GenX males: Ear Piercings?
Posted by c0pp3rdrag0n@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 237 comments
Where I grew up, it was very taboo for males to wear ear jewelry. When I graduated college I got both ears pierced before embarking on my vagabond years and have alternated between studs and small hoops. Seems such a trivial thing now but I still feel weird about it at times.
Zealousideal_Draw_94@reddit
I pierced my left ear at least three times, but always worried my parents would flip out on it so I was removed them a few days later.
I got my nipple pierced at 25, had in couple years, but it snagged on everything.
This_Is_Just_To_Sigh@reddit
super sexy. Always has been don’t care what anyone else says.
tabicat1874@reddit
Left is right and right is wrong
Daetiralso@reddit
Funny this came up. I got my left ear pierced in high school (along with tongue, eyebrow, and lip). My 5 year old was asking mommy about her ear rings and she told him that daddy had his ear pierced too. He didn't believe her. I haven't had an earring in for over 25 years. She took hers off and put it in mine and the hole was still open.
Felt weird af
wrathofimpermanence@reddit
Got my left ear pierced at 15, then the right at 18, then doubles at 19. Still wearing small hoops to this day. My wife likes them. I've been bald for 20+ years, so the earrings help me not to look like a thumb.
Most_Maintenance5549@reddit
Both ears in 1997 ish, while in college. Small hoops.
Then 5 years or so later, I had to get glasses and got metal frames, and it was too much metal. Never put them back.
I did like it. I think I’d look silly now. But then who cares?
hemibearcuda@reddit
As long as it wasn't the "gay ear" most people didn't care.
Ok-Possibility-1206@reddit
Left ear 1 hole in the mid 80s. Then a second, then a third. Stopped wearing the in the early 90s then in the early 00s I was a piercer for a few years. Did my right ear, wore 10 gauge hoops, then my nipples with 12 gauge loops. When I went back to corporate world, I took everything out again.
jordy1971@reddit
I got my left lobe pierced in the late 80s. Because left means straight and we were stupid back then. I got a second and then third piercing on the left side but by the mid-90s, I’d let them grow over. For most of the 2000s, I wore nothing trying to be invisible in the world of work.
Fast forward to 2021, I turn 50, and I stop caring about everything. I got my right side pierced (one hole of my left lobe miraculously was still usable) and started wearing loops on both sides. Now, I wear two hoops in each lobe and a helix on both sides. And both nips. Fsck em all if they have anything to say about it.
CoverCommercial3576@reddit
penis piercing.
dbrmn73@reddit
Got that done 2 months ago.
Migamix@reddit
Even I draw that line
Wander_Globe@reddit
Got two in one ear in 81. Our family moved to Germany (military) in 82 and kids in the high school thought I was gay. haha Also the first person to get a tattoo in high school. That impressed my military dad as if the ear rings weren't enough.
dbrmn73@reddit
Got my first tattoo by leaving school at lunch, got it done and then went back to class.
Expensive_Rhubarb_87@reddit
Got my left ear done early 2000s. Just a hoop for a long time. Took it out years ago. I can still feel the hole on both sides, but not sure if it’s fully closed.
And now I’m on blood thinners so getting it redone is a probable no no. I’d love to get a diamond stud.
dbrmn73@reddit
Just started wearing one again after over 10 years of not, hole were still there just had to use a taper for a few days to get it back to stud size.
sactownbwoy@reddit
Hole is still open. I just retired from the Marine Corps after 25 years. Had my ears pierced back in 97/98 before joining.
April 1, 1st day after retiring, went and got my ears pierced. Piercer said the holes were still there and open. Stuck a taper through and then the piercings. No healing process or anything. Mild discomfort for the day but nothing like getting pierced for the first time.
dbrmn73@reddit
Got my left ear pierced back in 1993-4. Back then anything other than left ear meant you were gay. Wore it up until around 2014. Just started wearing one again about a month ago.
hapster85@reddit
Pierced my left ear myself, senior year in '85 after a few other guys did. Then helped a few friends pierce theirs. A short time later, I pierced my right one. It was more than a little taboo in the Kentucky suburb I grew up in. Had longish hair, so I managed to hide it from my parents for a while, although they pretty much bullied me into removing them once they find out. But that didn't last long. Lol
I don't know many guys my age still wearing them, but we're out there. It's been over 40 years, so why stop now?
303FPSguy@reddit
Still have my 6 ga hoops in. Just one pair, not the other. I bet they’d still be open if I put like a 12ga in em now.
The one pair tho, they’re a permanent fixture.
ActuaryFew6884@reddit
When I was young (approx. 10, in the mid 1980s), I learned the "rules" about males and which ears they pierce, and what that signifies about their orientation. I don't know how accurate that was, but we believed it for a long time. The rules were left-ear-only=straight, right-ear-only=gay, both=bi
ImFromDanforth@reddit
Had 7 in the mid to late 90's, started working in bars almost had em ripped out within a few weeks.. took em out and holes closed up. Fall 98
freyja2023@reddit
Still rocking the upper cartilage in my left ear pierced! Had it since I turned 18.
DistributionRight814@reddit
2in left 1 right. do you. who cares what people think. the ones here judging are miserable uncool kids that loom 80.
EclecticLandlady@reddit
I had an ear piercing as a kid but I forget which ear. One of them was “gay” and I’m not entirely sure I pierced the correct side, because I turned out kinda gay as an adult, even without the earring.
pmick66@reddit
Kinda gay lol?
EclecticLandlady@reddit
Just a touch.
A_Tom_McWedgie@reddit
Right was gay, left was OK.
And then George Michael had both, which was confusing, which later turned out to be not as confusing as we thought.
And North America was introduced to the term “cottaging.”
EclecticLandlady@reddit
I traded a Guns N’ Roses pin for a dubbed copy of Faith. It was my left ear, I still have a tiny indentation. I had both nipples pierced for a bit, but that was so a friend could pass certification as a piercer, lending more credence to why I’m only half a queer most of the time.
