I had my ankle surgery with surgical stainless steel pins, plate, and screws inserted, I haven't been able to wear surgical stainless steel in the navel.  Only platinum...everything else I've tried causes a reaction.  No change observed post-surgery with in the earlobes...

I'm glad I had surgery to remove the ankle hardware, but I envision that there is still stainless steel residue there causing problems...my left ankle retains fluid and is perpetually swollen compared to the healthy one.

[delalluvia]

Yes, I think cleanliness is certainly key...even in the earlobes.  If you leave earrings in too long, gunk, for lack of a better word, will accumulate.  It's probably dead skin cells mixed with natural body oils.

Yep, that's why I take mine out every night.  I never sleep with them in.  They collect gunk.

I didn't have any problems whatsoever with my navel piercing.

 

People are different.  Every woman I knew in college had tremendous difficulties with theirs.  The culmination was pus spurting when some guy asked if he could see this girl's piercing.. 

[Brown Eyes]

I think the 3 most common piercing types I've seen friends and girlfriends have are ears, tongues and belly buttons.  And, like I said before, my friend Michael also has his belly button pierced.  What people have told me who have belly button piercings is that sometimes you have to be careful with how the waist band of your pants/ skirt might rub against it and cause irritation.  But, I don't think most of the people I've known with them had much trouble with them.

The one woman I knew who had a genital piercing didn't have trouble with it (infection-wise), but she said the constant over-stimulation got to be annoying so she took it out.  I remember asking her a lot of questions about it... because, I mean wow.  It was a woman I dated briefly in Philly. 

The most upsetting stories of infections that I've heard about via friends is the piercing through cartilage on various areas of the ear.  Those stories are what kept me from having that done myself, because aesthetically I think it looks really cool.  Now I'm too old for that probably, and I'm still afraid of it.

[CellarDweller]

People are different.  Every woman I knew in college had tremendous difficulties with theirs.  The culmination was pus spurting when some guy asked if he could see this girl's piercing.. 

Ewwww!

I clean my earlobe out, use rubbing alcohol on it, and occasionally put Neosporin on it when I wear an earing, to keep infections at bay.

[Kelda]

Ive been very lucky - absolutely no problems with any of my piercings or my tattoo. And I'm not very good at the whole purposeful cleaning of my ears belly button area thing.

My old flat-mate had some unusual piercings - she get her elbow pierced and the skin between her thumb and finger pierced. Both of them grew out after time.

[Brown Eyes]

Wow, those do sound unusual... and both sound like they must have been pretty painful!

[Kelda]

Wow, those do sound unusual... and both sound like they must have been pretty painful!

Apparently relatively painless and no worse than your ear... She has many tats and piercings (inclusing a full back tatto of dragon wings) though so not sure you can use her as a pain barometer!!

[oilgun]

Ewwww!

I clean my earlobe out, use rubbing alcohol on it, and occasionally put Neosporin on it when I wear an earing, to keep infections at bay.

Speaking of Ewww!  I over-stretched an ear piercing once and it became more and more painful.   Then a huge throbbing blood blister formed behind my earlobe. When it finally burst, I was buying a dvd at HMV.  Blood was dripping on to my shoulder like a faucet. The clerk almost fainted or hurled, it was hard to tell. It was most embarrassing but at least the pain was gone.

[Lynne]

Speaking of Ewww!  I over-stretched an ear piercing once and it became more and more painful.   Then a huge throbbing blood blister formed behind my earlobe. When it finally burst, I was buying a dvd at HMV.  Blood was dripping on to my shoulder like a faucet. The clerk almost fainted or hurled, it was hard to tell. It was most embarrassing but at least the pain was gone.

It causes me deep grief to even type this, but if the stories in this thread are any indication, we've got ourselves the makings of a Reality TV show!