Piercing Look At Society example essay topic

A Piercing Look at Society " If it sticks out, pierce it" is a motto for body piercing. In the past decade, body piercing has "steadily evolved" to be part of a trendy fashion statement that is spreading like Parker throughout the American society. "Body piercing is an American style fad". (Wattenberg) The influence of fashion is the most powerful pressure there is. The once rebel art of body piercing done only by so called "freaks" of society is now a trendy fashion practiced by many. The trend of body piercing was partially sparked by models and MTV.

"Piercing gradually shed its outlaw image and was mass marketed to the impressionable generation by music videos, rock stars, and models". (Leo) Piercings are also found on celebrities whose lives are so torn apart by the media that nothing is kept secret. News would eventually reach the public, which would spark a trend in admirers. Piercing also appears on the Tattoodles Doll in toy stores, and as games on the Internet such as Piercing Mildred.

Through these style of piercing has grown to become acceptable by all ages from children means the playing with Tattoodles, to teens watching MTV, to adults on the Internet. Body piercing has excelled so much that it is now on a level referred to as body art along with tattoos. "Piercing is part of the broader "body modification" movement". (Leo) It is figured that 1 out of 10 people have a piercing some where other than their ear. Today's social standards are not what they once were. Society has begun to relax on what is viewed as the ideal image.

It has gone from the conservative middle class look to the open-minded, anything goes creative look. The point is not to look like the crowd anymore; rather to differentiate oneself and make a statement to the rest of society. One doesn't have to have the nicest or most business like look to get far. "Society has a tendency to indefinitely relax its standards to accommodate even more bizarre and anti- social extremes of behavior". (Wattenberg) Piercing achieved mainstream recognition in American society in the 1990's.

More people began to accept it. One newspaper put it well - "It moved from society's margins to the mainstream". (Leo) Piercing used to be done by "outcasts of society and was often looked down upon, but now, body piercing studios expand by about one studio per day. Piercings are far more mainstream than parents realize". (Lord) People of all ages get pierced for many different reasons. "The yearning to irritate parents and shock middle class... seems to rank high as a motive for getting pierced repeatedly".

(Leo) A teenager's reason may be just that. They know what gets their parents' goat and rebel to the fullest known extreme. Some choose to be pierced because they want to seem daring. This is chosen to perhaps gain the respectful opinion of peers. Others choose to be pierced because it's fashionable. Fashion statements are always being made, and someone has to be there to make them.

Expressing rage is also a reason for getting pierced. Many believe that the pain of the initial puncture is exhilarating. This releases adrenaline and is thought to be very addictive. Individualizing oneself from society by expressing a creative fashion statement is a desire many have. Everyone wants to be recognized and many use piercing as a way to receive the attention they deserve. Wanting to commemorate an event in a person's life is also a popular reason for being pierced.

People use the mark of a piercing as a remembrance to something of value. "Some kids are just doing it because it is the thing to do". (Mullenhouse) However, the rebel-teen is not the only part of society taking advantage of this fashionable body art. "The young body art enthusiasts come from all income levels and ethnic groups". (Lord) On any given day, people such as students, professionals, and even senior citizens are apt to walk into a piercing studio and get some sort of body piercing. Body piercing is not only getting done to "freaks" like it once was, but the upper class people are getting in on this trend as well.

At one time, it was thought that only those that were unintelligent would do something like puncture their skin in order to look fashionable but the truth is, a majority of people who are pierced have an A or B average. Celebrities are another group of society who seems to have taken a part in this growing trend. "One Miss America contestant even bared a bellybutton ring in this past years pageant". (Lord) It is known that Calgary, Canada has a population of 800,000 people and about 40,000 of them are customers going into studios to be pierced. This does not include repeat customers. (Mullenhouse) "The days when body piercers could draw stares by wearing multiple earrings and a nose stud are long gone".

(Leo) It seems now days that if someone doesn't have a body piercing they are the one's being stared at. Body piercing is so common that people with a piercing are naturally found in the everyday, average, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. work place. Body piercing, however, is not limited to the ear anymore. Actually, it seems that piercing is not confined to any certain part of the body. Piercing has moved from the ear, to the nose, to some of the most intimate areas of the human body.

"Metal rings and bars hang from eyebrows, noses, nipples, lips, chins, cheeks, navels, and (for that neo-Frankenstein look) from the side of the neck. Some of the same middle-class folks who decry genital mutilation in Africa are paying to have needles driven through the scrotum, the labia, the clitoris, or the head of the shaft of the penis. Many genital piercings have their own names, such as the Anpallang or the Prince Albert". (Lord) Many people even use the excuse that tongue and genitalia piercings enhance sexual pleasure, as a reason for receiving such a dramatic piercing. Another sort of piercing that has not reached the mainstream as of yet, but soon will is the under-the-skin piercing. These piercings are supposed to make your skin look like it has a texture to it.

One last type of piercing is the new Teflon and coral inserts. These are basically used to provide the look of having "devil's horns". The inserts bond directly onto the person's skull under the skin. Body piercing is a form of body art along with tattooing.

"And as popular as tattooing is, the demand for body piercing has begun to surpass it". (Leo) For one, piercing runs $20 to $50, while tattoos can be anywhere from the starting price of $100 on up. The American people are always worrying about money anyway so going with the cheaper alternative is only sensible. The results of a piercing are also less permanent. Most of the time, if someone just removes the jewelry, the hole will close on its own. With the knowledge of knowing one's decision is not completely permanent, one would usually choose to be pierced rather than tattooed.

Tattoos are also a hundred times more painful than the initial puncture of a piercing. A lot of people also cannot stand the thought of pain, which is another reason to avoid the pain of being tattooed by just getting pierced. Teens like the concept of being pierced better because access is much easier. Most studios do not even check identification or ask for a parental form to be signed. Piercings also take up less space, so they are not as noticeable and can easily be hidden.

With this in mind, teens view piercing as a way to go against their parents wishes and yet not be caught. Teens have a need to individualize themselves and this is the perfect opportunity. "The body art fad of piercing is 'nothing pathological'". (Lord) This trendy form of body art has just come out of the closet and moved into society's mainstream. It is about time that society has given appreciation to the creative minds of all sorts of art. The United States of America is a country of freedom and liberty and the right to make choices.

People as a whole are called to be all that they can be and if all that they can be is an expressive individual then society is called to accept that. Being original is not necessarily a bad thing. For instance, Albert Einstein and Leonardo Di Vince were quite unique but they are viewed as two of the greatest minds ever known to man. People have a right to differentiate themselves and piercing is just a way of individualizing one's self. "Piercings are just signs of a life lived".

(Leo) If the general public has learned to accept heavy metal music, rap music, baggy pants, and tattoos, then why shouldn't society approve of body piercing as a beautiful form of art? Why does society feel they have the right to dictate what is thought of as the "ideal" image? Who gives them the right to decide what is acceptable and what is not? Who really is society to tell the people of the United States of America, a free country, what they can wear, who they can see, what they can listen to, what they can read, and what is defined as art?

The people of this country need to stand together, to tell society, that they have the right to be who they want to be and that they can show it in anyway they feel is responsible. Society needs to understand that to live in a society means banding together but yet being individuals..