Starkville@reddit
I had a boyfriend whose father used to make him cover his tiny gold stud earring with a bandaid at the dinner table, LOL. (Because boyfriend refused to take out the earring.) Oh lord that was 40 years ago.
Migamix@reddit
I remember my gandpa looking at me and saying "you need to be more carefull with that BB gun" FN loved how accepting they were for Arkansas farmers.
unloosedcoin@reddit
Drawing pin in the school bathroom. Wore three in my left ear , then got my nipple pierced for a girl. Haven't had an ear ring for 35 years but I'm not taking the nip one out it hurt like fuck getting it
Migamix@reddit
I'm sure if my male nipples were larger than a rice grain, I would have done my nipples too.
KeaAware@reddit
My mate's step-mum threatened to throw him out if he got his ear(ears? Can't remember) done. He did it anyway and called her bluff and she didn't throw him out because that would have been illegal, but it was a really big thing. Fuck step-mum.
Migamix@reddit
My mum got 4 piercings, I told her "ya know mom, this isn't a contest", but I did get another piercing to have 5 that night. Yeah, that one got infected.
DMFD_x_Gamer@reddit
Every time I feel the cartilage clump in my left ear (remember, right ear piercing meant you were gay) i fucking cringe. I hate thst I did that shit. I was the asshat that had some hot chic numb my ear with ice cubes than shove a needle through it.
Migamix@reddit
I always considered my right piercing as ally. All my friends at the gay bar (can't help but sing the electric 6 song when I say those two words) said it disappointed them that it didn't mean gay.
Migamix@reddit
One on my right in that fold above the lobe, the left has 5 holes in use. 1 loop going through 2 top cartilage holes, 1 loop going through 2 mid holes, stud on lobe. 56, and I'm dying with them. One of the mid holes was done in high school history with a sub in the class. One girl behind me was being a jerk, so 5 min before the end of class I said "check this out, listen" I pushed a safety pin the rest of the way and it made a nice pop. Half the class did that theatrical "OHHHHHHH!!!" (Cover mouth clutch pearls) .
Migamix@reddit
Forgot to add, girl at Clair's, friend of my GF at the time, was afraid to do cartilage. So I grabbed the tool and did it myself. Still have that same stud in my lobe now.
thewrestlingspot@reddit
Got my first ear piercing at 14. Other ear pierced at 16. Doubled up on the left side at 17. Holes are still open at 49 even though I haven't worn earrings in almost 30 years.
Copper92Pin@reddit
Got left was pierced in ''93 day after graduation. I've had same silver hoop in since cheerleader friend gave it to me in college. I think I changed to a diamond stud to match father in law for wedding and out for an interview.
MalcolmReady@reddit
Got my left ear (left is right, right is wrong) pierced with a bunch of other kids just before our 8th grade graduation. Got my right ear pierced as a freshman in high school. I wore really small m, tight hoops thru my 20s and then one day just kinda realized I was wearing them out of habit and stopped.
stantheman1976@reddit
When I was 13 it was popular for the guys to get their left ear pierced. My dad was born and raised in rural Georgia. He had the belief that boys shouldn't wear earrings. I begged my parents to get mine done. Mom didn't really care and let me do it. My dad hated it so much that before my 14th birthday he made a deal with me. If I took the piercing out he'd get me a tattoo for my 14th birthday. I took it out and on my birthday that year he took me to a tattoo shop and let me pick a design. So now I have a 35 year old Tasmanial Devil on my right arm,
vistaculo@reddit
Your dad was all “you want to embarrass me? Nah, I’m gonna have you embarrass yourself”
stantheman1976@reddit
No that wasn't his intention. He wasn't embarrassed by me. He just thought that tattoos were more masculine than piercings. The other kids at school thought a tattoo was cool. I was never embarrassed by it or made fun of for it.
It was a terrible decision on his part. I've raised two sons now and managed to avoid some of the mistakes my parents made. I don't care if my sons get tattoos but I have the experience of getting bad ones so I can give them better advice on getting tattooed if they choose to.
Evening-Crazy-3528@reddit
I got my left ear pierced on Black Friday 1986, when I was 18.
Got both nipples done in the mid- to late-90s.
Got a PA on March 15, 2000.
Got my right ear pierced later that year.
Took the nipple rings out when they started to migrate in 2005/2006.
Took the earrings out for my FIL’s funeral in 2004, and waited too long to put them back in. I have a weight loss goal that once I reach it I’m getting them repierced.
tracknod@reddit
God forbid you pierced the wrong ear. 😬 was the right ear the gay ear or the left. lol
Actually, this is the reason I pierced both my ears with a safety pin in ‘87. I wasn’t sure which was which. lol
BubbhaJebus@reddit
Left ear = straight. Right ear = gay. That was how I learned it.
Never got my ears pierced; it just wasn't my thing.
Hi-Scan-Pro@reddit
That's what I was told as well. Got my left done twice so there's no question. 😂
BubbhaJebus@reddit
The second left one cancels out the first!
Hi-Scan-Pro@reddit
Doh!
GotchUrarse@reddit
I double pierced both my ears in the late 80's. I don't wear them very much anymore, but they're still open.
Dgskydive@reddit
I started with my left in high-school. Because they said the right ear ment you were gay. Lol 4 years later let a GF do the right one. Don't wear one anymore.
RetroactiveRecursion@reddit
Got my left ear (not sure it matters now which one, but it did then!) pierced at 19 and wore one off and on through most of my 20s. Long closed now. Had studs, hoops, and the occasional little railroad spike looking thing.
Z-man1973@reddit
Hmm… haven’t worn earrings in many many years but none of my holes ever closed
Mission-Anybody-6798@reddit
In the mid-late 80s, the code (where I lived at least) was a left ear piercing was for straight guys, right ear symbolized gay status. So lots of guys got a left ear piercing. Mine had grown back in by 87 or so, it was just a silly high school thing.
in-a-microbus@reddit
That's how things were coded around me, too.
