What side is gay for earrings

Men with both earrings are now widely accepted in every society, and choosing earrings that are highly compatible with your personality is encouraged. However, there are still some considerations to keep in mind when it comes to men wearing earrings.

If you are wondering which side is the gay piercing left or right, then, to make a long story short, getting pierced in your right ear meant you were gay. There is a rich history of jewelry being used to show off wealth, nobility, or status. In the 20th century, it was used to show off sexual preference. A man would wear a single earring in his right ear to say he was a gay man. Join us in unpacking this old gay stereotype and ask the question: do we still need it?

What side is gay for earrings

We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity. But as I grew up, it seemed like everyone I met, no matter their place of origin, knew and understood the earring code, as arbitrary as it seems. Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. Earrings on guys have signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. In his book The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body , Desmond Morris explains that earrings have indicated wisdom and compassion in the stretched earlobes of the Buddha, while pirates wore them in the belief it would protect them from drowning. In the Elizabethan era, earrings were quite fashionable for men, he writes. In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. At first it was assumed that the wearers were all effeminate homosexuals, but it soon became clear the the habit was spreading to the more avant-garde of the young heterosexuals. This led to some confusion and stories began to circulate that there was a secret code, that to wear an earring in a pierced left ear was homosexual, and in a pierced right ear was rebel heterosexual. The problem was that nobody could remember which was supposed to be which. In the end the male earring lost its sexual significance altogether, and simply became a generalized way of annoying middle-aged, latter-day puritans. Another guy got two piercings in his right ear in college, to which we all remarked that that he wanted everyone to know that he was a power bottom — which he is. A man in the U. If it were in my right ear, that would mean I was gay.

If you are wondering which side is the gay piercing left or right, then, to make a long story short, getting pierced in your right ear meant you were gay. In some professional settings, men wearing earrings can be seen as unprofessional.

These days, seldom does a trend stick around for longer than a few weeks before a neologism replaces the one before it, permeating the halls of TikTok or Instagram and causing all of us to second-guess what was once considered mainstream — only to then swap a coveted wardrobe staple for the latest passing fad. Still, certain exceptions prevail. Even today, one of the most unshakeable cultural signifiers has been the "mono" piercing — more precisely, and befuddling, on which ear it's placed and what it says about your sexuality. Pre-Y2K and beyond , it's been socially understood that wearing one earring on the right ear means someone is gay; the left, straight. Despite recent data and celebrities supporting otherwise, the demagogic proverb "Left is right and right is wrong" has been a whisper placed upon gay and straight men and their piercers for decades. No one really seems to know where the adage originated.

Sometimes we feel misunderstood, and sometimes we misjudge others. As a result, we might long for a way of putting symbols or signals out there so people can get a sense of who we are at a glance. Yet, one can see the down side of that too. One pitfall of wearing jewelry or other items with clear symbolism is that different people interpret some of these symbols differently. As one example, there is some confusion about the symbolism of a man wearing an earring in the left ear. There were other reasons also.

What side is gay for earrings

Sorry, the content of this store can't be seen by a younger audience. Come back when you're older. Have you ever heard the term "gay ear"? When people talked about the gay ear, they referred to a specific ear being pierced on a man. This trend didn't include women in the gay ear fad because, in most Western cultures since the s, it has generally been a cultural norm for females to have their ears pierced. Keep in mind that this performative measure was originally used to discriminate against men based on their perceived social class, not sexuality. Initially, the only men who had pierced ears were usually sailors. But it wasn't until the late s that people attributed a man who had his ear pierced to being gay. Now, men have pierced ears for endless reasons.

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If the mono earring has always been a conversation starter, then we have to address other ways style has elicited controversy, too. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Men with both earrings are now widely accepted in every society, and choosing earrings that are highly compatible with your personality is encouraged. Any piercing during that time, Scully insists, would have been an act of defiance anyway — pre- or postpunk era. For Salem, the "gay ear piercing" is a smaller yet crucial part of a bigger picture. It does not store any personal data. Joshooeerr Maybe the ear code was once widely understood in the US, but around the rest of the world it seems to have been mainly a source of confusion. But the question is, why did gay men decide to pierce their ears? Street Style. In other words, if you walk up to a young adult on the street and ask them who they are, they'll probably just tell you. Nor was it about a limp wrist or gaydar.

In the world of earrings, there has long been a fascination with the placement and symbolism associated with them.

Despite recent data and celebrities supporting otherwise, the demagogic proverb "Left is right and right is wrong" has been a whisper placed upon gay and straight men and their piercers for decades. Ah the good old days. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Subscribe to our newsletter to indulge in daily entertainment news, cultural trends, and visual delights. Eyebrows , noses, tongues, nipples , and belly buttons would soon become even louder ways to make a statement. The gay ear was a nice subtle way to signal to other men that you were looking for men. More in Life queer state of the union. Join us in unpacking this old gay stereotype and ask the question: do we still need it? What do earrings on guys mean? Still, certain exceptions prevail. Ah, how times have changed. He now has a really cool earring in his left ear..