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trinity (Anonymous) says…

that was tongue in cheek-right?

i don't much care to see eyebrow piercings, cheek, etc-but dang, what's wrong with ears??

repaste (Anonymous) says…

shes right, whats the difference, a hoke is a hole

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Clip ons used to hurt!
Pierced only hurts when you let them grow over and have to repierce.
Even our “old straight laced” mothers were getting their ears pierced when we did in jr high!

davidsmom (Anonymous) says…

I loved earrings but clip-ons hurt if they were tight enough to stay on, and my earlobes were too small to hold them. So I had my ears pierced, and I love earrings. But I only have one hole per ear. As for nose, tongue, navel, eyebrow and (unmentionable) piercings, it hurts just thinking about them, and some of them are so disgusting I can't even stand to look at people who have them.

kansas_o_kansas (Anonymous) says…

This article is a joke, right? This lobeless wonder can't be for real…

autie (Anonymous) says…

I honestly could care less one way or the other..but not for me. No holes, no tats. and I will say some of the women I've seen with multiple holes running around the outside of their ears..five, six or more, all filled with little earrings looks plain trashy. And anyone who pierces anywhere except the ears is out of their friggin minds..tongue post have to be the worse..plumb dumb!

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

I didn't think a thing about girls having rows of piercings up the side of their ear.
That is, until I stood behind one of these girls. I then saw it on others too.
The scar tissue created within the side and upper ear (thin skinned area) is absolutely gross. I mean, gag me gross.
And then, sunlight will shine through there and make it stand out all the more.

The lobe is much better suited to piercing, except years later, a line wrinkle appears from the hole down, where the earing pulled, and the fat has left the area.
They even inject fat,etc to plump this back up again.

tvc (Anonymous) says…

I hate it when parents pierce a baby's ears! Otherwise, I say pierce away

acg (Anonymous) says…

The piercings don't really bother me, either. A lot of my friends have odd piercings in many many places. A good friend of mine has been pierced 14 times and he even has one down below. What freaks me out, though, is when they stretch the holes with those heavy gauge posts and you can just see right thru there. It doesn't make me think less of the person who wears it, to each their own and all, but it really just freaks me out, personally, to see that big gaping hole in their body.

coolmarv (Anonymous) says…

Am I missing something? Do the first few paragraphs make sense? The writer argues with her friend as to whether or not her ears are pierced, why?. Also the part about a woman being bored and coming up with the idea to get pierced. It's been a cultural tradition for thousands of years. Doesn't seem very well written to me.

gr (Anonymous) says…

“Do the first few paragraphs make sense? ”

I had to read those paragraphs twice, too. I think she meant to say that her friends “lobes” weren't pierced, but everything else was.

“all filled with little earrings looks plain trashy. ”

I would say a better word would be, “tacky”.

“And anyone who pierces anywhere except the ears is out of their friggin minds..tongue post have to be the worse..plumb dumb!”

Difference being? Because people are used to one and not the other?

“What freaks me out, though, is when they stretch the holes with those heavy gauge posts and you can just see right thru there.”

Difference being? Tradition? Maybe you do not prefer the type where the lobes are stretched out down past their chin and enlarged enough to pass a half-dollar through it? It's “traditional” for some folk. And, they stretch their bottom lip out two or three inches by inserting a bone or other object in it. Makes them “sexy”, so they think. We over here use “civilized” tackiness. No difference, really. Just what one is used to in body mutilation since the people don't like their standard equipment.

iplaysupernintendo (Anonymous) says…

I have many piercings. I used to work at a big-box store here in town, and they made me remove all my piercings (expect earrings) while I was at work, which was no problem. However, I have visible tattoos, and the store did not require me to cover them up.
What's the difference? In my opinion they're all the same form of self-expression.

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

acg says:
but it really just freaks me out, personally, to see that big gaping hole in their body.
––––––––––-
I realized this must have been the same thing Mrs God said to Mr God when he put orifices into his new human prototype.

LOL

fhwghads (Anonymous) says…

I have 13 piercings, including earlobes stretched to 7/16ths of an inch, two on my face, and one in my clitoral hood. I think they are all beautiful, and I know many people who agree and many more who have more and larger piercings. If you don't have a single piercing on your body I couldn't care less, because that's all skin-deep. It's simply a different sense of aesthetics.