Then my mother met my roommate in '95 who had both ears pierced and ask "is he gay" I laughed because I realized how silly the whole concept was.
BubbhaJebus@reddit
Both sides means you're bi!
7eregrine@reddit
Confirm, had a left.
dchusband@reddit
Same in my area. Of course I pierced the wrong one, then had to switch. 😂
Blackstrider@reddit
Switch ears or teams? :)
csx2112@reddit
Same, got the leaf pierced my senior year and then not even a year later I had a second done on the left and a single on the right (got hit on by lots of dudes...had nothing to do with any piercings 🤣). I wear black onyx studs on the left and right and a small hoop on the upper left 🤷♂️
mandoaz1971@reddit
Still have both pierced and wear em daily
Johnny_Radar@reddit
Same
ReadingAndThinking@reddit
It's a tough call. I think very few can pull it off.
But yeah, always liked the if you wear it in your left (or was it right) ear you were "gay"
Gen-x rules were the best rules.
Johnny_Radar@reddit
No, that was a stupid “rule”.
DreamFighter72@reddit
I never for one second of my life wanted my ears pierced. As long as I live, I will see that as very feminine and my view will never change. I'm not even sure why women do it, it adds absolutely nothing aesthetically.
hamstercaster@reddit
Always wanted one but never did it. No regrets.
fallcreekprepper@reddit
I pierced my left ear when I was 15. I wore a few different studs and hoops in it up until I was in my 30s. I don't wear it much anymore, but every couple of years I try one in it just to see if it is still open. Sometimes I have to pop it through on the back side. I always mean to start wearing it again but for one reason or another I never do.
snowwhitebutdriftef@reddit
It used to be one ear only...depending on which ear you leaned to.
Objective_Clue_3091@reddit
Left ear. Small stainless steel hoop in my late 20’s to about 42. My “bass player” years.
Harmania@reddit
I have three holes on each side. I stopped watering any when I got married, then started wearing one small hoping each side after I got divorced. One day I noticed that I had lost one of the hoops, so I took the other out and haven’t really cared to put any back in since then.
I had reached an age where nothing I do will be cool, so I only care whether or not it brings me pleasure or benefit.
eyeroll611@reddit
The same happened to me. I just stopped wearing them and now they’re closed. But I’m planning to get them re-pierced yay :)
IranticBehaviour@reddit
They were absolutely forbidden to me as a teen (dad was an army sergeant-major, lmao). Plus, it was very much seen as 'gay' in my HS on an army base. You could maybe get away with one stud, left ear only, a dangly earring would get you targeted, any earring in your right ear was unheard of.
Eventually got earrings when I was late 20s, and in the army myself (which made the whole process a little more of an adventure). Had two in each ear for most of the past 30 years, added another pair a few years ago. They definitely stood out more 30 years ago, especially in the world I lived in, I think they're barely remarked on or even noticed much today.
Maybe a tattoo is next, lol.
Evil_Weevil_Knievel@reddit
I don’t like pierced ears on dudes. But I’m not into dudes and nobody has forced me to get mine pierced, so it doesn’t bother me. Kid wants an earring. I’m not pleased but I’m also not an asshole. He can do what he wants. He will never know that I’m not a fan.
TheVioletEmpire@reddit
Nah. Never was for me.
cuzwhat@reddit
Left ear done in 9th grade at Claire’s in the mall. Wore mostly studs. Took it out my senior year. 33 years later, I can still put a stud thru there.
Early-Reindeer7704@reddit
I think earrings can be very sexy on a man
FeedbackExisting4762@reddit
Same, I loved seeing it in the 80's and still love earrings on men now.
Sunsfever83@reddit
I had my left ear pierced in the late 80's early 90's.
tanglon@reddit
Pierced my ears in 88. Took out earrings in 2004. Put them back in last Oct. I think they look pretty badass.
CanadianExiled@reddit
I got my ear pierced in the late 90's in 2006 I got a job where I wasn't allowed any jewelry, I got tired of putting stuff on and off so I stopped wearing anything. I haven't even worn a watch since 2010.
thenewjerk@reddit
I got my left ear pierced and put a hoop in it in 1994, and I’ve never taken it out.
Alderscorn@reddit
Same
OuchBag@reddit
I had left ear for years from age 18-32ish. Day drinking at 32 I met a like-minded lady who made fun of me for only having one ear, drunk me allowed me to go to her house and let drunk her pierce the right one with a piercing stud, ice, maybe a potato. Never saw her again. She did a great job. Thanks, Liz.
Sreed56ace71605@reddit
Got my left ear pierced when I was 9 (1986) and every boy called me the F word for the entire school year because it was in the wrong ear. Those kids of course all had their ears pierced by the time we were in High School and a few of them came out as well. Got my nephews ears pierced (both) when he turned 10 and all his friends got him earring for his bday. I loved that
MooPig48@reddit
Wait, we were told the right earlobe was the gay one!
Sreed56ace71605@reddit
Correct and i had to constantly my tormentors that
SirGeremiah@reddit
That’s how it was in my HS at the time.
SSquirrel76@reddit
Yeah people said left is right, right is wrong. Had a friend of mine pierce my ear and we did the right one, basically to thumb our nose at our hometown.
Abject_Pilot_7567@reddit
Similar experience, 13 in 1984 & got my left pierced because I was heavily into new wave. Only kid in high school with a piercing & man, the hell I got. Got my right pierced a couple of years later, but haven’t worn anything for 40 years. Sort of miss them, but now I feel to old to pull it off.
Sreed56ace71605@reddit
Haven’t worn an earring since i was 13 and I can still put one in
SirGeremiah@reddit
I have my left ear pierced. Got it done at 20 (1990]. Back then, in my group, left ear was the common piercing for guys. I’ve considered getting the right one pierced, so I could wear both earrings, but I’m so used to just the one - I literally never take it out.
bigjimnm@reddit
I got both of mine time at 25 in 1997. Getting both was still a bit taboo at the time. I've since gauged them up and love them.
