Grandsons getting ears pierced

[Praying Colonel]

Every guy getting his ear pierced is somebody's grandson.

 

[sam_gordon]

Curious to know why. Gender norm? Some other negative connotation? The OP and most people on the other thread only have an objection to males getting their ears pierced so I’m interested to know what’s so different than females?

I don't have a good answer for you. I guess "gender norm" would be as close as I could get.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

ok, cool.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

My 18 year old grandson, got his ears pierced on his first week away at College. Previous to that he got two tattoo's one just above his wrist and a large one on his upper arm. Last week he had an important job interview so he took out his earrings and wore a long sleeve shirt. When he got back from the interview (which went well) it finally occurred to him that if he wanted a decent job there was a good likelihood that he will have to be doing this for the rest of his life.

Eh, unless they're offensive it's unlikely anyone is going to care in day to day working life. I agree with covering them up for interviews (first impressions and some people judge) but once you're working, your work speaks for itself.

It's kind of like how office jobs in the 80s required ties/slacks and now we wear jeans and a polo.

 

[The WDW 3]

My son is 8 and he got one pierced a few months ago.

 

[wenrob]

I don't have a good answer for you. I guess "gender norm" would be as close as I could get.

Not arguing with your personal reasons but as this thread can attest being male and having piercings *is* a gender norm. Men have been wearing earrings for decades.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not arguing with your personal reasons but as this thread can attest being male and having piercings *is* a gender norm. Men have been wearing earrings for decades.

Never denied that. Since DS will turn 18 this year, if he wants a piercing, he can earn the money and get it done himself once he does.

 

[tzolkin]

Men have been wearing earrings for decades.

Men have been wearing earrings for thousands of years (at least back to the Bronze Age). They wore them before women did.

 

[goofyernmost]

Eh, unless they're offensive it's unlikely anyone is going to care in day to day working life. I agree with covering them up for interviews (first impressions and some people judge) but once you're working, your work speaks for itself.

It's kind of like how office jobs in the 80s required ties/slacks and now we wear jeans and a polo.

I don't have anything against it, but I have always been opposed to tattoo's, on a personal level, because that is a fashion, spiritual, social and ideological statement that cannot change without a lot of money, time and pain. Besides, the body I was born with always seemed workable to me and if I wanted art I would use paper and when I got sick of it, I would just toss it out and create something new. If you work with the public and rely on the public to continuously be impressed, then it has to be hidden until you know your audience. If you don't care then to me the phrase "would you like fries with that" are memorized. Is it wrong? Of course it is, but we may wish the world were more receptive, but that day may never come. I became an adult in 1969 and I do believe that people are less progressive now then they were back then. We have gone backwards in the evolutionary process.

 

[MrsPete]

So, grandsons getting their ears pierced (as well as granddaughters of course). Seems to be quite the custom now, isn't it?

If you don't like /don't want to support this choice, the less said the better. Don't mention it, don't give earrings as a gift, etc.

I'm thinking about when I was a teen and I adopted a hairstyle that -- in retrospect -- was not attractive. I overheard my mother telling my grandmother how much she hated it, and my grandmother responded, "The more you complain about it, the longer she'll keep it." I changed it the very next day.

I can remember when boys didn't pierce their ears

As can I, and I'm not that old!

I've never cared for earrings on men, but it is a choice that's easy to "un-do" or hide. It's a better choice than a tattoo, which is much more permanent.

Having an opinion is not the same thing as openly insulting someone's appearance.

Discussing opinions hypothetically is also very different from saying to a real person, "This is what I think about your earrings."

My bonus son

That's a nice phrase.

His biological parents decided that he was mature enough to do what he wanted when he was in his fairly early teens .. he already regrets it, at 20

Yeah, I don't think that's a particularly unique story. I know plenty of underaged teens who have tattoos already, and I know a lot of people (not teens) who regret their tattoos.

My tastes changed a lot over the 10 years between 18 and 28, I changed a lot as a person.

That is 100% normal, but if you came into my classroom and said it to my 17-18 year old seniors, they'd tell you they are exactly the person they're going to be for the rest of their lives. Literally their brains "aren't finished", but they can't understand that.

 

[tzolkin]

Discussing opinions hypothetically is also very different from saying to a real person, "This is what I think about your earrings."

