quietGuy13 Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 We all know earrings are nice and cute and make girls look nice and elegant but I think a lot girls wear earrings because they feel society pressure or something. Because there was a medical show on tv and this girl(in her 20s) used to wear earrings alot.. those big loop ones etc.. tons of diffenet ones all througout her life. and her ear lobes got all messed up and hanging pulled...she had to have an operation. Even having holes in the ears..do women really want that? I think it would be better to decorate their ears with some kind of sticky thing. like a sticker or something. that would be totally fine. Why do many women still feel they need to pierce themselves and why do some parents still continue to pierce their little girls . and also why do girls wear those big loop earrings and risk their ears being pulled.
Star Gazer Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 You can't be serious... A sticker? Like a gold star? I wear earrings every day and have absolutely no problems with my ear lobes. It's up to the individual woman to wear earrings that aren't too heavy.
sm1tten Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 A sticker? Really? That's... odd. The ear lobe thing, as far as I know, is pretty rare. Most women aren't going to wear earrings that heavy for long enough to cause permanent damage. I think that gauges and industrial ear piercings are far worse in that respect. What I can't stand, actually, is when people get their baby or young child's ears pierced. The kid should have the option to decide whether they want to have pierced ears or not at an age where they can also be responsible for them. OP, are you this hyper-critical of people, especially women, in real life?
Els Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 It's not just heavy earrings. Some women naturally have adverse reactions to foreign materials on their earlobes, or from the hole punchings themselves. A friend of mine had to undergo surgery for infection from her earring hole, even though it was punched by a professional. Personally, I don't see the logic in taking that risk and getting your ears punched to wear stuff that, frankly, I don't think many guys even notice or care about much, either. But if a woman wishes to do so, eh, it's her body. Same with people who choose to get tattoos, implants, other body piercings. I do completely agree with sm1tten re: parents and their kids. In Asian societies, many parents force their daughters to get their ears pierced at a young age. You see parents dragging their girls kicking and screaming to the shop. Disgusts me. Putting a child through involuntary and unnecessary pain just for aesthetics that the child herself doesn't even want at that time. My parents were, fortunately, not as insistent, although they did try to persuade me. Saying: 'You'll regret not getting it done when you're older'. Well, guess what, it's been 20 years and I still don't regret it. At all.
zengirl Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Well, I had my ears pierced when I was 2, and I'm cool with that. I just wore little studs when I was a kid for a few years, and now they'd never close up. Sweet. I rarely wear earrings, but love to wear fun ones on occasion, so that's perfect for me. No stickers on my ears, haha, and I've never felt "pressured" into wearing earrings or any other kind of jewelry. Now high heels. . . I feel like there is some socialized pressure to wear high heels. I never noticed it till I stopped wearing heels mostly. For fancy events, I still break them out (though honestly, I'd rather not). People seem very weirded out by my not wearing heels (and I love cute shoes and fashion! Just so long as they're flat shoes). . . nobody's noticed if I don't wear earrings.
Lucky_One Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 My niece used to wear stickers on her ears when she was in kindergarten or so; she wasn't allowed to have her ears pierced until she was 12. You could buy sheet of them at places like Claire's; she thought she was da bomb!
Stung Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I remember begging my mom to let me get my ears pierced for like, two years--she made me wait until I was eight and responsible enough to clean and take care of the piercings myself. That probably did have something to do with social pressure, since so many of my friends had their ears pierced already. Later, I added multiple other piercings to my ears, and that was pure personal expression. I like my earrings. I have had multiple piercings in each ear for many years now--probably longer than a few of the posters on here have been alive--and never had any problems with them. Then again, I never wear earrings so heavy as to be uncomfortable, because while I like to dabble in fashion I am definitely no slave to it. My stepdaughter begged us for years to pierce her ears, also, and we finally let her get them done when she was ten. I do agree with a previous poster who expressed some distaste for getting a baby or very young child's ears pierced. Not a choice I would make, although I don't think it's an indicator of bad parenting either, it's often a cultural thing. Zengirl, I have a bad ankle that's been broken a few times and I never wear heels anymore either. Most people say I don't "need" to anyway since I'm six feet tall, but I used to occasionally have fun with that, engineering myself up to six three for the intimidation factor . Nowadays my life is a lot more casual and I live on an island chasing kids around on the beach, so it's rarely an issue, but I only ever wear heels if we're going somewhere dressy and formal AND my husband is going to be with me the whole time just in case my ankle goes blooey. I try to wear cute flats even then, and fortunately they're easier to find than they used to be, but it's still ridiculous how some people will look askance at you for wearing, say, pretty silver ballet flats to a fundraiser or the opera instead of spike heels.
