Is left or right earring gay

Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within. In the Elizabethan era, earrings were quite fashionable for men, he writes. This led to some confusion and stories began to circulate that there was a secret code, that to wear an earring in a pierced left ear was homosexual, and in a pierced right ear was rebel heterosexual.

Whether you wear one in your right ear, left ear, or both, it has nothing to do with sexual orientation. In fact, a recent survey by a major fashion retailer found that over 70% of men wear earrings simply because they like the way they look, with no deeper meaning attached.

In fact, a recent survey by a major fashion retailer found that over 70% of men wear earrings simply because they like the way they look, with no deeper meaning attached. Since some people seem absolutely giddy over binaries, it’s probably no surprise to learn that the opposite of the right ear is the left, meaning the opposite of a gay ear piercing is a straight one!.

In the end the male earring lost its sexual significance altogether, and simply became a generalized way of annoying middle-aged, latter-day puritans. In fact, a recent survey by a major fashion retailer found that over 70% of men wear earrings simply because they like the way they look, with no deeper meaning attached.

More Stories from MEL. However, earrings have also sparked debates over sexual identity, such as the concept of which ear is the gay ear, leading to stigmas over the left and right piercing. What does Generation Z think of the whole gay code? However, earrings have also sparked debates over sexual identity, such as the concept of which ear is the gay ear, leading to stigmas over the left and right piercing.

Earrings on guys have signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. At first it was assumed that the wearers were all effeminate homosexuals, but it soon became clear the the habit was spreading to the more avant-garde of the young heterosexuals. Another guy got two piercings in his right ear in college, to which we all remarked that that he wanted everyone to know that he was a power bottom — which he is.

In his book The Naked Man: A Study of the Male BodyDesmond Morris explains that earrings have indicated wisdom and compassion in the stretched earlobes of the Buddha, while pirates wore them in the belief it would protect them from drowning. Traditionally, the right ear has often been cited as the “gay ear,” though others associate the left ear with queer identity.

And in the 20th century, people got confused about which ear meant what: In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. The ongoing debate around which ear is the gay ear highlights how regional and cultural contexts shape symbolism.

Since some people seem absolutely giddy over binaries, it’s probably no surprise to learn that the opposite of the right ear is the left, meaning the opposite of a gay ear piercing is a straight one!. Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity. While it’s now thought of as a myth that an earring in the is left or right earring gay ear means “straight” and one in the right means “gay,” it is true that over the milennia, people have used jewelry to signal certain things.

The problem was that nobody could remember which was supposed to be which. The ongoing debate around which ear is the gay ear highlights how regional and cultural contexts shape symbolism. Traditionally, the right ear has often been cited as the “gay ear,” though others associate the left ear with queer identity. In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears.

Whether you wear one in your right ear, left ear, or both, it has nothing to do with sexual orientation. But as I grew up, it seemed like everyone I met, no matter their place of origin, knew and understood the earring code, as arbitrary as it seems. While it’s now thought of as a myth that an earring in the left ear means “straight” and one in the right means “gay,” it is true that over the milennia, people have used jewelry to signal certain things.

Some time after that, of course, I made peace with the fact that I am gay. A man in the U. If it were in my right ear, that would mean I was gay. Whether you wear one in your right ear, left ear, or both, it has nothing to do with sexual orientation.