Yes. My statement was in response to the poster stating that their grandmother would make direct comments, shake her head, and "tsk" in disapproval whenever she was around. That's just rude regardless of whether it's a grandchild, coworker, stranger, etc. Another poster responding that old people should be able to have opinions makes no sense to me. So, just because you're older, you're entitled to be rude and hurt people's feelings on purpose?

I have opinions about the aesthetics of certain piercings and certain types of tattoos (some I love and some I hate). Discussing those opinions in general and acknowledging that different people have different preferences is not an issue. But for me to say to someone, "I think your type of tattoo is so ugly. Why would you ever do that to yourself?" would be completely inappropriate.

 

[Minnesota!]

Not new, not a trend, not a big deal.

I encourage my kids to take whatever liberties make them feel good about themselves. Mismatched clothes (in my eyes?), go for it. Earrings, if you want to keep them clean, pierce away! Shave off half an eyebrow? Why not...I did!

When I hit my weight loss goal, I am planning another tattoo. I told my oldest he was free to come with and get one, too, if he still wants.

 

[jsmith]

So not a new trend-body modification, especially piercing and tattoo's. are as old as the human race. It comes and goes according to what is the cultural norm in the time and place but it is an imbedded part of psyche. Kids gonna do what kids gonna do.

 

[RamblingMad]

No big deal. Reminds me of 80s New Wave.

Best to get the rebel out while young and not job hunting.

There is a thread about tats and working at Disney on the college board. Basically, don’t do anything that will make it more difficult for you to get a job in the future. That’s what my parents taught me.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

This may not be popular maybe but what I hate is when they pierce babies' ears, I mean why, what if the child pulls them out or touches with poop hands and infects, or swallows, I don't know, don't you have enough to worry about with a baby? I will wait until the child wants and asks for their ears pierced then we can decide. I wanted mine done in fifth grade and my mother took me at that time to a doctor who did them, no Piercing Pagodas at that time lol

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

This may not be popular maybe but what I hate is when they pierce babies' ears, I mean why, what if the child pulls them out or touches with poop hands and infects, or swallows, I don't know, don't you have enough to worry about with a baby? I will wait until the child wants and asks for their ears pierced then we can decide. I wanted mine done in fifth grade and my mother took me at that time to a doctor who did them, no Piercing Pagodas at that time lol

I feel like you’re doing it wrong if your baby regularly ends up with poop hands.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I feel like you’re doing it wrong if your baby regularly ends up with poop hands.

Haha, lol, was just being facetious. Who said regularly ends up with poop hands anyway, it only takes once or touch whatever and then touch your ears and get infected. Just think have enough issues with babies or toddlers, and really worry about swallowing. I don't like it, that's just me. Every time I see a little baby with pierced ears or even toddlers I say to myself, why. I personally don't even think it looks cute. Just me, we all have opinions.

 

[Cheburashka]

The OP and most people on the other thread only have an objection to males getting their ears pierced so I’m interested to know what’s so different than females?

It's typically a feminine thing to do. Most women have pierced ears, while most most men do not. Are there exceptions? Of course and there always have been, but the overall trend is divided by sex, with ear piercing usually reserved for females in mainstream society.

I would only allow a hypothetical daughter (I have a son only) to get pierced ears, and even in that case, I would only allow for one piercing per ear. No pierced ears for a boy, and no piercings in other locations for either sex, or any tattoos, while they're under my roof. I also require my son to have a neat haircut, to shave, and to wear proper clothing. I have standards - go figure. If he doesn't like it, he can rebel on his own dime once he's a fully independent adult.

 

[HiStitch626]

Haha, lol, was just being facetious. Who said regularly ends up with poop hands anyway, it only takes once or touch whatever and then touch your ears and get infected. Just think have enough issues with babies or toddlers, and really worry about swallowing. I don't like it, that's just me. Every time I see a little baby with pierced ears or even toddlers I say to myself, why. I personally don't even think it looks cute. Just me, we all have opinions.

You use earrings with locking backs for babies and toddlers so that they do not come off.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

It's interesting how people can be dead set that something is for "women" or "men" when those views are constructs of the world you grew up in. Times change and customs do too.

For reference, here is a picture of FDR at age 2:

https://medium.com/@NewAgeNews/why-is-president-franklin-d-roosevelt-wearing-a-dress-83fba3549523