Men & Pierced Ears: Sexy or Not?

[PKTrekGirl]

GOTH KID
If you want to be a non-conformist, you have to look like us, think like us, and listen to the same music we do.​

Exactly! And the same can be said about the so-called "Hipsters" of today. Their 'mantra' (and of course, as soon as it's a mantra, you have conformity, don't you?) with regard to music is "If you have heard of them, I don't like 'em!"

There is a 'dress code' of sorts...an 'approved music list' of sorts (I think you ARE 'allowed' to like The Decemberists, but all else must be totally obscure. So sort of a 'negative inclusion' sort of 'list', if you will), etc.

So much for non-conformity.

PKTrekGirl, it's astonishing to think certain circles still think like that in this day and age - how Victorian.

Well, I certainly agree with you, An Officer. Although they of course don't refer to these standards as 'Victorian' - they term it 'Professionalism'.

But although my profession is one of the more conservative ones, the whole business world is like this, to varying degrees, isn't it? I mean, what purpose does a necktie serve? Think about it: what's the point? Diddo hose on women.

Do these uncomfortable trappings, which are standard business wear, make a person a better businessman or woman? I don't think so....but they are nevertheless required.

Personally, I think everyone would do a much better job if they were comfortable. But hey...that argument is a non-starter, in my (and in most, for that matter) professional circles.

 

[TheSeeker]

I may be a little biased but I think it looks pretty damn good (both my ears are pierced) even if I am almost 40.

 

[trampledamage]

You also asked the question up-thread, about what occupation has to do with piercings, and why someone would adhere to a specific look. And I can certainly respond to that question. In certain professions (such as my own, for example), a guy having piercings of any kind, and a girl having piercings past what might be considered 'conservative' (1 or maybe 2 in each ear, none anywhere else) would be completely unacceptable. What we call in the accounting racket a 'CLM' - Career Limiting Move.

Yeah, tattoos and piercings were both frowned upon when I worked for an IT consultancy - mainly because we did work for the big London investment banks and some of them are very strict on their dress codes. It's gradually relaxing, but back when mr trampledamage started he was told he couldn't have long hair so he had to cut it short.

On pierced ears - mr trampledamage has both ears pierced, and when he's not at work he wears small silver ball closure ear-rings. He's always had ear-rings for all the time I've known him, so I'm used to it. But I'm completely squeamish about piercings and there's no way I could actually put his rings in for him.

I think for me, I don't find pierced ears themselves sexy, but I like the rest of the look that goes with it - rocker, punk etc. The ears are just along for the ride

 

[Goliath]

Do these uncomfortable trappings, which are standard business wear, make a person a better businessman or woman? I don't think so....but they are nevertheless required.
Personally, I think everyone would do a much better job if they were comfortable. But hey...that argument is a non-starter, in my (and in most, for that matter) professional circles.

That's because some things have always been considered more important than comfort. The idea that everyone should be comfortable at all times, and that people should be able to dress casually in any situation, is an extremely recent development.

Formal clothing serves two basic cultural functions;

--it advertises your own substance and importance;

--it shows that you take your social situation and social role seriously.

By contrast, casual clothing basically says: "I'm a lightweight, and I don't attach any particular importance to what I'm doing." It also says: "I don't attach any particular importance to you, or to how I look or present myself to you."

This is why people are still expected to get dressed up for life's important rites of passage, like weddings and funerals. Or job interviews, or court appearances, or dates. It's also why patients prefer their doctors to look clean and smart, with a lab coat and a name tag. It's reassuring. Your doctor may not be particularly competent--but at least they display the signs of competence.

 

[thestrangequark]

GOTH KID
If you want to be a non-conformist, you have to look like us, think like us, and listen to the same music we do.​

Exactly! And the same can be said about the so-called "Hipsters" of today. Their 'mantra' (and of course, as soon as it's a mantra, you have conformity, don't you?) with regard to music is "If you have heard of them, I don't like 'em!"

There is a 'dress code' of sorts...an 'approved music list' of sorts (I think you ARE 'allowed' to like The Decemberists, but all else must be totally obscure. So sort of a 'negative inclusion' sort of 'list', if you will), etc.

So much for non-conformity.

This is where I disagree; I just don't believe that everyone is ultimately conformist. I know too many people who are true to themselves to believe this. Sure, there are a lot of people who don't recognize that their efforts to be alternative are ultimately just another form of conformity -- that's the point I was trying to make, that those "alternative" dudes who go all out to fit a specific look or type are just as (if not more) conformist than the business man with the hoop in his ear.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I'm not big on piercings in general, given that they, y'know, pierce. I've always wondered who the first person was to say, "Hey, wouldn't it be a great idea to puncture ourselves with sharp objects and walk around with them sticking out of us?"

I've had the same thoughts about eating lobster.

