I have already communicated with my irish friend via PM.

I will "Chock full O' humour" you in a second.

P.S.: You have obviously never seen me in a prom dress, or you would reconsider your choice of date.

P.P.S.: I put out on a first date, fyi

You are sending a message with a piercing. However, the message is ambiguous at best. I suggest that it is best to avoid sending a message that you are pretty sure is going to be misinterpreted by a great many people.
You specifically asked if the piercings made people feel threatened or made them look down on the one pierced. From this I assume these are fairly common results.
I conclude that if you have something to say and want to have an influence on society, you should avoid things that will interfere with your ability to do so.

Edited my post to make it more clear...

Much love, brother

Much love.

As with most things in life... they don't bother me. I personally would not get a piercing... only because I am rough with my body (I like to touch, rub, scratch, roll around, skid, slide and be really physical) and a piece of metal in my skin would get irritated in the worst of ways. Plus, BigBen's paramedic friend has severely scared the shit out of me.

I have no opinion of people who get piercings. Everyone is free to do what they want with themselves.

I personally have one tattoo. It has meaning to me, it's simple, it's not on display, and everyone who has had a chance to get intimate with it has commented on it's favorable aesthetics and originality. I think trying to apply a stereotype to anyone who goes through body modification is fairly misguided.

Yes, but how do you look in heels?


Frightening thoughts my cross-dressing Canadian comrade, frightening thoughts. :p

I hear he looks just like Corp. Klinger... :lol:

I enjoy piercings. I don't have any but if my parents and relatives wouldn't go absolutely apeshit (even though I'm 21 years old) I would have a couple. Not to be different, but just to create my own self image that I think looks the best. I think people who have a big deal with piercings are just looking for something to argue about. It's just piercings. Good God. Let's worry about something more important like poverty.

I understand it's the standard, but I don't "get" the whole "don't go to an interview with a visible piercing/tattoo" thing. Anybody who thinks like that is too close-minded for me to work for anyway.

I've had my job for close to 7 years. My long(er) hair and piercings don't affect my performance at work in the slightest, so I really don't see a problem with them. Also, before anyone says anything, yes I used to work with customers, and most of them were in their 50s-80s, and I still see them occasionally when I have to do what I used to do before I moved up. Most of them just talk shit jokingly about magnets, or lightning rods... whatever, but they're certainly not threatened.

It seems people just can't be different yet without other people trying to either read too much into it, or just being put off by it, and here I was thinking variety was the spice of life. Silly me.

i have no opinion on other people getting piercings.
but i simply cannot stand eyebrow piercings or those diamond l ooking studs girls get in their noses.
i hate to say it but when i see those two i do get a bit biased and tend t think negatively toawrds the eyebrow (good charlotte style poser punks come to mind, but this is mostly due to the people i was around who had these.)
as for the nose stud thing. its just a turn off for me. Although i dont mind the ring through the nose like a bull has.

All that said, i dont have any piercings although several times i seriously contemplated getting one.

I didn't read this thread. I really don't care to. I'm just going to answer Akito's question, What do you think of piercings?

I had a few when I was younger, between 18-21. But I soon realized something. In the words of one of my favorite instructors, "It says do not hire me." I want to be a teacher and I think I should look professional. I've seen a sub with an eyebrow piercing and I thought "Are you trying to look like a student?" You can look professional and relate to students on many levels.

I don't have much of a problem with them myself. It's not my thing, though I love my tatoos. But, when I see someone with a face full of metal, the only thing I can think is I know what my opening move wil be be if I get in a fight with them. Grab and yank. Really though, it boils down to the person on weather or not they look good. Some people they work on, some people they just make look like freaks. Yours looks pretty good Akito. It suits your face well. You can pull the look without looking like a reble without a clue or tough guy wanna be. But you if you ever get into a fight with me, I'm going to rip it out. :) (j/k)

Haha thanks for the compliment Seer666. I used to have 2 more piercings on my face, but I took those out because I found the belief of "less is more". So now it's just my labret and earrings. :)

But yes, if i got in a fight with someone, all they would need to do is grab hold of the spike and yank it out, I'm sure I'd be down for the count at that point. :(

Personally, I have nothing against piercings, but I'm not really into them. I don't really feel like poking holes in myself, but I have nothing against people who do. Most piercings dont look all that bad, but some look pretty dumb. So yeah, I'm pretty indifferent to piercings.

i forgot to add onto my earlier post the reason i changed my mind about piercings anywhere on my body was the movie "Payback".

akito: to answer your question, I think you rock the piercing well. As for my feelings on piercings on others: usually I think "Hey, that piercing looks good on them" or "Damn, that wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing thing for them to have pierced"...that's it. I don't think "They must have a huge political agenda" or anything like that. I mean, I've got several piercings and you know what hidden meaning they have? I LIKE PIERCINGS. that's it. Nothing super important. I just like the look of them. I don't crave pain or rebellion or attention...I just like the way that my piercings look on me.

I love piercings...
...on other people.

The same way I feel about tattoos. I think it is a fabulous way to ornament yourself if that is how you want to do it. My only reservation about it is the risk for some viral or bacterial infections if it is done improperly.

That being said, I love looking at them and I love asking people about their piercings. Piercings are art, and that means that appreciating them is truly subjective. I love all forms of art and this one happens to include the artist's own body...very cool.

