piercing and boys

[Helen2]

Dear Guest,
Yes, we all enjoyed the experience, James hasn't stopped talking about it since he had them done. I going buy Brian and James each a pair of earrings for when the six week healing period is over. I am looking forward to that, in the meantime I am enjoying looking after their ears and making sure there is no problems. Brian has said he has received nothing but complements from the girls at work, they all love his highlighted hair and earrings. James said two of his friends now want their ears pierced.

[Sammi]

A few weeks ago i asked my husband whether he would wear earrings he said maybe but he not know whether earring would suit him. So i bought him a pair of magnetic studs which really suit him. Now he wears them all the time but he is very reluctant to go and have his ears pierced. How can i convince him that having his ears pierced is better than using these magnetic studs

[Hargrave]

Hello all. I came across this discussion board quite by chance, and I’ve been following this particular thread with interest for a week or so now. I would like to tell my story but it’s a bit of a long post so please bear with me.

I’m just a normal 30-something bloke and for many years I had wanted to get my ears pierced but I was never able to pluck up the courage. Many has been the time I have stopped outside Claires, looked at that chair in the window and thought “should I, should’nt I?”. As previous posters have said Claires’ girly atmosphere can be off-putting. Rather embarrassing for a man to sit in the front window for all the world to see.

Then in April last year I had a week off work for Easter. I went on a shopping trip to my local market town and found myself walking past the local branch of Claires. It’s not in some huge shopping mall but tucked discreetly out of the way in a quiet arcade.

Well, you can’t miss that big neon “Ear Piercing” sign in the window, and I just don’t know how but something in my head clicked and I found myself inside and at the counter asking the girl about ear piercing. She replied that her colleague did all the piercing, but she was away on her coffee break. If I came back in half an hour she would be in and able to help me.

I still could’nt believe what I was doing but I had 30 minutes to kill so found a local coffee shop, sat down and mulled things over. The time seemed to flash by and, again I don’t know how, I was soon back at Claires and sitting in that chair in the window. I picked a pair of silver ball studs and left the shop soon after with them in my ears. I can’t begin to tell you just how I felt. Very euphoric and feeling on top of the world.

The next few days were just fantastic and I spent as much time as I could going out and about with my new look. But then the doubts started to creep in. Just what had I done ? What would my family and friends say ? What would my work mates reaction be ?

I’m afraid that my sensible side came to the fore and I took out the studs. My lobes healed over without any fuss and no-one was any the wiser about my little adventure into fashion.

May, June and July came and went. It was now August and I had been lately thinking if I had done the right thing in April by taking the studs out. I had a holiday booked in Cornwall and saw it as a second chance to do something. To cut a longish story short I broke my journey in Exeter, found a body piercing emporium and had my ears pierced again. This time with closure ball rings using the needle method rather than a gun (not actually as painful and scary as it sounds). This time around I stayed the course, kept the rings in and hav’nt regretted it. My family have accepted my look, and I’ve heard nothing but good comments from my friends. As for work, well, my appearance did’nt go unnoticed. Yes, plenty of remarks on the first day back but that has been it.

All I can say to any man thinking about getting his ears pierced is “go for it”.

[Helen2]

Hargrave's story just shows how popular earrings are with boys and men. There is probably lots of men / boys out there that would like to have their ears pierced but are reluctant because of other peoples reactions. That coupled with the embarrassment of sitting in the window of your local Claires shop is enough to put most men off the idea. Let me reassure all you boys / men out there who are thinking that wearing earrings would be nice. Brian my husband has had no negative comments about his new look. Brian is a conservative kind of man sometimes annoying conservative but a couple of weeks ago Brian said to me that he was fed up with his hair and would like to have a new look. I said OK, i booked an appointment at the haidressers as i mentioned in a
previous post. Now Brian has spiky highlighted hair and pierced ears.
If Brian can do it anybody can.

[daddy]

Well done Helen2.
What a great experience for a dad and his lad to get their earings together. And well done James for still going through with it after the girl cried. Please let us know how the 'change' goes in six weeks.

[pierced mom]

piercing for boys or girls is fine if they choose it, my problem is when children are forced to pierced as babies. every person should have the right to choose for themseleves when they are at an age to understand whats involved.

[Guest]

I'd always secretly wanted to have my ears pierced.

After reading all the postings last night i decided to come clean and confessed to my wife that i wanted to have my ears done. To my surprise my wife was very supportive and we went down to the local Claires store today. After a couple of minutues i left the store with two new cubic zirconia studs one in each ear.

i wish i'd had it done years ago and to the rest of you boys that want to have it done, just go for it.

