What is the gay ear to get pierced

Men of all sexual orientations now have pierced ears, and not everyone follows (or knows about) the history of the right ear as the "gay ear." That said, if you're gay, getting a right-ear piercing can be a kind of homage to the history of using a gay earring for signaling. Robbie (Normal) on X (Twitter) captures a contemporary view by asserting, “either ear is the gay ear if you're gay.” It’s significant because it emphasizes how ear piercings related to sexual orientation are outdated and irrelevant–a sign that societal norms are shifting away from traditional views.

There was a time when ear piercing, especially if it was the right ear, came with which ear is the gay ear idea. And gay men would subtly identify each other by getting their right ear pierced.

Our gay ancestors came up with coded signals to tell others that you’re safe, supportive, or maybe even DTF, depending on the context. A notable example is the “gay ear.” The suggestion is that if a man had a specific ear pierced, it would indicate his sexual orientation. Historically, the right ear was identified in cruising culture as the "gay ear piercing" side, but does it hold the same relevance and meaning in ?.

We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity.

is the left ear the gay ear

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. Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within.

And in the 20th century, people got confused about which ear meant what: In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. What does Generation Z think of the whole gay code? Some time after that, of course, I made peace with the fact that I am gay. More Stories from MEL.