Many of the comments that I have seen here are by people who would not pierce themselves but have a live and let life attitude towards those who do, which is a relief, but my biggest concern is piercing being referred to as mutilation. Whether it's a small stud in your ear or a ladder of genital rings or a giant lip plate, none of it is mutilation. Mutilation is when you disfigure your body with a destructive mindset. When people enhance their body to fit their personal definition of beauty then it is modification.

And to the people who say that piercing is disgusting and those who get pierced are dumb or trashy, enjoy your small, sheltered, and judgmental world.

ronin_kid (Anonymous) says…

i wander if the author would consider circumcision a mutilation?.

OldEnuf2BYurDad (Anonymous) says…

“unnatural body mutilation”

There is such a thing as “natural” mutilation?

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

I believe initial penetration causes that.

zah (Anonymous) says…

Wow. Your ignorance, intolerance and offensiveness astound me.

You don't have to like piercings, but that doesn't mean you can slander people for choosing to live their own lives a certain way.

TJOB (Anonymous) says…

There is nothing wrong with piercings, of any kind. I have my “unmentionables” pierced. I have my dick pierced and I love it (it's at zero gauge ladies), and my ears (measly ten gauge but that'll change once healed). Just because it grosses you out doesn't mean it is wrong. Religion makes me want to hurl, but I don't go around making terribly written articles about it. Piercing is a way to enhance and adorn the body. It is not mutilation when something doesn't seriously injure a person or destroy the functionality of a body part. While I'm pointing out the fallacies of your article, chewing gum doesn't lead to smoking and I know plenty of girls who smoke and aren't down for anything (especially me…). So what if a piercing hurts? It's a quick pinch and then it is over, why avoid pain, did the thought of a painful birth keep you from having children? Please try to be more open minded and don't assault something you know nothing about.

Princess_Albertina (Anonymous) says…

I'm aware this was intended as satire, but I don't find it funny. There are enough biases against people with piercings without adding to it. Go satirical on people who don't already get ostracized, please.

eddiez (Anonymous) says…

I have a little allen wrench in my ear right now as a placeholder for a lost ring. That's pretty unnatural.

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Princess..
Most of the people writing on here have no idea what your name means.

Oracle_of_Rhode (Anonymous) says…

Geoff forgot to mention tattoos, circumcisions, face lifts, boob jobs, laser hair removal, false eyelashes and teeth whitening.

Sephz0r (Anonymous) says…

Great article, well written and good style.

I'm a member of the body modification community, so I'm obviously going to disagree with some, if not most of things you've said in it anyway, but you have successfully voiced an opinion without condemning the body modification community.

gr (Anonymous) says…

“Mutilation is when you disfigure your body with a destructive mindset.”

Yep. One who agrees with Female Genital Mutilation, no?

To bad you are ashamed of your body and think you need to attempt to make it “better”.

TJOB (Anonymous) says…

I know what princess's name mean… but It didn't even cross my mind that this was satire. It's not funny and it seems completely serious and ignorant. Isn't satire supposed to be funny, at least a little bit?

trebhead (Anonymous) says…

Body modification might make you sick to your stomach, but this article makes ME want to vomit.
How can you, and some of the others who have commented, be so ignorant. This is the way many people have chosen to live, including myself, not just because we think it looks beautiful but because it feels right.
“I imagine the idea of piercing ears started when one bored woman said to another, 'Here’s an idea. Let’s get someone to jab big, sharp needles into our earlobes and force metal studs through the holes.'”… This is not true at all, ear piercing as been a ritual for many cultures for thousands of years. Stop being a close minded, tight-lipped ignorant Westerner and start opening your mind to culture.
Also, you should be teaching you children and grandchildren to be individuals and to not look down on people who may be modified (not mutilated) because this: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,3… is what happens when you teach others that looking different and being different is wrong.
Get over yourself.

kansas778 (Anonymous) says…

I've worked with many people who have the big holes in the ears or many piercings, and believe me, if your cook is one of these people, don't eat there. They don't care what others think of them, and they don't care if your burger falls on the floor either. And forget hand washing or gloves.

justfornow (Anonymous) says…

Do you people want a decent paying job? If you come to an interview your wasting your time, My name is justfornow and I guarantee it.

gr (Anonymous) says…

“This is not true at all, ear piercing as been a ritual for many cultures for thousands of years. ”

Lowell!

