OK. While I'm on a roll of superficial topics...what about body piercing?
I draw a distinction between pierced ears and other kinds of piercing. I don't know if that's because pierced ears are so common or if it's because I know that a pierced earlobe is much less likely to get infected than pierced cartilage, etc. I have pierced ears myself. My daughter has an additional hole up higher in the cartilage which I don't especially like. (my adult daughter) It did get infected several times before it healed, by the way.
But tongue piercing, nose piercing, nipple or navel piercing (!!) these I put in an entirely different category. These acts seem like mutilation of the body to me. Lip piercing!! Yuk! They are also, I understand, rather dangerous because of the risk of infection. But medical issues aside, what is the appeal here? Is is a mark of personal courage? A demonstration of the ability to endure pain? I can kind of understand what they're saying, if that's the case. But why is there a need to communicate such a message? Is it a mark of the suffering times we live in? I personally find viewing bodies that are pierced to be an unpleasant, jarring kind of experience. Maybe others do not have that reaction. Maybe they think it's handsome.
Incidentally, don't get me started on Notre Dame, but I have never seen a Notre Dame student with body piercings other than ears. Why is that? Because of my personal prejudices I like to think it's because they're all too smart for such things. My daughter says it's because they're just kind of a preppy group. :)
10 comments:
I don't know what the need is or the why of body piercing...I'm thinking self hatred for some reason, yet it is all very sad...I agree with your post here. I feel just the same way.
My oldest daughter has been asking to have her belly button pierced. she is 13 and ears are all that we are getting pierced around here!
I've tried to approach it rationally - she dresses modestly without much fuss. What's the point of having that done if you aren't going to show it off and if you are going to show it off then...well...you need to get some more clothes on!
Her answer is...but it'd be so cool
My reply...so who'd know you were cool if they weren't able to see it?
Her answer is...but it'd be so cool
It's just not happening
I think it's a typical way for younger generations to attempt to shock and upset their parents and elders...like long hair (on men) in the 60s or short hemlines (for women) in the 20s! The sad thing is the older people doing it to fit in with the younger crowd.
Michelle, yeah, it mwy be for the shock value.
Deanna, at 13 she may not even really want it but just wants to demonstrate that she can disagree with you...?
Suzanne, yeah, self-loathing comes to my mind but maybe it's not so ominous for everybody who does it.
Thanks for the comments.
In my little book Examination of Conscience by Fr. Altier, excessive body piercing is listed under Mortal Sin under You Shall Not Kill. i'm not sure what exactly is meant by excessive but I don't think it means a couple of more holes in your ears.
Esther, that's interesting. Is that a pretty recent publication? Yeah, I doubt if they're talking about ears. But tongues, lips, you know-- the ones that really seem to show disrespect for the body...maybe that's "excessive?"
Rosemary, the copyright date is 2002 and is the one sold by Leaflet Missal. I have the link to the pdf file for you though.
http://www.catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf#search=%22fr.%20altier%20examination%20of%20conscience%22
"Deanna, at 13 she may not even really want it but just wants to demonstrate that she can disagree with you...?"
OH YES - goes without saying...she seems to be more demonstrative lately!!
I did agree for her to get her ears pierced a second time (on the lobe by the first hole) and she seems to have accepted this as compromise. I can live with this because I am confident that she will just get annoyed with it before long and let it grow up and then even if she doesn't I can live with this
Esther, thank you for the info.
Deanna, yes, double pierced ears are becoming pretty common.
Hello,
I have my ears pierced twice in the lobes and gaged (that means the hole is stretched to a presumably unreasonable size), I have two additional piercings in my left lobe, and I have my left cartilage pierced twice, and my right cartilage pierced once.
My nose is pierced three times, twice on the right, one on the left.
My lip (or labret, to some) is pierced.
Plus, I have both nipples pierced.
I plan on getting more when I can figure out where to put them.
Another thing, I have three tattoos. I must be evil, right?
Now, this is no mortal sin. This isn't because I hate myself, or don't respect my body.
It's a ritual that many people go through. If you document the history of piercing and tattoos, you'll see that it has gone back through the ages, to when the first homo sapiens roamed this planet. They dug up a man in the Alps who had tattoos all over his body, and he was dated back... gosh, a long long time.
African tribes have been doing outrageous body piercings for who knows how long. Why is it so abnormal for Americans to do it? I'm a well paid professional woman working in the web design field, and I have 15 piercings, and three tattoos.
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