Engaging in Body Piercings | Teen Ink

Engaging in Body Piercings

January 5, 2009
By Anonymous

Throughout the past years, body modification has become more popular and accepted within society. The most common, and most widely accepted form of body modification is the ear piercing. While an ear piercing may seem bland or generic, many people have found different ways to make the piercing their own. The Gauge, the Stud, and the Cartilage are the three most common and accepted forms of ear piercings. The classification of ear piercings is vital to anyone who ever needs to sort out the type of people they meet.
The Gauge

Growing in popularity, gauging is the practice of stretching one’s ear out by increasing the size of his or her earring. These piercings, which typically have a horrendous stench, have become popular partly because of the recent change in music trends. Teens listening to hardcore rock or screamo bands such as: The Devil Wears Prada, IWrestledABearOnce, and A Day To Remember sport gauges. Gauges range in size, beginning at eighteen gauge and usually stopping around double zero. Someone bearing a double zero gauge can fit a wine cork through their extremely elastic earlobe. Many teens participating in gauging their ears usually have other body modifications or piercings: the septum, bridge, snakebites, spider bites, Monroe’s, et cetera. While hardcore music may influence teens to show their unique style, the Gauge is just another fad that will quickly go out of fashion.
The Stud

While the Stud is the most popular piercing, there are a variety of classifications inside of this simple piercing. First, there are the trashy parents who pierce their children’s ears directly after the child exits the parent’s womb. Besides the newborns with their ears pierced, there are the girls hitting puberty who have finally gained the privilege of getting a hole in their ear. What a pleasant way to start womanhood: someone hurting a young girl for the sake of beauty! Next, there are the women who have never had the courage to deliberately hurt themselves due to low pain tolerance or some other pathetic excuse. But these women have decided, “Hey! Maybe something hanging from my ear will look fantastic with my new outfit”. My personal favorites are the guys who think that having a stud piercing actually make themselves studs. The males decked out at bars sporting gelled up hair, popped collars, loud rap music, and their flashy “bling” on their ears easily top of the category off the stud.
The Cartilage

The Cartilage is the perfect final touch for the bleach blonde Barbie wannabes. Although this piercing was trendy, it has now turned into a discrete tramp stamp. A few teens may be seen with this piercing because extra holes in their ears are the cool thing to do, but they are unaware of the meaning behind their cartilage piercing. The Cartilage, better known as Barbie, is usually found at Planet Beach getting a flawless orange glow to her skin tone. College students who have their cartilage pierced usually have, or plan to have, other, more provocative forms of body art. The Cartilage is typically found out at a local club socializing with the male Stud, who is desperately attempting to buy the Cartilage some overly fruity adult beverage.

There is no purpose behind the Gauge, the Stud, or the Cartilage except for the sake of pain, stupidity, or lack of trendiness. While all three categories have different styles, the one similarity is that there is no reason to pay money to pierce a hole in someone’s ear, let alone increase the size of the hole intentionally. And, the next time you find yourself contemplating acquiring a piercing, be sure to reflect upon the types of ear piercings and how “trendy” that hole in your ear will appear.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 18 comments.


on May. 1 2016 at 8:18 pm
itsrainingcats GOLD, East Hampton, Connecticut
16 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Suess

I applaud you for voicing your opinion confidently and being very factual and having good grammar and spelling, but I respectfully disagree with what you say. I mostly disagree with the paragraph on studs. Getting your ears pierced is not painful at all, at least for me (and the majority of people here). You make it sound like earrings are ugly horrible things that is a ritual for teenage girls to be pressured into, but it's not. Mostly (hopefully) everyone who has their ears pierced at the start of puberty wants to have them pierced. You are making an argument for no ear piercings for people who like ear piercings. Also, body piercings have been around since ancient times and like @TimeTraveller said, it is a form of expression and art. In conclusion, I applaud you for coming out to say something in which you disagree with and voicing your opinion in a world that likes to harshly judge others, but I disagree with your way of arguing your point.

on Feb. 25 2016 at 6:52 pm
ColdplayForever BRONZE, San Jose, California
1 article 0 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Coldplay fans are the best in the world. If you like Coldplay, then you're obviously very intelligent, good-looking, and all-around brilliant."
~Chris Martin

"First, there are the trashy parents who pierce their children’s ears directly after the child exits the parent’s womb" I do not mean to sound disrespectful, but I would like to set some things straight. This is insulting to my parents. My parents are not trashy, they are the best parents I could ask for. As a girl with Indian heritage, it is part of our culture to get our ears pierced when we are young. I got my ears pierced late in Indian minds. I was three years old, and I was actually mature enough to choose for myself whether or not I wanted my ears to be pierced. I still remember, I watched people go through it, and my parents kept asking, "Are you sure?" I answered 'yes' confidently every time. And honestly, I doubt that you have gotten your ears pierced, because really, it hardly hurts at all. I got them pierced at three, and I had to get them re-pierced at 9, so I know exactly how it feels. It is not that bad. So please, think before you call someone's parents trashy.

steph said...
on Nov. 19 2014 at 12:59 pm
Like it  

on May. 5 2014 at 1:38 pm
Dolly2828 BRONZE, Orlando, Florida
2 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
You are only limited by your own imagination!