'Body mutilation has been practiced for thousands of years, therefore that makes it right. No further thought is needed.'

beatrice (Anonymous) says…

However, students should remember that when you get out of school there will only be two people who will actually care about your tats and piercings … you, and the person not hiring you because of them.

Fair? No. Reality? Yep. So maybe you might just want to think twice before getting that image of a unicorn affixed permanently to your neck.

And Princess_Albertina, if you are getting ostracized because of your modification, then you are talking too much about your personal jewelry. How else would people know?

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

kansas778 (Anonymous) says…

I've worked with many people who have the big holes in the ears or many piercings, and believe me, if your cook is one of these people, don't eat there. They don't care what others think of them, and they don't care if your burger falls on the floor either. And forget hand washing or gloves.
––––
I worked at DQ on Iowa years ago. One day, a bun fell on the floor. Having worked at McD/s where anything that falls goes into the trash, I picked it up to toss it. The Asst Mgr, female, said”Don't throw that out, it's fine.” I obeyed, disgusted, thinking she must be wrong.
Not too many days later, the same thing happened, and the “Owner!!” told me to not throw it out, use it.
I had seen hot dogs reheated so many days that they turned green before someone threw them out. Trash falling into the five gallon open buckets of the previous remains from the ice cream machine mix, to be poured in the following morning. That place was a cross contamnation nightmare.
Needless to day, I quit the day the owner said to use the bun. I won't eat there.

the_caped_avenger (Anonymous) says…

so, pierced people wont get jobs……
i have 3 usually visible tattoos, a septum piercing, 3 tongue piercings, bridge (across my nose between my eyes) vertival labret x2, and anti eyebrows.
i am the office manager at a photography place. i deal with people all day long and yet i was still hired despite these “mutilations”

suck on that.

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

I've been fighting this off, but can't hold back.

trinity (Anonymous) says…

that was tongue in cheek-right?
–-
Shouldn't that be “tongue stud in cheek-right?”

beatrice (Anonymous) says…

caped, did you just brag about working in a PhotoMat?

You may think you know everything about who you want to be while in your 20s, but chances are you don't — take it from just about everyone past 20. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with you or that you are a bad person or that you don't care about yourself or others, just that those in positions of hiring people will likely judge you for how you look and how you will present yourself as the representative of their company.

Of course, it all depends on the business — you would have surprised me had you said you were the head of the local bank and still looked like Pin Head from Hell Raiser. If you ever choose to go in a more traditional line of work - you might surprise yourself some day - the permanent appearance alterations may be a hinderance to steady employment. All I am saying is that before you pimp out your face, it is something you should consider with greater care.

Like it or not, that is the truth. I'm sorry to have to be so blunt about it.

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

By high percentages I agree with you.

My next thought was of a 20 something young man I know, who has eyebrow piercings and deeply artistic tats covering one arm.
He was hired by a factory around here, and he makes wages most any of us would love to have.

the_caped_avenger (Anonymous) says…

im sorry, i dont believe i said my age at any stage? why dio\o you assume im under 20? and no, not Photomart, a photo art gallery. big difference. this is a traditional line of work, just not a traditional looking office manager :D

people are slowly becoming more accepting of piercings and tattoos, yes it makes things harder, but there are more than you wuld think in well paid, respectable jobs. its sickinging how narrow minded you people are. we are not the scum of society, we can get real jobs.

fhwghads (Anonymous) says…

gr - I do not in any way think that FGM is ok. I didn't even mention the issue of consent. There are women who choose to cut and pierce their genitals in a variety of ways, and if this is an informed decision then that's fine. But it is not alright when young girls are held down and cut against their will without anesthesia in an unsanitary environment. It is a major violation of human rights.

“To bad you are ashamed of your body and think you need to attempt to make it “better”.”

I am not at all ashamed of my body, I chose to pierce and tattoo it to celebrate it. If I chose to change myself by dying my hair, going to the gym, dieting, and putting on makeup then i doubt you would accuse me of doing so out of shame. There are shades of gray between ashamed of your body and feeling your body is perfect; I can like myself and still feel there is room for improvement.

And the “whenhomostakeover” part of your obnoxious run on sentence without spaces caught me off guard. I don't know if you're serious or if you're just trying to push people's buttons, but either way that makes you look like an idiot.

gr (Anonymous) says…

And I quote:
“Mutilation is when you disfigure your body with a destructive mindset. When people enhance their body to fit their personal definition of beauty then it is modification.”