Indeed, my Dad wasn't a fan.
redfyv@reddit
I almost got my left ear pierced in my teens and then again in college and in my thirties. Stopped each time because I could hear my dad’s voice saying not to. Finally got both done last year at 53. I wear either stainless or black hoops. My dad has not even acknowledged them.
New-Introduction-981@reddit
Had a couple of holes in my left ear I think I was 15 then I had my nipple pierced. That hurt to much so I stopped. My dad, uncles gave me shit for having them, know one gave me shit at school I kind of fit in with the metal heads
AmputeeHandModel@reddit
I got mine done in like 1995 in high school or something. I got a little bit of shit for it but the alt scene was taking off and I was kinda goth/metal. Still wearing them now.
lazygerm@reddit
It was taboo for many guys unless you were a musician or a punk.
My best friend got his left ear pierced in 1987. He had to make sure it wasn't the gay ear.
I came out a little over a decade ago, I have both my ears pierced and gauged. I'm thinking of another ear piercing or get my gauges slightly enlarged (they are small now).
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
I worked with a guy that has guaged ears. He said he wishes he hadn’t because they just keep getting bigger.
lazygerm@reddit
Right now, I'm at 6GA (4mm). So, maybe up to 6mm or 8mm? I'm not into my earlobes looking like rubber bands look.
dzbuilder@reddit
My ma gave me some diamond stud earrings a few years ago. They were a pair my dad got her for, I believe, her 50th bday. I hadn’t worn earrings since around ‘99. I don’t know shit about diamonds, but I seem to recall they are 1 ct. each. The holes didn’t take much to reopen as they were little effort to pop through. I’ve been wearing them full time for maybe the last 6 months.
Obi-Juan-K-Nobi@reddit
Now we all want to know what happened to dad!?!?
dzbuilder@reddit
Dad died 14 years ago. Ma is old and always decluttering. And she has her favorite pair of 1” hoop earrings she’s preferred since as long ago as I can remember.
Obi-Juan-K-Nobi@reddit
Sorry for your loss. Mine passed almost 2 years ago.
dzbuilder@reddit
Condolences as well.
guzzijason@reddit
For much of my younger life, I wore gauged earrings in both ears. Then I started to "go corporate" for work, and the rings got put in a drawer. During the "pandemic times", I was going to do a pirate thing for Halloween, and decided to see if my rings would still fit, or if the holes healed over. I was able to fit the thinner ones, so in they went... and at this point, (aside from MRI) I've only taken them out to replace with heavier 10 gauge versions.
I'm still working at a Very Large corporate HQ, but I'm at the point in my career where I literally do not care even slightly what people in the office think of my look. In a sea of office drones in their khakis and button-downs, I'm likely to be the one in boots/jeans/concert T/jewelry. Happily settled into my pre-retirements office edgelord phase. If it scares people away from talking to me at work, even better!
anon2univ@reddit
First lobes were pierced nearly 2 years ago at 54. Added 2nd & 3rd a year later. Giving them plenty of time to heal up before I get helixes. No longer seems to be much of issue with the corpos and I no longer care of others think of it.
Been noticing ever since I had mine pierced that others seemingly around my age have stretched lobes. Not my thing but just shows me its probably either being ignored or accepted.
Local-Equivalent8136@reddit
Think that's odd, in the 90s there was a brief window (95 to 96 or so) when guys were getting their belly buttons pierced. I was in SoCal at the time.
I always thought it was pretty effeminate.
BigMomma12345678@reddit
When i was growing up, there was some lore about one ear was the "gay ear" or something when it comes to piercing a guy's ears. Only one ear, one is straight, the other is gay. This was in Indiana in the 80s
OldSkooler1212@reddit
The rednecky phrase about the one earring when I was in college was “Right is wrong” meaning non-gay ear was the left.
Brilliant-Onion2129@reddit
Left is right and right is wrong.
AdditionalTip865@reddit
Yeah, I heard this in Virginia in the late 80s too.
corsa180@reddit
Born in ‘68, got my left ear pierced in ‘87. Wore it for a few years then let the hole grow shut.
GaryNOVA@reddit
When I was a teen ager
wandernwade@reddit
Actors Chris Sarandon and Harrison Ford are both in their 80’s, and both wear an earring. A hoop for both, if I recall correctly.
Wear what you want. Especially if it makes you feel good. Don’t worry about anyone else.
BakeSoggy@reddit
Got both ears pierced 3 years ago and wear small silver hoops daily.
I_AM_ME-7@reddit
I’m almost 50 and have had both my ears pierced since I was 15(ish). I’ve had the same hoops for almost 25 years now.
rob-cubed@reddit
Yeah when I was in high school in Lubbock, TX in the 1980s I almost got kicked out of school a couple of times. One was for wearing a small stud in my ear. The principal went off about how unacceptable it was, and I couldn't bite my tongue.
Same with tattoos. They used to be for 'bikers and felons'. My mom had a cow when I got mine. Now people go to the office with full sleeves and no one blinks.
quixotic-88@reddit
I’ve got a few tattoos but when I started, it was generally agreed that if you get a tattoo on your face, neck or hands, it’s going to seriously hurt job prospects in the future. I realized not long ago that that is old man thinking now. Several people in middle and upper mgmt in my company have hand-tattoos and I have realized that I am an old fuddy-duddy
Gloomy_Bus_6792@reddit
2 holes, both in left ear. I don't wear jewelry as much as I used to, but 2 silver rings used to be my standard daily.
ircarlton@reddit
I’m 50, in the entertainment industry, and I’m still rockin’ half inch plugs.
RemarkablePaper1798@reddit
My boomer dad has two ear piercings so it seems normal to me. My husband (1977) has one as well, from '95, I think.
rgnbull29@reddit
I pierced my own ear in 91, added 2 more on the left and one on the right. Stopped wearing them all by 2000.
Grouchy_Situation_33@reddit
Had as many as thee in each ear until mid-20s, then re-pierced one each at 50. Simple black hoop in the lobes.
