To Pierce or Not to Pierce?

I have to admit that I don't get the desire to pierce or ink one's body. I believe it's because I'm pain-adverse. Hell, I was 34 years old and had purchased diamond studs three years BEFORE I went to get my ears pierced.

My "piercing" experience involved a rather large "gun" that jammed in my ear on the first attempt. There I sat in the Piercing Pagoda in Westland Mall, with a rather large, black piercing gun stuck in my right ear. I was wearing a crisp, white shirt and envisioned blood dripping down my neck and soaking my shoulder. I envisoned that. ..there was no blood. But, it did take the tech and my dear sister-in-law, Bea, about 15 minutes to disengage the tool. My brother Bob watched with a concerned look. Bob was a senior firefighter with the Hialeah Fire Department. What I thought was a look of concern for my safety was actually his concern over the stories that would ensue when "Harris had to bring his sister to the ER to have a piercing gun removed her ear." Bob prefered to do the teasing, not receive the teasing. We all still held our breath as I sat for the second piercing in my left ear; that went without incident. Bea, Bob and I had intended to get frozen yogurt after my piercing; we went for cocktails instead.

Back to my issue with piercing all other parts of the body. I recognize that it is a cultural thing in many places in the world. It is not necessarily a "cultural" thing in the US. How do you pierce the nose, the eyebrow and those private places? Doesn't the piercing of the tongue mess with your speech? Does it create a lisp or slur? Those nipple rings, don't they feel uncomfortable tucked inside a bra all day?

Having this conversation with my Aunt, I realized that in my teen and college years that I too may have been a "pain in the ass". Once I made my way to college in the early 70s, I refused to dress in anything but tattered jeans, smock tops and clogs (sometimes socks with sandels, OMG). My hair grew long and straight and was parted in the middle. I wore scarfs on my head all of the time with HUGE earings and half-moon glasses (and I ddin't even need glasses then). There were rings on each finger and bracelets up my forearm. A look that I, now, realize wasn't necessarily the most attractive to the "older" generations. Actually, in restrospect, it wasn't all that attractive period. It was my time and my way to differentiate myself (although everyone else looked the same).

My rule has always been to differentiate myself in ways that were not permanent. Fashion has worked nicely to achieve the desired effect. I refuse to do anything "permanent" such as ink or cosmetic surgery. Hair color is as dramatic a change as I can endure. That's why I am now a REDHEAD.

I recognize that the piercings can close up and go away. I applaude self-expression and efforts to differentiate yourself among the crowd. I just have a different perspective of what I believe is "acceptable" and "desireable".

My view is a comment of taste, not judgement. Hell, I am the woman who refuses to wear sandels unless I have a fresh pedicure. I wouldn't go to the gas station without full makeup until about five years ago.

During our passage of rebellious expression, our bodies are the easiest canvas; one of the few things we have most control over and thus, we ask ourselves the question, "to pierce or not to pierce?"