Gay men earring

By the late s, wearing an earring in the right ear was a pretty clear sign that a man was gay. Over time, it became a kind of open secret that more and more non-gay people were becoming aware of.

It's important to note that the "gay earring" was only ever considered to be a signal for gay men. Today’s internet discourse reflects a more inclusive and nuanced perspective on which ear is the gay ear: Robbie (Normal) on X (Twitter) captures a contemporary view by asserting, “either ear is the gay ear if you're gay.”.

Fortunately, while an earring in the left ear was still meant as a way of showing oneself to be straight, being gay became more and more acceptable. Pride parades and political lobbying for gay rights made what had once been a silent subculture much better known. Troy, a graphic designer spotted at a gay bar, called his single earring a “female repellent” and said that he chose to pierce his right ear — the “gay” ear, according to the historical trope — to indicate his queer sexuality.

Which Ear Is the Gay Ear? In the s and s, the idea of a “gay ear”—more especially, the right ear—was established as a social norm. It became chic for gay men to discreetly display their sexual orientation by wearing a single earring in their right ear. When the pandemic sent me off campus, I returned to my childhood bedroom full of existential questions about my identity.

Nine months later when I came back to campus, I had seven piercings. While home, I considered how I performed for others and how I truly wanted to present. I love to over-accessorize, and piercings allowed me to adorn myself in more ways. As a Depop seller might put it, my ears were an old pair of Y2K jeans just waiting to be bedazzled. Piercings were also a way for me to rebel against the gender binary and heteropatriarchal norms that harshly dictate gender performance and expression.

Some people's love language is touch, while others prefer words of affirmation or acts of service. On my third date with my boyfriend, I gave him a piercing.

which ear is the gay ear for females

It felt strangely euphemistic at the time. On my right ear, I have two lobe piercings, two helix piercings and a rook piercing. Image courtesy of Alex Chun. I gave Emma their lobe triples, bringing them to 8 piercings total. They say that piercings have allowed them to construct their aesthetic in a way that is entirely in their control.

For so long, piercings also have been that. Emma Yarger has 3 lobe piercings and a helix piercing on their left ear. Queer people have a history with piercings. And while it is now clearly understood that a piercing is not a legitimate indicator of sexuality or gender identity, it seems that throughout history, piercings have been linked to queerness in contemporary Western culture.

Piercings have roots in world history as well, with evidence of King Tut having worn earrings. However, as contemporary Western society began to develop, piercings fell out of fashion for men. Excessive piercings began to symbolize rebellion and were regarded as taboo. While piercings are now relatively mainstream, they remain a way for individuals to disrupt normative expectations. And nobody loves messing with presentation and gender norms more than the queer community.

Junior Maia [last name redacted for privacy] currently has a helix, a nostril and five lobe piercings with a plan to get more soon. She says her favorite is her helix piercing because she got it during the winter of her freshman year when she was just beginning to understand her queer identity. I think that piercings are cool because you can really fuck around with them and do whatever you want and put in different earrings and like, do something stupid, like, today, I was wearing a crab earring.

Maia recently got a nostril piercing. After she and her friends were fully vaccinated, they ventured out to Andersonville to peruse thrift stores and get pierced. Maia says that after she got the piercing, she experienced a week of regret as she adjusted to the new look. However, her decision to disrupt how she had previously presented ended up being the reason she fell in love with her new piercing.

But that turned out to be why I like it so much. To be queer is to rebel against binaries, expectations and societal structures. It is living in the undefinable, the non-normative. Piercings are often associated with defiance, so it makes sense that queer people love them.