LojikSupreme@reddit
Still got em @ 50!
Grouchy_Situation_33@reddit
53 here.
starksfergie@reddit
I had my left ear pierced twice in the same year. First time, it was spring break and I did it before leaving town and had it for two weeks. I knew my Dad would react poorly, so I took it out after coming back home from the coast. And then maybe three months later, I realized I wanted it pierced again and did it myself, boy was that a mistake, I was very close to passing out in the bathroom. I *think* I went to be with it in and then took it out the next day and never looked back after that.
I think society had fewer issues with jewelry on men than my Dad did (and for the record, he was a wonderful Dad who loved his gay son, but he did have some hangups - he didn't like when I came home with bleached hair either, but we had words and then he was okay with it)
Representative-Mean@reddit
When i was a teen, i had my left ear pierced. But because i was lazy and had poor hygiene, it became infected and i had to let it close. I might get it pierced again. I like the look.
TwistedMemories@reddit
There were guys at my high school that had earrings and no one thought anything about it.
Trick-Mechanic8986@reddit
Both ears done as a teen, then multiple per ear. Dont even wear jewelery of any kind now. Folks like Guy Fieri, Depp and Richard Rollins ruined jewelery on men for me. Hard pass.
Bucks2174@reddit
Absolutely not.
jabberjaw420@reddit
i had an ear piercing when i was 17, by my 20s I got rid of it.
NoRestForTheWitty@reddit
Ed Bradley was a trailblazer. He began wearing a diamond stud earring on television in 1986, becoming the first male correspondent to regularly wear one on 60 Minutes. He interviewed Liza Minnelli who gave him a diamond earring.
Wandowaiato@reddit
Born 1974. Shot 6 ear piercings between 16 and 18. Never left the house without them. Still wearing with 52.
michael41973@reddit
Got my left ear pierced in 91, shortly followed by two more in my left and my right ear once. Still wear either single studs in both ears or sometimes small hoops. Live in the Midwest and did it with a group of friends. Maybe it was more “taboo” in the 80’s, but I recall my dad getting a single stud in his left ear in the mid 80’s.
xsnakexcharmerx@reddit
Last of the Mohicans here, 80 baby. Grew up in the 80's and a teenager in the 90's. There was a body modification boom in the mid/late 90's. Tongue rings, eyebrow rings, belt buttons, etc. Piercings were still taboo though. Buddy talked me into letting him pierce my ear with a sewing needle ha. Little did he know it would set me on a path haha. Left is where I started, right is what I wear in my ears now lol.
Fudloe@reddit
I still have three in my left and one in my right. I could give a shit who likes them or not, or even who notices at all.
I like 'em.
Salty-Pack-4165@reddit
Nope
Bigdaddymatty311@reddit
I pierced my ear with a thumbtack in computer class. Haven’t had an earring in about 20 years. Tattoos, yes!!
Andovars_Ghost@reddit
I was never sure which side made me gay, so I just went with a Prince Albert!
EagleSaw@reddit
I was tempted to get my left ear pierced until I saw a friend’s stud get pulled through the hole horsing around while wrestling. Looked painful and nasty. Then I knew a guy with a scar where the ring ripped down and cut the lobe in half. To my active young self, it seemed like a liability.
oldirishfart@reddit
No piercing, no tattoo, never wanted them when I was younger and don’t want them now either. I would regard my friends and colleagues as a bit odd if they did, but there is no sign of that happening either
lectroid@reddit
Left in ‘86 when my folks couldn’t stop me. Kept it that way cuz the wife didn’t like more and hated the bead ring I put in it around 94. Many years later she became ex-wife.
In the past 3 years I now have 3 in the left and 2 on the right. 8ga and 10ga bead rings in each, and the old one in the 3rd hole on the left.
It’s what I’ve wanted since the early 90’s.
Done now.
Maybe a tattoo next.
Mededitor@reddit
Growing up, I saw many of my GenX peers get tattoos and piercings. This was standard. So common, in fact, that these symbols that once were seen as edgy and declarative had become conformist and mainstream. People got them because everyone else did, and fitting in with the au courant fashion was demanded.
My style of being GenX doesn’t run that way. If the herd marches in one direction, I tend to go elsewhere. And I am not the same person I used to be. I am so glad I don’t have some weird thing on my body. And we’re about at the point where those who didn’t modify their bodies are the iconoclasts.
try-catch-finally@reddit
My mom literally said- at my wedding (to a woman) “If try got his ear pierced I’d disown him” (I was 21)
When I got my ear pierced and sat down to talk with her she told me “I don’t want my neighbors to think my son is a homosexual”
Boomer mom. Went NC when she said nasty things about my gay daughter.
General_Fan4306@reddit
Just turned 53 and just got mine done recently. Went in solidarity with my daughter, who was nervous about getting hers done because she doesn't like needles.
Ok_Orchid7131@reddit
Got my left ear pierced at 16 at the piercing pagoda, LOL. In my early 30’s I got both ears pierced and gauged them a bit. As well as various other piercings. In my early 40’s I decided I’d had enough and removed them all. I still have open holes where my gauges were, just looks like small slashes in my lobes. If I wanted to, I’m sure I could put something in there, but I no longer care to.
IDunnoNuthinMr@reddit
57M. No tattoos. No piercings. Just scars.
Robviously-duh@reddit
both deep emotional and physical.. and I am 59M
IDunnoNuthinMr@reddit
Aye
pjhk75@reddit
Left ear pierced at 16 ('91). Got the right one done at 18 when I started college. Added another one on the left and cartilage on the right (which hurt like heck, so that only lasted about a year or so). Still have the original three.
Upper-Affect5971@reddit
I distinctly remember my father telling me, “ only homosexuals and women get their ears pierced”
Except he didn’t use the term homosexuals.
He seriously would’ve ripped it out of my ear.
