What ear piercing means your gay

Keep reading to learn more about this earring trend and how it has evolved over time.

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. Or which side means what. T hese days, seldom does a 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.

What Does a Right : In some places, wearing an earring on the left ear can mean one thing, while in others, it means something else

In fact, most 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.

It is, however, a uniquely American conundrum. No one really seems to know where the adage originated. 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.

Eyebrowsnoses, tongues, nipplesand belly buttons would soon become even louder ways to make a statement. 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.

No longer is it that big of a deal that a cisgender, occasionally heterosexual man wears jewelry - not even those flashy beaded bracelets. What I think is missing with this generation is that no one has enough context.

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.

In the 20th century, a piercing in the right ear gained new significance for men, as it signaled ties to the LGBTQ community.

How did the ldquo :

On current rotation, Scully posits, is the septum piercing : equal parts rejection and an invitation, rooted in pleasure and pain. Clean, etc. A lot of people don't know why they're dressed the way they are. The page explores the history and controversy of the "gay ear" concept, which suggests that a left earring indicates heterosexuality and a right earring indicates homosexuality.

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. But the whole "gay ear" thing has always been ironic, considering its ever-changing position throughout history.

It also shows how celebrities and internet users challenge this outdated stereotype and embrace personal expression with earrings. Casting director and industry stalwart James Scully remembers his first encounter with the phenomenon, in the late '70s.

Any piercing during that time, Scully insists, would have been an act of defiance anyway - pre- or postpunk era. 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.

It was once even more vogue, and still is, to have multiple piercings in one ear. 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.

The concept of men wearing jewelry is an old one, dating back thousands of years. China has since banned men's earrings outright. Yet it helped earlier generations of queer people find each other in the crowd. Learn about the history of the "gay ear" stereotype and how it's changed over time.

Piercings have been in vogue for thousands of years, bearing specific meanings that reflected status, culture, and religious affiliations. Pre-Y2K and beyondit's been socially understood that wearing one earring on the right ear means someone is gay; the left, straight.

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. Find out how to choose and care for your ear piercing, whether you're gay or not.

Still, certain exceptions prevail.