What side is the gay ear
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But once your piercing has healed, there's a whole world of exciting earring types out there!
3 Gay Earring Types
Here are the three main types of earrings (along with their pros and cons):
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Studs - As you probably know, a stud is an earring with a straight post.
Landon Peoples is a POPSUGAR contributor.
Which Ear Is the Gay Ear? Which Ear Is the Straight Ear?
Which ear is the gay earring? In an era before the internet, dating apps, and widespread social acceptance, the Hanky Code and its successor, the ear piercing, allowed queer individuals to find community, companionship, and intimacy.
And just like with hoop earrings, dangling earrings might not be acceptable at all jobs or events.
Most experienced piercers recommend that you start out with studs. As society progressed, so too did the understanding and visibility of various communities. Maybe the right ear versus the left ear was less about sexuality than it was about attitude.
The idea of a "gay earring" based on which ear it's worn in is a stereotype that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
According to this outdated belief, wearing an earring in the right ear signified being gay, while the left ear was considered straight. What was once a subtle identifier gradually lost its singular resonance as its symbolism became diluted by a new wave of popularity.
The Mainstream Tidal Wave: Ear Piercings as a Fashion Statement
The most significant factor in the code’s decline was its enthusiastic embrace by mainstream culture, particularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
From the adventurous to the niche, a rainbow of colors conveyed a spectrum of desires.
Casting director and industry stalwart James Scully remembers his first encounter with the phenomenon, in the late '70s.
What started as a genuine system of Queer Coding, born from the practical necessity of the Hanky Code, became a powerful tool for community and survival during the Gay Liberation Movement.
Understanding this history allows us to appreciate the incredible journey from an era that required secret signals to one where personal style is celebrated as a form of pure self-expression.
Back then, men wearing an earring in their right ear were often perceived as gay. . They minimized ambiguity, increased safety, and fostered connections in a world that often forced their desires into the shadows.
This rich history of coded communication underscores how the gay community innovated to forge identity and connection, a theme that truly resonates with the broader spirit of the Gay Liberation Movement.
Beyond the initial, often playful, theories of its inception, the ear piercing truly crystallized its significance as it intertwined with a momentous period of social change.
Whispers of Defiance: How a Piercing Forged Community in a Hostile World
The mid-20th century marked a tumultuous yet transformative period for LGBTQ+ individuals, giving rise to the Gay Liberation Movement.
On average, getting a single ear pierced will cost between $20 and $50, although very high-end piercers may charge more. Here are some of the most common high-quality materials:
Gold - Gold is a great material for earrings, but not by itself -- 100% gold is too soft and often too expensive. Men and women of many sexual orientations pierce their ears (and other body parts) to convey their uniqueness and flare.
Wearing one on the right indicated the wearer was a bottom.
Should You Get a Gay Earring?
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Now that piercings have become much more mainstream, getting a piercing in the "gay ear" isn't the clear indicator that it once was. Twisting the piercing a couple of times daily will also discourage the piercing from closing.
Going Forward
If you've considered going for a gay earring (or really, any ear piercing at all), we hope that you now have the information you need to choose the right jewelry and piercing type.
In contemporary Australia, ear piercings are a means of self-expression; having an earring in the left, right, or both ears is more about personal style than sexual orientation.
Australians should keep loving diversity and openness while overcoming preconceptions and cherish uniqueness. What many now dismiss as a silly playground rule was once a potent and necessary form of non-verbal communication within the LGBTQ+ community.
A Code Born from Necessity
The story of the "gay ear" is not one of arbitrary fashion choices but is deeply intertwined with the history of queer coding and the Gay Liberation Movement.
To assess someone’s orientation solely on which ear they pierced is both inaccurate and reductive.
Ear piercings and self-expression in Australia
In modern Australia, piercings have become somewhat common means of self-expression. Because, as the studies show, it won't matter to a new youth who harnesses their power in being different anyway.
The only real downside is that it isn't quite as common as some of the other metals on the list.
Surgical steel - Surgical-grade steel is a great metal choice; it's body-safe, looks great, and is affordable, too! For the specific ear piercing code that once quietly signified gay identity, its ultimate debunking was a gradual, almost inevitable process, driven by both cultural evolution and increasing social acceptance.
The Fading of an Enigma: Cultural Evolution and Myth Debunking
Cultural evolution dictates that meanings, symbols, and even secret languages are not static; they adapt, transform, or simply fade into obscurity.
And, though influential, he doesn't expect designers like Kim Jones of Dior or Alessandro Michele at Gucci to push the rest of the world over the edge.