I didn’t dare
DaveKelso@reddit
I still wear 2 small hoops in my left ear, got pierced at 18, never stopped wearing them.
moopet@reddit
left ear pierced when I was 16 or so, can't quite remember. Another two in the same ear over then next year or so. Don't wear them any more, but every few years I wonder if I can still fit a hoop and give it a go. Eventually it'll stop going through I guess.
fattfreddy1@reddit
Got both mine pierced at 16 in 1986. I wore them for about 18 months before I took them out and never wore them again. One of the worst decisions ever as I still have the holes 40 years later.
My next door neighbour also got theirs pierced but when they went home his dad literally ripped them out of his ears.
ohitsjeffagain@reddit
Still where my small hoops, started gaging but stopped (thankfully)
bene_gesserit_mitch@reddit
Left ear pierced after high school at that kiosk in the mall. Got my left nipple done in my 20s at a real piercing place. Took it out when the kids started getting grabby.
Decent_Recover720@reddit
Still sporting with the same number of holes I was born with.
fullofsharts@reddit
I had my left ear pierced when I was 18 and then a second piercing in my left ear about a year later. Two or three years later I took them out and I was done with it. Looking back, I just did it because friends did it and I wanted to join in.
Carlito2393@reddit
I was your stereotypical punk. Pierced my ears in the late 80s with safety pins. Started with one and ended up with 4 in all. Stopped wearing earrings when I started learning judo in 98. I was training pretty much every day and got sick of taking them out and putting them back in. And hearing stories of earings and other facial piercings getting ripped out helped with making the decision to stop wearing them.
Big_Criticism_8335@reddit
The saying I always heard in the 80s was:
Left is Right, Right is Wrong
Which, like most generational terms/sayings, is now not so polite.
Impressive-Shame-525@reddit
I wanted my ear pierced so bad but dad just said, "you better not" and that tone is one you didn't argue with. So I waited until I was 18 and then got a job and promoted real quick where men weren't allowed pierced ears.
After I retired I finally got one piercing in my left ear.
Also after my father had passed away.
JJQuantum@reddit
It was a thing in my area as well (southern US) in the 80’s when I was in high school. Had a couple of friends get studs and I was fine with them getting them but after thinking about it I decided it wasn’t for me to get them myself.
LadyMayhem02@reddit
The boys where I am got theirs done. They never had a problem with them and I was always watching to see if someone would say something. Right in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt. But no one said anything.
Phobos1982@reddit
“Left is right, right is wrong” is what I remember. I never really gave a shit though. I was in the “freak/geek” group so we all worked makeup and shit back in the day.
HBymf@reddit
As time goes by, I'm considering it a badge of honor to have no piercings AND no tattoos.
mlachick@reddit
I was proud of having no tattoos. Then I got cancer and had to get small marker tattoos for radiation treatment. Realized my body was all hacked up to shit, and wanted something pretty, so I got a big ass tattoo. I love it because it's mine, and I chose it.
HBymf@reddit
Nothing wrong with that. I guess I'm fortunate enough to not have anything I need a tattoo to cover... At least nothing that can be covered with a tattoo. They won't do much for a big belly😁
ZeroKharisma@reddit
I pierced my left ear twice early in hs, but what I later found out was a nickel allergy (a metal used in Chai l cheap alloys) meant that I got mysterious inflammation every time I tried to put one in. I got them pierced at 17, stopped wearing earrings before 18. The holes have still not healed 35 years later.
I got made fun of relentlessly for it (lots of f-slurs) but as usual, the ones mocking me were frustrated jocks who were using too many roids and excessive amts of blow, so it was probably because they couldn't get hard anymore and worried that when they did, it would be on account of my very sexy, pustulent ear hole.
skeeterbmark@reddit
I lived in a rural area in IL, and guys had them. I had a single left earring for a couple of years, but I got tired of messing with it.
Ulfhrafn@reddit
Got one in the early 90's. Took it out when I started doing martial arts again. I got a different piercing in my mid 30's but it didn't stay in very long.
No-Economics-8239@reddit
I only got one ear pierced. It needed to just be the left ear. If I got my right ear pierced, it would mean I was gay and that was Bad. Countless schoolyard bullies had reiterated that point. I guess they didn't get the memo about the left ear thing. Growing out my hair for the mosh pit probably didn't help matters.
There was similar confusion over pink shirts. I think it was Miami Vice they made them cool for guys to wear. But, again, I'm not sure all the bullies got the memo.
I think fashion is strange and confusing, and some people just like to hate on others for being different.
ChaosRainbow23@reddit
In 1993 I was the ONLY student that had brightly colored hair and facial piercings in my entire high school.
Nowadays it's feels extremely commonplace.
It brings me joy to know we helped create the entire alternative scene and many of the countercutures we see today.
I was a hardcore raver back then, and seeing how much the scene has evolved both brings me great joy and sadness. Joy because it's so popular, and sadness because it's so popular.
ItsmeMr_E@reddit
Nope, briefly had a single left ear piercing because she thought it would be "cute."
The things you do when you're young and horny....sorry, young and in love.
teamgreenzx9r@reddit
I had one for like two months before Color Me Bad hit and I took it out immediately; it was no longer cool to me.
ChavoDemierda@reddit
I had both of my ears pierced by '89. I've had 00's for so long that I almost don't remember not having them.
thisoldguy74@reddit
Not yet, but I haven't ruled it out either.
vindicatorx1@reddit
No, never got any piercings. I was a bit of a jock and earrings would have been an annoyance at minimum possible point of infection during wrestling season.
blunttrauma99@reddit
Late 80s/early 90s, the accepted wisdom is that a single pierced ear on the left side was OK for men, but on the right side it meant you had a preference for penis.
Attitudes have changed pretty significantly since then, obviously.
Bladrak01@reddit
"Left is right and right is wrong."
jeffreyisham@reddit
Got the one ear in high school and the other in college. Still wearing matching hoops today at 51.
Bladrak01@reddit
I had two in the left ear, both done at Claire's. I had to take them out in 98 when I started culinary school and have never bothered to put them back. While the hole entrances can still be seen I'm sure they have long since closed up.
drhagbard_celine@reddit
I have five. Two in my left and three in my right including the tragus and top of my ear. Removed them all when I cut my hair.