And akito, your labret spike is beautiful. I think it looks great on you. :)

I just had my belly button pierced have 2 in each ear (though I think one set is closed due to forgetting they are there) and 2 tattoos. I came looking for piercing info for a friend and found this thread. I think sometimes it depends on the person the piercings are on. Just like a leather jacket looks better on one person than another, or certain shoes or pants a piercing is a personal statement and either fits that person or not. I am never afraid of someone just because they have a piercing or tat, in fact most of the time I am so busy checking out tats I forget to look at faces lol. I also read t-shirts and it is equivalent to me. People that are offended because you openly looka t their body statements are silly because if they didn't want them looked at they would have covered them. Sort of reminds me of people that come in to a thread and spike it just to get a reaction.

More power to people to express themselves and at least they aren't hurting anyone else as you can do with drugs, alcohol and other "expressions".

I like piercings, I wish I could still have my ear pierced (military life won't allow it). Your piercing looks good on you, you still look like a "good kid" IMO. I love piercings and tats on girls though. I think they can accentuate them quite well. I have my two tats on my arms, they don't show with T-Shirts just barely. I want another on my back. I think piercings can look good on people as long as they don't go over board, by covering themselves with them. I personally like some sleeves, and would get one if my wife wouldn't flip and it didn't look bad at an interview IMO.

Most everyone who has a tattoo or a piercing seems to agree that they send a message, and the message can be very powerful. However, the message received varies enormously and depends more on the recipient than the sender.

It does not seem in ones best interest to send an unknown but powerful message that you know for certain many people will (mis)interpret in a undesirable manner. That tends to support the conclusion that a tattoo or piercing is indicative of bad judgment.
Incidentally, this is one of the messages that many people report receiving.

They are definitely career-limiting in quite a few fields.

Why are pierced ears an exception? There is no logical explanation other than that they are common enough that they do not send the messages.

I personally hate both piercings and tattoos. I don't see the purpose of either, except to get a rise out of people (which really isn't a good reason to be doing body alteration, IMO). Chances are, I probably wouldn't date any girl with piercings/tattoos (outside of a single piercing in each ear). I just find it a huge turn-off.

I'm a guy and have only my left ear pierced, I have nothing against piercings. I do however often mention to people that piercings of the mouth are never a sensible idea. It has nothing to do with looks, it's just the simple fact that your mouth is a large vat of bacteria. Also, a major issue with mouth piercings is they tend to be situated in a way that they rub on your teeth, slowly grinding away that precious enamal (sp?) that protects your teeth from cavities (I've worked with a dentist for a while).

Just my two cents worth

I have no problem with piercings, although I have no desire to get one. I have two tattoos, and want to get another but I have to get the design. People with tats/piercings don't bother me either. When I worked in customer service in a small, conservative town in NC, there was a young man who came in every week to cash his paycheck. He had full sleeves on both arms, a septum piercing, a labret, several ear piercings, and wore leather cuffs, spiked boots, etc. People would give him worried looks and whisper behind his back when he came in. He was one of the nicest, most polite customers I ever served, and people automatically assumed he was a thug or criminal. I guess it's just easy to judge someone based on tats and piercings, but as it becomes a little more common I hope this changes.

I love piercings! They are a huge turn on for me. I myself have only 3, my tongue and both my nipples. I had my ears done and my bellybutton but just grew out of them. As for the remaining ones i have, I got them for myself. It wasnt because it was trendy or anything. :thumbsup:

I have my ears pierced once in each lobe, but that's it. I had it small gold studs during my accident, and got a gouge behind the ear, but the earlobe itself didn't rip.

I don't particlarly find tatoos or piercings attractives on girls as a matter of taste, but neither do I object to them. I find them less objectionable on guys as, again as a matter of taste rather than a value judgement. I do find myself more easily intimidated by a guy with a lot of tatoos and piercings than one who is more clean cut, but I'm not sure why. It would be one part of the whole package, along with dress and demeanor, and not an all encompassing thing.

Gilda

Two tattoos for me. One on the shoulder, one on the right chest. I plan on getting more when I have more time/funds. However, I plan to place them on body parts that will be covered if I wear a t-shirt. I guess my body will be rather cluttered soon, since I really don't want to tattoo my legs :lol:

As for me, when I was younger, I was intimidated by people with lots of piercings and/or tattoos. But as I grew older, I learned not to judge people by their looks. Lots of people with tattoos/piercings are nice people who just want to express theirselves.

I have tattoos, but no piercings. I think I'm one of the folks Mherlee was talking about when she said that not everybody looks good in a leather jacket. Piercings would look out of place on me.

I think they look cool on other people, but I would look odd with them...

well to me , its each its own. i'm unable to pierce my body, the mere fact that keliods would grow. but i'm sure if i was able to i would have love to express myself with piercings.

Personally, I really dont care if someone has piercings, with One exception...Female genital piercing will immediately remove any desire I have, and I have no Idea why. As for facial/Body art....sometimes I think its wicked cool to see, unless its overdone.

I think piercings look good unless the person goes overboard on them - just like tattoos. Like, having 3 or 4 piercings is fine, but after a while you start looking less like a person and more like a pincushion.

I wouldn't ever get certain things pierced myself (P.A. comes to mind), but I don't judge people who get the more unusual ones.

Piercing and tattooing doesn't really bother me.

I mean, sometimes it seems that every other girl at school has a banner across her lower back, with her nose and belly button pierced, but they don't bother me.

The only time I was remotely bothered by piercings (that I can recall, at least) was when I first saw a girl in my physics class that had two barbells through each of her cheeks, four studs down each eyebrow, and gigantic colourful goddesses tattooed to her arms and back.

That was a bit much.

Yikes boy!! You are a mighty cute one!

Anyway I had my labret done. I got the same shit from my family. Enough to get me to take it out. My mom about died.

I don't see anything wrong with the piercing. I think it looks really good on you. Do whatever makes you feel good.