[Helen2]

Pierced Mom,
Totally agree with you, I think the desire to wear earrings has to come from the individual however I see nothing wrong in suggesting the possibility of wearing earrings to somebody as i did with Brian. I do not agree with having babies ears pierced male or female, James is 8 years old and totally understood what he was having done. I think it would be nice if it became the norm for boys to have their ears pierced as children as girls do now. Since James had his ears done last Sunday I have been thinking that perhaps I should have suggested it to him earlier, maybe before he started school. I say this because yesterday he came home from school saying that his PE teacher had told him to remove his earrings before his PE lesson, James told the teacher that he was not allowed to remove them so the teacher did not allow him to partake in the lesson. Obviously once the six weeks healing period is over it will be OK but now I cannot help wondering whether I should have said no to him having his ears pierced at all or whether I should have had him pierced at 4 / 5 years old before he started school.
I asked James whether he wanted me to remove his studs and let his ears heal but he said no.
Does anyone know whether 6 weeks is always necessary, I have heard of some people only keeping their piercing studs in for 3 or 4 weeks, its 25 years since I had my ears pierced so I cannot remember how long I kept my studs in.
Any help on this one would be appreciated.
Thanks!!!

[Hargrave]

Helen2,
Hmm, this is a bit of a tricky one. Six weeks is the usually recommended healing period and I think it would be sensible not to unduly rush the process along. Schools these days tend to be pretty hot on "health & safety" where PE is concerned, hence the requirement to remove jewellery. It looks like James will have to sit out his PE classes for the next 6 weeks. Alternatively will the school let James put some sticking plasters over his lobes for PE ? I think other schools allow this ? The trouble is that James will look a bit daft and he might not be keen on it.

Usually schools recommend that pupils get their ears pierced at the start of the summer holidays, so that by the beginning of the autumn term the ears have healed up nicely and earrings can be taken out safely. Prehaps James could take his studs out now and let his lobes heal up, to keep the PE teacher happy, and then at the start of the holidays you can take him to have his ears pierced again ?

[Pierced Mom]

Helen 2,

I totally agree with you regarding James, most eight year olds can understand the process and choose for themselves. I also see nothing wrong with suggestion as it can always be refused, still giving the individual the choice.
As for the school thing, my sons school allows boys/girls to wear a small plain stud/s. My advice is either let him use a plaster or sit out PE for the next 6 weeks, letting him heal now only to be re-done in the sumer hols would be unfair to James plus I would be concerned about keloid scarring as I am sure there is an increased risk if one is re-pierced

[Helen2]

Thanks Hargrave,
I understand the reasons why the school do not like pupils to wear earrings while doing PE. I feel really stupid now that I did not think of this problem on Sunday, I just got carried away with the situation at the time. I am sure James will not want to give up his earrings now even if I say he can have them re-pierced at the start of the summer holidays. I think his best friend is having his ears pierced this weekend because his mother was asking me where I had James done. She ended the conversation by saying that she would take Jack down to Claires at the weekend. If that happens then i think James will feel happier not sitting out PE on his own.
We shall see.

[Helen2]

Thanks Pierced Mom,
James is home from school now and I have just spoken to him and he is determined that his ear lobes remain pierced. James's school insists on the earrings being removed for PE, tape covering them up is not allowed.
James said he likes PE but its worth missing 6 lessons to make sure my ears heal properly.
I gave him a hug and told him that his ears looked great and the 6 weeks would over before he knows it

[WILL]

hey my names will im 14 and about 3 months ago i got mny ear pierced, tomorrow i am going to get the same ear pierced again beside the white gold stud in my earlobe anyway yeah it was kind of wierd getting them done because it was at peoples and its a really girly store it kinda felt uncomfortable but its worth it BE YOURSELF!

[exRocker]

Why would you let your young sons get their ears pierced, it's stupid and it looks horrible when they go for job interviews. Take it from me, i am a male with 5 total earring holes and 3 tattoos, teach them right, tell them no.

[Guest]

I am a 35 year old male and I wear 3 earrings in each lobe and one earring in the top of each ear. I change my earrings every day and I must have about 40 pairs of various style studs and small and medium sized hoops, I have been wearing earrings for over 20 years now (started with just my left ear done and gradually got more over the years)

I think earrings look good on anyone, male or female and if you like earrings then go for it, who cares what anyone else thinks, its you body and you may do with it whatever you like.