Hi, 
You are totally entitled to your own opinion, but I think your article was very bias and non-factual. First of all, peircinng your ears, I don't think that will go out of style any time soon, people have been doing it for hundreds of years. Another thing, just because a parent peirces their childs ear, it doesn't mean they are trashy, they probably just want to do it so the child won't remember the pain, that mind you, hardly hurts. I listen to metal and hardcore. Do you know what I wear? Lily Pulitzer and Ralph Lauren, I have the lobes of my ear peirced. I am far from trashy. I got my ears peirced because I wanted to. Not because I was influenced by music or other outside sources. Piercing is a matter or choice, not musical influence. Would I get gauges, no, but I understand why people do. It defines them, its what they want. You might want to rethink what you are saying just a little bit, it was way far out there to call studs trashy.

on Jun. 8 2013 at 10:20 am
LittleDreamer BRONZE, New Delhi, Other
2 articles 6 photos 42 comments
" First, there are the trashy parents who pierce their children’s ears directly after the child exits the parent’s womb" Well I got my ears pierced when I was really really young and I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't even remember the "pain" I had to go through but I enjoy wearing earrings and I love shopping for them plus I'm happy I got my ears pierced "right after I exited the womb" because if I did it around today, I would've felt a lot of pain. Secondly, body modification isn't a fad... its been around since ancient times and is an expression of oneself. Cultures all around the world have different views on beauty and some opt for extremes but that doesn't make anyone different from who I and you are. We all are people but with different views, if you don't like it then it's fine but it's ignorant how you judge others for doing something they love.

AshleyBelle said...
on May. 10 2012 at 3:51 pm
While you are entitled to your opinion on the look of piercings and other body modification, the name calling, anger and judgemental tone driving this piece is totally uncalled for and unnecessary. It comes across as hateful and immature. Perhaps before you judge "trashy parents" you should look to your own, as it sounds like you are just spouting off an "opinion" drilled into you by them. There's a reason body modification has been more socially acceptable in recent years; there's nothing wrong or immoral about it. Do not play off a fashion statement as a moral issue. It only weakens your argument and lowers people's respect for you and your message. 

on May. 8 2012 at 7:39 am
CyberLydii GOLD, Dearborn Heights, Michigan
11 articles 0 photos 24 comments
I agree with you, but if you strech, it can shrink down to the original size until you go to a 00 or bigger, unless you skip sizes :D

on May. 8 2012 at 7:37 am
CyberLydii GOLD, Dearborn Heights, Michigan
11 articles 0 photos 24 comments
Hahahaha! Ignorant AND highly discriminatory. First off, I'd like to say that I don't even LIKE those bands you listed, I like happy hardcore and hardstyle techno, as well as swing and ska. I also have my ears stretched to a size 7/16, sizes don't stop at 00. Anyhow, you're discriminating based on a person's personality, and that's just wrong. <3P.L.U.R.<3

jess5 said...
on Sep. 18 2011 at 12:53 am
   word.   

mike said...
on Jun. 28 2011 at 7:18 am
From childhood, I wanted to pierce my ears. At 30, i did it. At the time of piercine, I felt excited and immense pleasure. I started wearing earrings, it is very cool and keeps me open and free minded. It is somebody's own experience he feels. It is also a tradition in many parts of the world, willingly of unwillingly, you have to pierce ears. But, as fashion, it has spreadover the world. Many of the fellows have to pierce their ears because their girl friends want so. It is very common these days.

Fluffy2772 said...
on Jun. 13 2011 at 7:38 pm
Fluffy2772, McDonough, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 41 comments
Just because these people want to appear that way you should think negatively of them? Really? They choose to get those piercings. They choose the clothes they put on every morning, just like you chose as well. This is discrimination.

on Mar. 17 2011 at 12:06 pm
PrettyGirlMia BRONZE, Kennesaw, Georgia
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
A man falls in love through his eyes, a woman through her ears.

i started to like your article until, you made the comment on "trashy parents"

qwerty said...
on Oct. 15 2010 at 2:18 pm
"These piercings, which typically have a horrendous stench, have become popular partly because of the recent change in music trends. Teens listening to hardcore rock or screamo bands such as: The Devil Wears Prada, IWrestledABearOnce, and A Day To Remember sport gauges." I disagree with this. By saying that, it's being very steriotypical about only "punks or rocks" having these type of piercings (gauges). yeahhhh thats not true.

on Apr. 21 2010 at 6:19 pm
MarinaOreo GOLD, King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 148 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Your soul is the whole world" -Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I respect your opinion but I had my ears pierced when I was little and I don't see anything wrong with it. Well, in my case, I wouldn't make a big of it but if someone didn't want their ears pierced, the hole do close up eventually if you stop wearing earrings. I love earrings and it is a form of expressing oneself, so I see nothing wrong with it. I think the gauges look cool but once you get them, there's no going back so I wouldn't do it because I rather not have a sagging earlobe, but that's me. Piercing your cartilage can look cool and it's not hurting anyone, so why not let people do it? I mean that's how THEY express themselves and they feel good about it, it has nothing to do with trends [not all the time], people like that stuff, so they do it. That's all. But I respect your opinion and you made a good argument.

on Apr. 7 2010 at 10:37 am
Well the author wrote this to mock people who choose to get peircings. A more factual response would have benn more interesting and a better article.

I'm Gorgeous said...
on Oct. 20 2009 at 8:47 pm
Everyone has a different opinion of what is per say "right" and "wrong". Who are you to be so rude at the writer of this article, Bad Reputation?

Amber1994 GOLD said...
on Sep. 5 2009 at 7:51 pm
Amber1994 GOLD, Roanoke, Illinois
15 articles 6 photos 45 comments
i can understand where you are coming from, but i myself must admit that i have my cartalige pierced. when my mother wouldnt let me go get it done, i did it myself. i dont think all piercings are 'wrong' persay but eveyone is entiteled to their own opinion. great job and i enjoyed reading another perswons point of view!

-please check out my poemsand comment!!-

on Feb. 25 2009 at 1:48 pm
You wrote this to degrade and demean people with these kinds of piercings. The tradition of Body Modification dates back thousands of years.The ideat that it is just a fad is rediculous. I hope that the next time you decide to publish somthing on this site you will not insult or demeawn your audience.

- Bad Reputation