ROFL at the timing: I was served a grilled lobster tail for lunch today, only the second or third time in my life that I've eaten lobster. And I'm STILL wondering why people rave about it.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

I may be a little biased but I think it looks pretty damn good (both my ears are pierced) even if I am almost 40.

With all due respect to Orion Slave Girl.....i have to agree with you.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Formal clothing serves two basic cultural functions;

--it advertises your own substance and importance;

--it shows that you take your social situation and social role seriously.

To me, formal costuming says, "I find appearance more important than substance and am therefore likely to be superficial in other aspects of life as well."

I'm not big on piercings in general, given that they, y'know, pierce. I've always wondered who the first person was to say, "Hey, wouldn't it be a great idea to puncture ourselves with sharp objects and walk around with them sticking out of us?"

I've had the same thoughts about eating lobster.

ROFL at the timing: I was served a grilled lobster tail for lunch today, only the second or third time in my life that I've eaten lobster. And I'm STILL wondering why people rave about it.

It's not so much the taste, which I can take or leave, as the idea that somebody looked at one of those giant bugs and thought it looked yummy. I suppose it's far more likely that he was very, very desperate.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

That's because some things have always been considered more important than comfort. The idea that everyone should be comfortable at all times, and that people should be able to dress casually in any situation, is an extremely recent development.

Formal clothing serves two basic cultural functions;

--it advertises your own substance and importance;

--it shows that you take your social situation and social role seriously.

By contrast, casual clothing basically says: "I'm a lightweight, and I don't attach any particular importance to what I'm doing." It also says: "I don't attach any particular importance to you, or to how I look or present myself to you."

This is why people are still expected to get dressed up for life's important rites of passage, like weddings and funerals. Or job interviews, or court appearances, or dates. It's also why patients prefer their doctors to look clean and smart, with a lab coat and a name tag. It's reassuring. Your doctor may not be particularly competent--but at least they display the signs of competence.

Thank you, Goliath - this sums up very well the rationale used in my professional circles for the idea of dressing the part. You said it alot better than I did though.

This is where I disagree; I just don't believe that everyone is ultimately conformist. I know too many people who are true to themselves to believe this. Sure, there are a lot of people who don't recognize that their efforts to be alternative are ultimately just another form of conformity -- that's the point I was trying to make, that those "alternative" dudes who go all out to fit a specific look or type are just as (if not more) conformist than the business man with the hoop in his ear.

Well, speaking as one who, believe me, has always been considered very bohemian by pretty much everyone who knows her...even those of us who are for the most part 'true to ourselves' (often at GREAT personal cost, I might add - at least in my case), have to conform sometimes if we want to get along in life: have a job, for example. And in many social structures, even have friends.

But to really 'get ahead', often a still higher degree of conformity is required - not just in superficial areas such as dress & appearance, but even in matters of overall mindset and life values. Which is one of the chief reasons I am not a partner in a Big 4 Accounting Firm today. Let's just say that there is only so far I could force myself to go in an effort to 'fit the mold'. I swallowed down as much as I was able...and then I just couldn't swallow any more.

Very likely I am in the wrong profession to begin with. But I don't know anyone who has always been able to remain true to self under all circumstances.

Not that very many people in my professional circles seem AT ALL concerned about that. Remaining true to self seems to be of alarmingly low priority to many, many people.

And frankly, there are many days where I wish I could be more like them and less like me. Life would be a whole lot easier - that much is certain.

 

[Goliath]

To me, formal costuming says, "I find appearance more important than substance and am therefore likely to be superficial in other aspects of life as well."

Yeah, I went through a phase like that.

Looking back, though, my own attitude was every bit as affected as the business clothing I despised.

As the saying goes: it cost a fortune to keep Gandhi living in poverty.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I'm of two minds about professional appearance. Actually, In my line of work personal look doesn't matter a lot, but if you can be a brilliant scientist, you can just as well be a good-looking brilliant scientist.

On one hand, I abhor the suited drones that roam the city at lunch time: the look like real-life replicants, fake from their leather shoes to their styled hair. I have always to repress the urge to shoot them to see if they regenerate, T-1000 style.

On the other hand, suits (or variations thereof) do look good, sharp, and smart. If my lawyer (physician, accountant, whatever) came to me with a scrubby beard, unkempt hair, baggy clothes and a pair of dirty sneakers, I wouldn't like it.

So my personal preference is some kind of standardized clothes (for a man, it means a suit or at least a blazer), plus some personal effects that tells me I'm talking to a real, living human being, not a plastic replica. So I welcome earrings, tattoos, funny ties, Mickey Mouse watch, Converse shoes, whatever.

I am aware that sounds incredibly affected, but what the hell.

 

[Goliath]

No, that makes perfect sense to me.

 

[RJDiogenes]

To me, formal costuming says, "I find appearance more important than substance and am therefore likely to be superficial in other aspects of life as well."

Yeah, I went through a phase like that.

Well, my phase has lasted about fifty years so far. I'm beginning to suspect it might be permanent.