zengirl Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Zengirl, I have a bad ankle that's been broken a few times and I never wear heels anymore either. Most people say I don't "need" to anyway since I'm six feet tall, but I used to occasionally have fun with that, engineering myself up to six three for the intimidation factor . Nowadays my life is a lot more casual and I live on an island chasing kids around on the beach, so it's rarely an issue, but I only ever wear heels if we're going somewhere dressy and formal AND my husband is going to be with me the whole time just in case my ankle goes blooey. I try to wear cute flats even then, and fortunately they're easier to find than they used to be, but it's still ridiculous how some people will look askance at you for wearing, say, pretty silver ballet flats to a fundraiser or the opera instead of spike heels. I'm neither tall, nor short (5'6''). I always imagined the dynamic would be different if I were six foot. . . but I guess not. I have bad feet from dancing, but no real injuries. Just. . . when you're traveling a lot, heels don't really make sense, so I didn't own a pair for awhile and realized they're really not comfortable, bad for my back and legs, and kind of a weird concept. I just don't see why I'm any dressier because I'm wearing giant spikes on my feet. Socialization breakdown.
sm1tten Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Oh man, I looove heels though. I didn't always, but I have never really met a pair of flats that I loved as much as a heel and I do feel dressier in them. Go figure. Partly society-driven, but I think it's mostly aesthetic. No one has ever said anything to me about when I've not worn earrnigs, but I always notice when people have the hole but nothing in it. On the other hand, I don't really notice shoes unless I think they really don't do justice to the outfit OR they fit the foot poorly. I am so sick of seeing women teetering around with their toes overlapping the shoe... you need a bigger shoe, woman!
Stung Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I'm neither tall, nor short (5'6''). I always imagined the dynamic would be different if I were six foot. . . but I guess not. I have bad feet from dancing, but no real injuries. Just. . . when you're traveling a lot, heels don't really make sense, so I didn't own a pair for awhile and realized they're really not comfortable, bad for my back and legs, and kind of a weird concept. I just don't see why I'm any dressier because I'm wearing giant spikes on my feet. Socialization breakdown. Yes, once you get used to not wearing heels it's hard to go back. I tried not to wear them much when traveling either--how European women totter around cobblestone streets in those things is beyond me. I also think it's strange the level of import people put into high heels. I have had jobs before where I was expected to wear them even though I was behind a desk in an office, because it was more professional somehow--and when I was singing it was also considered de rigeur. I used to hate that, I already felt off-center enough just being onstage.
sally4sara Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 We all know earrings are nice and cute and make girls look nice and elegant but I think a lot girls wear earrings because they feel society pressure or something. Because there was a medical show on tv and this girl(in her 20s) used to wear earrings alot.. those big loop ones etc.. tons of diffenet ones all througout her life. and her ear lobes got all messed up and hanging pulled...she had to have an operation. Even having holes in the ears..do women really want that? I think it would be better to decorate their ears with some kind of sticky thing. like a sticker or something. that would be totally fine. Why do many women still feel they need to pierce themselves and why do some parents still continue to pierce their little girls . and also why do girls wear those big loop earrings and risk their ears being pulled. No, not everyone knows or agrees that earrings are nice and cute and make women of anyone for that matter look nice or elegant. In fact, about half the elderly women I meet do not have their ears pierced and if they wear earrings it is the clip or screw type because they have no piercing holes to put post or hook earrings through. The girl who had surgery did not HAVE to have surgery because having earlobes is not a necessity. She wanted the surgery just as others might want their ears pierced - its a matter of personal preference, conformity and vanity. I got my ears pierced when I was 13 because I ASKED for them to be pierced. I again asked to have a second piercing hole added when I was 16 because I wanted it pierced. So yes, some women do want pierced ears. You're allowed to think it would be better to not get your ears pierced. You're even allowed to have a preference for women and men who do not have their ears or anything else pierced. People choosing to not get their ears pierced AND choosing to get their ears pierced is also totally fine. I do agree with you though about getting infants any kind of cosmetic alteration. They cannot consent and if it isn't necessary to their health or survival doing so is not respecting the fact that they have left the womb and are now another human being with rights. Most of these same parents who do decide for their kids that their ears should be pierced would never dream of having the kid tattooed even though it is a pretty similar practice of body modification.
