The other day I was walking through the hallway to my next class when I ran into a friend of mine. Upon greeting her, I noticed that had gotten her nose pierced, or so I thought. When I asked her about it, she told me that it was a fake. Her father wouldn’t allow her to get a real one, so she decided to purchase a fake one to wear instead. I couldn’t even tell the difference.

Now, I am not here to argue against parental decisions, I must add. I am sure her father has his reasons, but this situation got me thinking about said reasoning. Why are facial piercings so frowned upon, while piercings in the ears are much more “socially acceptable”? The same goes for tattoos and colored hair, seemingly “unnatural” body choices.

As someone who has facial piercings and who has colored her hair one too many times, I can definitely say I have gotten some comments about my appearance and my choices from many people — comments regarding the amount of holes I keep putting in my body and how I am ruining my hair and killing it. I have also heard from some men that I should not get my nose pierced, because “men don’t find women with nose piercings attractive.” 

My mother has both of her ears entirely covered in piercings, her nose pierced, around seven tattoos, and her hair dyed purple. I never thought anything of it; it never made me see her any differently or think poorly of her for her choices. I asked her for her opinion on her appearance, comments that have been made towards her, and if she regretted any of it.

“Last year on Halloween, I ran into a guy and he said to me, ‘Oh, you dyed your hair purple for halloween!’” my mom recalled. “I told him, ‘No, my hair is always like this.’ He then said ‘Oh,’ gave me a look and kept walking.”

She also said that she wouldn’t exactly feel comfortable getting her nose pierced 20 years ago, but now she does not care what people may say to her or think about her choices.

So my question is this: Why do people care what others do to their bodies? Upon my research, I found that more than half of the general population considers tattooed individuals as lacking in seriousness. In regards to professionalism, the most “unprofessional” areas for a tattoo to be located seem to be the face and neck area, inside your mouth, fingers and knuckles, collarbones and clavicle, elbows and knees — any placement that screams “look at me” or is unusual.

Additionally, in regard to piercings, a study from the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes where the following was described: “194 college students and 95 working adults were given the resume for a job candidate along with a description of the job they were applying for. Half of the participants were given a photo of the applicant with no facial piercings, and half were given the same photo with either a lip or eyebrow piercing photoshopped in.”

The results of this study showed that “job candidates with piercings were seen as much less employable than their unpierced counterparts. The candidates with facial piercings were rated much more harshly, receiving lower ratings on competence, sociability, trustworthiness, and moral character.”

There is no doubt that there is a negative stigma attached to body modifications. In my experience, people tend to question those who make different choices than they would, people who are different than they are. I couldn’t imagine someone with a nose piercing coming up to me and questioning my choice, or someone with colored hair making comments about me. 

I get it. To some people, these are “unnatural” things that some of us decide to do that others may not agree with. People are not born with body modifications; they are a choice by many during their lives.

However, despite criticisms, I believe that body modifications are becoming much more popular as time goes on, especially with younger generations. In 2017, out of a group of 345 respondents, 77% of respondents had their ears pierced, 19% had their tongues pierced, 15% had their lips pierced, 10% had their eyebrow pierced, and so on. Although these numbers may not seem very high, I can only imagine it will increase with the usage of social media and the passage of time. 

No matter what employers, friends or family may say, people will never stop getting body modifications. People need outlets to express themselves, to be who they are outside of societal norms. These modifications are meaningful for many people; they can symbolize many things. People get tattoos to remember loved ones or bond with friends and family. My mom and I go and get piercings together; we make a mother-daughter trip out of it. Others even believe that piercings have medical advantages, such as helping with migraines or stomach pain.

We all have freedom to express ourselves, and such modifications allow us to personalize ourselves in whatever ways we please. Getting my nose pierced was one of the best decisions I have made for myself; it gives me confidence and helps me express myself. My jewelry is my favorite part about myself, and I plan to get tattoos in the future that help express my passions and values.

No matter what one may do, there will always be people who don’t understand, people who find it weird or unnatural. As a society, we need to become more accepting of people’s decisions and preferences. No matter what piercings, tattoos or body modifications we have, deep down, we are all human nonetheless. These modifications do not define us, but rather help accentuate our individuality and creativity as human beings. No one should ever be made uncomfortable expressing themselves; one’s inner appearance is much more valuable than what can be seen on the outside.