Which side of ear piercing is gay

Whether you’re new to piercings or looking to level up your look, here are five earring styles that queer folks often embrace for their boldness, uniqueness, or expressive flair. Uncover how this accessory acts as a badge of identity and expression today.

These days, fashion and its meanings are fluid. In his book The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body , Desmond Morris explains that earrings have indicated wisdom and compassion in the stretched earlobes of the Buddha, while pirates wore them in the belief it would protect them from drowning.

However, this is no longer true today. Earrings on guys have signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. Meanwhile, the left side was associated with women. Get styling tips to integrate the gay earring into modern fashion sensibilities.

Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within. This led to some confusion and stories began to circulate that there was a secret code, that to wear an earring in a pierced left ear was homosexual, and in a pierced right ear was rebel heterosexual.

However, earrings have also sparked debates over sexual identity, such as the concept of which ear is the gay ear, leading to stigmas over the left and right piercing. However, that's old news. The concept of which ear is the gay ear doesn't hold the same implication anymore. We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity.

Some time after that, of course, I made peace with the fact that I am gay. In the Elizabethan era, earrings were quite fashionable for men, he writes. A man in the U. If it were in my right ear, that would mean I was gay. Historically, the right side of the ear was pierced first, and it was associated with men.

At first it was assumed that the wearers were all effeminate homosexuals, but it soon became clear the the habit was spreading to the more avant-garde of the young heterosexuals. 1. From what I've gathered, there was a time when piercing your left ear was a discreet signal among men to indicate that they were gay.

Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. A notable example is the “gay ear.” The suggestion is that if a man had a specific ear pierced, it would indicate his sexual orientation. More Stories from MEL. That said, if you're gay, getting a right-ear piercing can be a kind of homage to the history of using a gay earring for signaling.

While there’s no single “gay earring,” some styles have become iconic in LGBTQ+ fashion—either through cultural history, symbolism, or pure aesthetic power. But as I grew up, it seemed like everyone I met, no matter their place of origin, knew and understood the earring code, as arbitrary as it seems.

In the past, men would get their right ear pierced to show that they were homosexuals. In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. Our gay ancestors came up with coded signals to tell others that you’re safe, supportive, or maybe even DTF, depending on the context.

Another guy got two piercings in his right ear in college, to which we all remarked that that he wanted everyone to know that he was a power bottom — which he is. What does Generation Z think of the whole gay code? In the end the male earring lost its sexual significance altogether, and simply became a generalized way of annoying middle-aged, latter-day puritans.

And in the 20th century, people got confused about which ear meant what: In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. The problem was that nobody could remember which was supposed to be which. But you also shouldn't feel like you can only have your right ear pierced -- there's nothing wrong with piercing the left ear if you think that looks better!.

Explore the historical significance of choosing a specific side for a gay earring.