Not all are held down. Some have been brainwashed (as some others have with other mutilations) that it's beautiful and proper. The people doing it do not have a “destructive mindset”. They do it to make their daughters acceptable and to celebrate their bodies and beauty.

Why do you think it's done?

(As far as the runon, the “style” is for caped's benefit and yours, if the shoe fits)

the_caped_avenger (Anonymous) says…

alright, im sick of being nice about it, you are narrow minded f**kwits. grow the f**k up. what is wrong with choosing to modify yourself. it hasnt stopped me getting and keeping a good job, it hasn't made any of my friends turn against me, it hasn't made me go out and steal or do drugs like alot of people thought pierced and tattooed people do.

where is the damn problem?!

Mrhyde (Anonymous) says…

what the hell, how ignorant can you be.

Mrhyde (Anonymous) says…

ignorant betch

pierced_kitten83 (Anonymous) says…

I discovered this article from a link on a body modification online forum, to which we are all laughing and jeering at this whole worthless excuse for a blog.
The ignorance of the author of this article and the people agreeing with her sicken me. I don't know what else can be said that hasn't already been covered already, but you people are just as bad, if not worse, than racists. We are living in 2008, not 1950. Get with the times and quit looking down on those of us who choose to pierce our bodies the way we see fit. Are we personally harming you? Didn't think so…get over yourselves!
And, just so you know I am a 24 yr old woman with 6 facial piercings, and holding a decent job as a state employee. My piercings are not an issue at my job and I am treated equally, the way I should be. You should join the times and do the same.
Until then, continue to rot in your shallow, conservative mindset.

Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Thank you for the memories.
Some how by total accident, a few years back, I ran across a forum like she writes about.
I decided to read on, and it was so funny!
Lots of talking about who had what, issues, safety..but I remember this one part that got going, starting with someone warning people about this one person who was providing piercing or tats, and post after post..things were fast, furious, funny, and delightful!
They were post-slapping each other right and left.

beobachter (Anonymous) says…

kitten, really hate to agree with Marion, but I do on this point. To wit:
If you choose to look like a sideshow freak, a Fool from the Middle Ages or a tattooed Maori, that is your right.

It is my right in the course of business or my personal life to reject those who have made such choices.

Which I and most businesses who deal with public and want to present a good public image reject those with your attitude and looks.

pierced_kitten83 (Anonymous) says…

Sir, what the hell would you know about my attitude outside of this discussion? My looks and my work ethic are two entirely different matters. You don't know me personally in real life. I am a hard working employee, receive merit raises and nearly flawless performance evaluations and answer every phone call I get courteously and cordially. It's pure ignorance and prejudice like yours that gets me in a “bad attitude”. If this was discussion were outside the computer, I would just silently walk away from you and not say a word. I'm probably one of the kindest people you would ever meet, and if you sit there and disrespect me for no other reason besides my looks, then you don't earn one iota of my respect.

Have you ever heard the term, “Treat others the way you would want to be treated.”? Obviously not, because agreeing with someone calling me out as looking like “a sideshow freak”, “a fool from the middle ages”, and “a tattooed Maori” is blatantly childless and very disrespectful.

I could sit here and write a novel of how sad and pathetic people like you are, but I am done wasting my time talking with ignorant saps like yourself through a computer. I wish you all the best of luck in life, and maybe someday you'll rise through the unnecessary prejudices you have against modded people and respect every one of us equally.

dph239 (Anonymous) says…

'If you choose to look like a sideshow freak, a Fool from the Middle Ages or a tatooed Maori, that is your right.'

Real great attitude. It's also your right to shelter behind that closed mind of yours, though I wouldn't recommend it. How do you feel about religion and homosexuality, are you just as judgmental?

You know, I've not heard of many people modifying their bodies to 'mutilate' themselves. Paying hundreds of pounds for a piece of artwork seems like an awfully strange way to 'mutilate' yourself. Ever thought people might just like the way it looks? You know, spirituality and culture may also influence these choices we make. How about a means to perpetually mark an event in time?
Of course, maybe some do want to look like a sideshow freak, but hey, so what, that's their prerogative.
You are you to judge?

We all make our own choices. We're all individuals. Why must we continue to judge and ridicule each other? Open your minds and find true happiness. Being so judgmental can't be fun, surely?