Enchanted Girl Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I got my ears pierced this past year and it was MY choice. If I was going to do it from people pressuring me, I would have done it long ago. And I wear dangly earrings and hoops on most days because I personally like them and feel extremely feminine when I wear them. None of my friends like wearing dangly earrings. I am the weird one actually, so I don't feel like society is pressuring me to do anything. I agree more with zengirl, that society pressures us to wear heels and like her, I HATE them. Getting your ears pierced and wearing dangly earrings doesn't hurt at all. It just looks pretty. Heels look pretty, but make your feet cramp up a whole bunch the entire time you are wearing them. They suck and I hate them and avoid wearing them except on very, very special occasions where I have to dress up a whole lot.
FitChick Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 A sticker? Like a gold star? Think of all the money you'd save.
zengirl Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 Oh man, I looove heels though. I didn't always, but I have never really met a pair of flats that I loved as much as a heel and I do feel dressier in them. Go figure. Partly society-driven, but I think it's mostly aesthetic. Well, aesthetic choices are often socialized, but I never meant to disparage anyone liking heels. I just wish they were more like earrings----not considered a social necessity on any occasion, just sort of depending on your mood/preference/choice/etc. I've got nothing against anyone wearing anything (that's not dangerous or completely offensive or whatever) because they like it FTR!
OliveOyl Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 The hardest part about pierced ears is if you haven't worn earrings for a lonnng time (years) then you do, and the hole has started to close up... owwww...
Cypress25 Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I'm definitely in the minority here, but I don't have pierced ears. I never felt any pressure to get them pierced, even though almost every woman I know has pierced ears. I just never felt the desire to put jewelry on my ears. I don't really have earlobes anyway, lol. I do have a tattoo on my shoulder, but not because I thought it would make me more attractive to men. I just wanted it for myself. And actually, sticker earrings do exist. When I was a little girl in the early 90's, all my friends were wearing them because they were too young to get their ears pierced. They're cute on 5-year-old girls, but they're not for adults, lol. They usually end up getting stuck in the girl's hair anyway.
TuffCookieX Posted August 3, 2011 Posted August 3, 2011 I'm with Cypress. I'm almost 23 and I've never had my ears pierced. However, I do have my belly button pierced, and I love the way it looks because I love my stomach. Not sure why I never got my ears pierced, my grandmother used to give me earrings for every birthday (for when I eventually got them done) but I never did. I just don't really need them done.
sm1tten Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Well, aesthetic choices are often socialized, but I never meant to disparage anyone liking heels. I just wish they were more like earrings----not considered a social necessity on any occasion, just sort of depending on your mood/preference/choice/etc. I've got nothing against anyone wearing anything (that's not dangerous or completely offensive or whatever) because they like it FTR! I more meant the aesthetic of the shoe than the body of the shoe wearer. (Although I do think that flat shoes can accentuate some unattractive areas, like cankles.) I'm not all "shoe are art" but I really like how some shoes look I have three holes in each ear. I went through a period during my PhD program where I wouldn't wear the last two holes, hoping they'd close up, because I felt... weird about it somehow. Even though academia (at least here in Chicago) is pretty friendly to piercings and tattoos, I felt like it was de-aging me in an arena where I needed to be perceived as a "grown up." The holes didn't close up after a year and I left academia and I put my damn earrings back in. My mom has like 6 in one ear, 8 in the other, and a nose ring, and an eyebrow ring... and I think that is a bit much. It suits here, but there's too much going on for me.
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