A Piercing Look at Piercings

By Lakia Anderson

Staff Writer

Did you know back in 1500 in most places around the world body piercings were a fashion trend? In Egypt body piercings were an indication of how much money you had. Only the higher class got to wear certain piercings.

When Caesar ruled, Romans would have piercings to show their strength and their patriotism was also mentioned in articles on the Internet.

A study by Rutgers University found that Gauntlet, an international chain of body piercing shops, reported 30,000 or more piercings per year in the U.S. They also found in the study that 63% of college-aged students (18-22) have some sort of body piercing.

Why do people pierce? That’s a question that can be answered in many interesting ways. One of the most popular reasons for body piercings, according to an article by Expert Body Piercing, is the way they look. Many people say it looks cool or it shows off their most beautiful features. Some do it for change

or a special event that has occurred or is occurring. Others may do it to hide their image. Studies also show that people will get piercings due to peer pressure or as a way of rebelling against parents. Most girls with piercings prefer to get their belly, nose, ears, and tongue pierced. Most boys get pretty much everything else done. Researchers found that women accounted for almost three fourths of the people around the world with body piercings, not including earlobes. Ear piercings apparently are popular with both genders. Ear piercings are known to be done on babies as young as 2.

To get teens’ opinions I did a series of interviews with my peers at Crotona Academy High School. Brittany C. a student with a total of three piercings said, “I just like them.” She said she plans to keep most of them. Actually, one of the positive things about piercings in this reporter’s mind is the fact that you can easily get rid of them by simply taking them out. This is unlike tattoos, which are more difficult to get rid of but can be removed.

I also got the chance to interview Leyla another student at Crotona. She said her reasoning for getting her four piercings was her mother. Since she had seen her mother with piercings, she thought they looked cool. She also said, “They express me.” She said she plans on keeping all of them and adding more to her collection.

I also had the privilege of interviewing Annisha H. who has 16 piercings! When asked why she has the piercings and their meaning she said, “ I love body art.” She also said there is a downside to her piercings because she attracts the opposite sex a lot and people ask her a lot of questions.

Brandon Morrison also had something to say about piercings. He has his ears and tongue pierced. “It’s cool for style,” he said. He also said it attracts the opposite sex.

In general according to my data and research, I have seen that piercings can be meaningful to some but just a fashion statement or fad to others. Everyone has a different reason for getting piercings whether it is for pleasure, beauty, or just to look or feel cool.