www.sixfingeredman.net
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12.06

So, here's the story about the earring.

The first thing Beibei asked was, "What did you do to your ear?" and "Why?" The main reason is, while in general vanity is bad, I don't see anything wrong with decorating our bodies. And I don't think it's fair that guys are stereotypically not allowed to do this as much as women. So I'm doing my part to make ear-pierced-guys that much more mainstream, and I get another avenue for self-expression.

Next: "Did it hurt?" No. It's almost exactly like getting a shot: a sharp pinch, a dull ache as the needle goes in, a weird sensation as the ring is inserted, and then nothing. Immediately afterwards it was slightly sore, and the weight of the ring was very strange, but within a couple hours I couldn't even feel it.

Finally: "Why a ring?" This takes more explanation. Most people get their ears pierced with a piercing gun. This gun was originally used for tagging the ears of cattle; It cannot be sterilized, and even though the gun itself doesn't penetrate the ear, it comes into contact with the skin. The stud that is punched through the ear is blunt, causing trauma to the tissue -- hair and dirt can also get trapped inside the piercing or the butterfly clip on the back of the stud. Finally, the studs are too short to accomodate thick earlobes or swelling.

The benefits of an actual piercing, then, as opposed to a "shooting", are:

1. more sanitary
2. more comfortable
3. stays cleaner during healing
4. heals more quickly

Not to mention I got to visit an actual piercing studio, which was quite cool. The girl who did the piercing was very nice, explaining everything and taking her time even though it was just a plain-vanilla lobe-piercing.

I can change earrings after about a month. I already got a cute little "gnome footprint" earring just for this purpose. All in all, I'm very satisfied.

For more information on just about every kind of piercing, visit the rec.arts.bodyart piercing FAQ.