Toc13s@reddit
Left ear pierced around the age of 18.
Lost the stud 4 years later, my ear didn't like the local gold so had to let it close
Auslander808@reddit
They were still pretty taboo when I was 12. So I wanted to be the first in my school to do it. Took my 3 ear studs out about 10 years ago. Holes are still open. Kept the toungue and nip though.
Hab_Anagharek@reddit
Mall piercing, left ear of course (1993), then the other ear. Went to college and an actual piercing shop to have them stretched (by hand, sit for 30 minutes with the enlarging needing in there, that was fun) for 14 gauges that I wore for decades until 7 years ago - big move and endless job apps/interviews then didn’t bother/lazy but still missed them. Finally got them re-opened with 16s, I feel more complete. (Horseshoe with balls is my preferred)
mbadolato@reddit
Two in the left ear. One done at a Claire's back in 88/89, one done in a dorm room with rubbing alcohol and a needle in 92 🤣 I kept them until the early 2Ks (I think) then took them out. Then about 10 years ago, I found the two earrings I wore in a drawer, and the holes hadn't closed up, so I've been wearing them again ever since
Sweet-Situation-8224@reddit
I pierced my ear at home when I was 14, got my eyebrow done at 19. The eyebrow jewelry clicked against my sunglasses, so that didn't last. Didn't wear an earring for about 20 years but started again in 2019.
Ok_Driver8646@reddit
I had an ear pierced back in the day, each time it got infected and had to let it close. Being young and having a dirty job was tough on my ear piercing. Anyway, I got super busy with life in my 20s(1990s) and never tried again. I’d still like to have both ears pierced but I’m in my 50s.
I can see how you feel weird about it. I do too at times. Here’s why:
Should I get them pierced or just wear the fake hoops & such? Did I miss “the window” and would I be judged harshly?
Ok-Teach-9735@reddit
Double pierced left ear in high school around 1990. Wore two hoops and took them out shortly after college.
neanderthalman@reddit
Not for me. Don’t care if someone else has ‘em.
Legitimate_You_3474@reddit
2 on left and 1 on right all around 15 or 16?
Prestigious_Carpet28@reddit
Noses and tongues were more popular for men when I was in college.
aumiket@reddit
Got left ear pierced at 17 and kept it through college. You can still kind of see it and I’m able to point it out to prove my formerly rebellious side.
RogersMrB@reddit
It was something my father absolutely forbid. 2 piercings in my left ear shortly after he passed away when I was 18.
Was done by a doctor. In a clinic. After hours. They are crooked...
I have had a cast number of piercings after. And have all kinds of piercing and body modification equipment - currently have none.
Took them all out before a surgery and haven't put anything back in since.
UberBricky80@reddit
My Dad when I got an earing: "Earrings are for pirates and (gay slur) and I don't see any oceans"
in-a-microbus@reddit
Tell him you're going to be a pirate on the river
i-am-jjm@reddit
Since seeing a movie poster in the NYC subway in the late 70s with a guy and a diamond stud I wanted an earring. Then the modification of my body just seemed too trendy for a lifelong commitmentt. No never had one. More power to those that have the courage to modify/enhance their bodies.
Hedonistic_Yinzer@reddit
I pierced my left ear at 16, by lying to the girl at the piercing Pagoda at the mall. My dad promptly freaked out when I got home. Mom calmed him down and I didn't have to live in the dog house in the yard until I graduate high school. At some point afterwards I took a job that frowned upon guys wearing earrings and removed it. Then again at some point later I got it re-pierced and added a second hole. Then again, another job forced removal of both of them. A few years ago I was able to stick an earring right back into that left ear. I went to a piercer and got the right one done also. Today I wear what looks like a horseshoe in both ears.
On a side note, when I was 40 I got my nipples pierced. Those piercings had to come out for and MRI at some point. They closed up soon after, but I got them re-pierced a couple years ago again also. And I'm too old to give a shit if anybody cares
jimboellis@reddit
"Graduated" to 10mm gauged plugs several years ago, but had both pierced right after high school, as it was against my HS dress code at the time.
steelywolf66@reddit
I had a couple of piercings in my left ear lobe when I was 18. I've now got 2 in each ear lobe and 2 helix piercings in my left ear.
Soledaddy873@reddit
grandmother's diamond stud and a hoop left ear
trycerabottom@reddit
Did mine with a sewing needle as a 12-year-old in 1989. I liked it, so I did a few more- I think I had 4 in the left, 2 in the right for most of school. I was a metalhead, so it worked with the long hair even though people sometimes thought I was a girl. (Took me a long time to figure out why it made me happy when they did...)
in-a-microbus@reddit
Got my left ear pierced in 1988.
Found out I had a nickel allergy.
Pierced my nipples at my girlfriends request 8 years later.
Still had a nickel allergy.
maryjayjay@reddit
I got one ear pierced in college. I've kept it from closing because every Christmas I amuse the kids by hanging a Christmas ornament in it
sane-asylum@reddit
3 holes in my left ear, 1 in my right, removed on my 21rst b-day
AZPeakBagger@reddit
First guy at my Midwestern blue collar high school to show up with a pierced ear in 1983 had a broken nose by second period. Was a human punching bag for at least the first month.
Within two years even the guys on the football team had a pierced ear and it wasn't a big deal.
ellcoolj@reddit
Got my first one at 17. My dad wrote me a note to bring to the piercing place that said "It's his ear".
I still wear the hoop on each ear's cartilage. I call it my Gen-X Tag (like a cow get's tagged... for ID sake)
Zandor72@reddit
Both pierced in high school; wore small silver hoops mostly for about 10 years.
Dry_Ad687@reddit
I had an earring in my 20s
man_in_ict@reddit
Never had a tattoo or piercing but it was very common for guys to get their left ear pierced. But there was the left ear means your straight rule that everyone followed
Sonoran_Dog70@reddit
First thing I did when I got kicked out of the house at 17 was get my ear pierced at the mall.
