What is the gay side of ear piercing

No one really seems to know where the adage originated. Lyst, a company that tracks online shoppers' behavior, claims searches for men's earrings rose by percent from to see: Lil Nas X, Jared Leto, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny. Coleman and Theo Sandfort discuss the fact that straight Russian men would often mark their first sexual act with women by piercing their right ear as a way to ward off unwanted advances from gay men.

You might recall hearing that if a man wore an earring on the right ear, that meant he was gay. For men, this myth historically claimed a piercing in the right ear meant they were gay, while the left ear was for straight men.

Even today, one of the most unshakeable cultural signifiers has been the "mono" piercing — more precisely, and befuddling, on which ear it's placed and what it says about your sexuality. These days, seldom does a cool piercing trend stick around for longer than a few weeks before a neologism replaces the one before it, permeating the halls of TikTok or Instagram and causing all of us to second-guess what was once considered mainstream — only to then swap a coveted wardrobe staple for the latest passing fad.

Pre-Y2K and beyondit's been socially understood that wearing one earring on the right ear means someone is gay; the left, straight. Find men's jewelry trends here!. But the whole "gay ear" thing has always been ironic, considering its ever-changing position throughout history.

In the 20th century, a piercing in the right ear gained new significance for men, as it signaled ties to the LGBTQ community. The concept of men wearing jewelry is an old one, dating back thousands of years. Any piercing during that time, Scully insists, would have been an act of defiance anyway — pre- or postpunk era.

Yet it helped earlier generations of queer people find each other in the crowd. A article in The New York Times perpetuating the stereotype seemed to solidify the historical hearsay as the widely known style taboo many can't quit today.

Still, certain exceptions prevail. Which ear is the gay ear? Eyebrowsnoses, tongues, nipplesand belly buttons would soon become even louder ways to make a statement. No longer is it that big of a deal that a cisgender, occasionally heterosexual man wears jewelry — not even those flashy beaded bracelets.

Historically, the right ear was identified in cruising culture as the "gay ear piercing" side, but does it hold the same relevance and meaning in ?. Read more for the truth behind the complicated history of the gay ear concept.

Piercings have been in vogue for thousands of years, bearing specific meanings that reflected status, culture, and religious affiliations. Which ear is the gay ear, left or right earring? It was once even more vogue, and still is, to have multiple piercings in one ear.

It's true, though, that " dropping a hairpin " — the precursor to signaling a way to drop a subtle hint to someone that you, too, were gay — was both harmful and helpful. It is, however, a uniquely American conundrum.

China has since banned men's earrings outright. Keep reading to learn more about this earring trend and how it has evolved over time. At the same time, the left ear is straight. The "gay ear" myth is an outdated stereotype that a piercing in a specific ear indicates a person’s sexual orientation.

Despite recent data and celebrities supporting otherwise, the demagogic proverb "Left is right and right is wrong" has been a whisper placed upon gay and straight men and their piercers for decades. On current rotation, Scully posits, is the septum piercing : equal parts rejection and an invitation, rooted in pleasure and pain.

Yet further findings, like the fact that "mono earring" queries are popular, suggest many are curious about different types of piercingsspecifically embellishing one ear only — proof that a single earring, and which lobe it lives oncan say everything or nothing at all.

Clean, etc. And according to ancient Chinese belief, the left earring meaning also symbolized that a person's life had been endangered, and to prevent a recurrence, an earring was worn to prevent bad luck. Or which side means what. Casting director and industry stalwart James Scully remembers his first encounter with the phenomenon, in the late '70s.

In fact, female gay icons royals were adorned in as many gems and as much gold as women — if not more, depending on the occasion — making the sight of guys wearing pearls today, for instance, more a reflection of where we've come from than where we're headed.