What ear is the gay ear

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If you are wondering which side is the gay piercing left or right, then, to make a long story short, getting pierced in your right ear meant you were gay. There is a rich history of jewelry being used to show off wealth, nobility, or status. In the 20th century, it was used to show off sexual preference. A man would wear a single earring in his right ear to say he was a gay man. Join us in unpacking this old gay stereotype and ask the question: do we still need it?

What ear is the gay ear

We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity. 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. Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. Earrings on guys have signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. In his book The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body , Desmond 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. In the Elizabethan era, earrings were quite fashionable for men, he writes. In the Western world, earrings, so long a purely female adornment, have recently been seen on increasing numbers of male ears. 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. 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. The problem was that nobody could remember which was supposed to be which.

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These days, seldom does a 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. Still, certain exceptions prevail. 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. Pre-Y2K and beyond , it's been socially understood that wearing one earring on the right ear means someone is gay; the left, straight. 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 one really seems to know where the adage originated.

Classes can only go so far in teaching real-world vocabulary, however. Throughout my immersion in the Deaf community, I feel like I have been collecting these signs and developing my own personal understanding of what they represent. Like English, the words and signs we use to identify and describe ourselves have power for ourselves, our audience, and our culture. As our words and signs change, they embody shifting individual and social representations of LGBTQ identities. When we step back and take a moment to analyze these signs, we can develop a deeper understanding of how our understanding of LGBTQ identities and discourse have evolved. Though the meaning and impact of a reclaimed sign depend on the experience of the signer, the listener, and their intentions, this sign has undisputed power regardless of usage. To me, this sign reflects our history as a resilient community —we were derogatorily described using words for the way that we were killed i.

What ear is the gay ear

Culture is a funny old thing. Gay men and women had to come up with ways to signal to each other so that they could form communities and relationships without being harassed. However, whether or not this was ever actually widely used in the global queer community is disputed, and nowadays the notion of it has its own horrible homophobic dog whistle attached.

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We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. It does not store any personal data. Unlike other marginalized groups being gay is something you realize slowly. So, what is to be made — in — of being told what to wear where? Latest Beauty. Even for women, the fashion was to wear clip-on earrings. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. To communicate your sexuality you have to tell people. In the years before the internet, it was much harder to connect to anyone. Search for:. A particularly rebellious person might even pierce their cartilage! Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

Last Updated: September 20, Fact Checked.

There was a saying around the playground that was so popular everyone seemed to know it. Despite trends becoming more fluid — the gap between gender-neutral styles in fashion and beauty narrowing — Salem knows the journey endures. Pre-Y2K and beyond , it's been socially understood that wearing one earring on the right ear means someone is gay; the left, straight. Terms Privacy Policy. Subscribe to our newsletter to indulge in daily entertainment news, cultural trends, and visual delights. It was right around then I started to get International Male catalogs unsolicited. A particularly rebellious person might even pierce their cartilage! I love earrings on a guy—both ears. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. With this slow introduction of piercing into the public eye, it was quickly cemented into many minds that the singular piercing in the right lobe on a man was synonymous with being gay. Undergear, too. The slow-burn comeback of the awkward noughties frosted everything , indie sleaze, and party girls ahem , white eyeliner are no longer nostalgic, cringeworthy memories but legitimate demi-decades when our appearance was still an act of subversion.