Still sporting a hoop all these decades later.
Canuck_75@reddit
2 holes, left ear at 16. Wore hoops till about 21. Then just let em grow over.
harrismi7@reddit
I pierced mine two years ago when I was 50. I wanted to do it when I was younger but wasn’t brave enough. I probably couldn’t have pulled off the look back then and I probably don’t now either, but these days I don’t care.
6mikey66@reddit
As a kid my dad told me I could pierce my ear just as soon as I moved out of his house. I promptly did so at 18. I don't think the earring made it to age 20 lol. I can still feel the little bump in my ear lobe at 50.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
I pierced my left ear at age 20 on a dare from a college buddy. Did it myself with a piece of ice and a sterilized sewing needle. The reactions were interesting, suddenly girls that had ignored me in my classes wanted to talk to me...I left that thing in until I graduated and had to clean up to get an engineering job. My father was not amused.
simikoi@reddit
I had my left ear pierced my freshman year in college, then got both pierced right after college so I had three, two in my left ear and one in the right. I took them out on my wedding day 25 years ago and never put them back in. Oddly the holes never closed and I can still use them. Useful when I dressed up as a pirate for Halloween last year.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
I feel like the different person now because I don't have piercings or tattoo's.
FrankCostanzaJr@reddit
piercings are still pretty common for men in medium to bigger sized cities in the US.
but yeah, growing up in a small town in the late 80s...1 ear ring for a dude started becoming pretty common. my mom was gonna let me get one at 9 yrs old when i was a little suburban skateboard kid in the late 80s/early90s but my dad said HELL NO! 😂
but there were a few kids in class with an earring in 4th grade, in the middle of nowhere USA in '89
PapaSmurfenburg@reddit
If you're left, you're right.
If you're right, you're wrong.
my23secrets@reddit
Only politically
79killingtime@reddit
Had both pierced from 18 until 24-ish. Recently went and got new ones put in, wasn’t sure if it would be easy enough to do by myself. I’ve also pierced my nose twice. First one maybe 10 years ago and added the second a couple of years back.
HintonBE@reddit
I first got my ears pierced when I was 17. I was at a party, feeling very good. One guy said something about wanting to pierce his ear. Back then, a guy with just his left ear pierced wasn't that big of a deal, but it was still kind of frowned on. But someone else mentioned they had some piercing studs if anyone wanted to get their ear pierced.
At the time, I was really into punk and heavy metal, so it made sense to my rebellious (and slightly pickled) brain to get both my ears pierced. Should be somewhat obvious that both ears got infected.
A couple years later I got them pierced properly. When I started working one job in my mid-20's, I was told men couldn't have earrings, so I took them out - and left them out for about 20 years.
A few years ago I was working a job and asked about men wearing earrings. I was told it was fine, as long as they were small hoops or studs. Since it had been a long time since I wore earrings in both ears, I actually bought some clip-on earrings, just to make sure I still wanted to wear them.
Been wearing them ever since, as I do still like wearing them. I do plan on getting them professionally pierced again at some point; just haven't had the opportunity.
nixtarx@reddit
I still rock a single hoop in my left ear. Married to a woman, but nit 100% what you would call "straight." Make what you will of that. 🤷
Anonymo123@reddit
had the left pierced after HS around 93ish..got the right done later and stopped wearing both in the late 90s as i was marching up the corp ladder.
ExaminationFancy@reddit
In 1992 when I was 18 in high school. I got my left ear pierced, a year later I felt lopsided and got my right ear pierced.
Then I went through a piercing phase! Stretched those first two holes to 2 gauge.
All the crazy piercings (eyebrows, navel, labret) are gone and I’m back to the first two piercings, both at 6 gauge and I now wear clear silicone skin eyelets - they are a nod to my past.
Old_Goat_Ninja@reddit
Around here getting the left ear pierced was pretty normal, late 80’s I’d guess. Then a few years later it was both, early 90’s. I still have them both pierced. Been wearing 1/2” plugs for a few decades now.
chrispd01@reddit
Like tattoos. No one used to have them so they were kind of a statement. But now everyone does so the statement is “I am a good sheep” …
Beginning_Key2167@reddit
A lot of the guys in my high school including myself got one ear pierced in high school. I still have the divot in my ear. Even though I only wore it for less than a school year.
Odd that a small hole in my ear still is visible after what 40 years? I guess I don't have magical healing abilities. LOL
JKSahara@reddit
First piercing was in '88. A couple years later I had two in the left and one in the right. Don't wear earrings much anymore, but the holes are still open.
cghipp@reddit
My son is interested in getting his ears pierced and it's been hard for me to throw off my GenX fears over how it might affect the way he's treated by others. But he doesn't need to know about that. If he decides he really wants to do it, he can. I've told him this since he was 11, which is the sage I allowed his sister to get her ears pierced. It's been almost seven years and he's still undecided lol.
Build1975@reddit
In primary school, we'd take the rings out of ballpoint pens and wear them like earrings. My mother said that we rather got a real one then. Of course I was the only one who did, the rest of the class chickened out. Shortly I had two in one ear. I think I removed the other one too around my 20th or so.
DeadManAle@reddit
Nope never got any piercings not my bag, but I got a bunch of tatts!!
Staran@reddit
I got an earring in my right ear around 1987. It was taboo. Then after a few months it wasn’t so I stopped wearing it and it closed up.
I was thinking of trying again.
Epicassion@reddit
Early 80s, it was becoming more common. There was the whole thing about which ear was only negative I remember hearing about but even then I didn't see anyone care.
Blackstrider@reddit
One ear pierced ages ago (in a traumatic event that used someone else's earring poked through my ear in a drunken stupor) Let it grow over a few years after the piercing.
Never felt weird about it but realized I was far too lazy for jewellery ;)
Kamerlyn@reddit
Gen X here. It wasn’t taboo when I got mine done. Maybe because it was just the left side? It wasn’t exactly common but I never got any shit over it