Pierced Academics in Dialogue

Many of us, as academics, have had to consider the ramifications that body piercings might have for our professional and personal lives.  Just what does being pierced mean for academics?  I sat down with my friend, fellow academic, and now co-blogger, Herr Doktor (HD), to begin to tease out some answers in hopes that you’ll join our conversation.

La Historiadora de Moda : When did you get your piercings and why? 

Herr Doktor: I still remember walking into the piercing shop for the first time to get my ear pierced.  It was a transitional moment in my life: I’d just finished undergrad, I was well on my way out of a bad relationship, and I was coming out.  So the earring, which is in my left ear, has a lot of personal meaning to me.  This was the early twenty-aughts and the old adage that right is gay and left is straight seemed to be fading away and wasn’t important to me.  My eyebrow piercing, on the other hand, was a purely aesthetic choice, even thought I got it right after completing my master’s thesis.  I think eyebrow piercings are hot on everyone, but, particularly on men.  So my piercings mark milestones for me but with very different meanings. 

HD:  What about you … when and why?

LHDM: I had my ears pierced when I was six years old.  I remember begging my mom to let me get them done, and finally she took me to Claire’s to do the deed.  I got several other ear piercings during my late teens, but I didn’t maintain their upkeep, and now they are piercing ghosts.  When I was 18, my best friend in high school and I both went and got our tongues pierced.  She paid for my piercing as a graduation gift.  I got my nose pierced about a year later.  Being from a small town, my piercings (particularly tongue and nose) marked me as different, as part of a subculture -- an alt crowd.  Later, in grad school, I spent a fair amount of time in European cities, and there it seemed that many more women (and men) had piercings.  It no longer marked me as different or being so subversive.  Instead it seemed to almost become a marker of belonging.

 LHDM:  Have any of your students, colleagues, or supervisors in grad school said anything to you about your piercings? 

HD: I’ve had students compliment me on my eyebrow piercing—the earring seems to be passé—sharing their enthusiasm about body art.  I do recall a conversation with fellow graduate students in which a number of people expressed concerns that having a piercing might negatively affect one’s prospects on the job market.  Never once, however, has a faculty supervisor suggested that there might be professional problems with my piercings.  Really, the most frequent comment is surprise after finally noticing a shiny bit of metal on my eyebrow because its gauge is on the small side.  Call me a subtle piercer.

HD:  Have any comments about your piercings in an academic setting stood out to you?

LHDM: I occasionally have received compliments on my earrings or nose stud from students or colleagues.  However, the only comment that really stands out is once a student told me I had something hanging out of my nose.  She thought it was a booger but then on closer inspection realized it was my nose screw.  We were both a little chagrined.  I’ve never had a single student or faculty colleague comment on my tongue piercing to date.  I don’t think it’s very noticeable under normal circumstances.

 LHDM: Are there any occasions for which you would remove your piercings?

HD: I may be a subtle piercer, but I’m also stubborn.  I really can’t think of a reason that I would remove them, unless I decided to change my style.

HD:  Would you remove your piercings for an academic job interview?

LHDM: No.  I have not removed them for any of the job interviews that I have had, including the ones that landed me academic positions.  My philosophy is that these piercings have become part of my identity.   You can expect me to wear a suit to an interview, but you can also expect to see a little bit of metal, too, if you're looking really closely.   I am, however, thinking about getting rid of my tongue piercing, because, even though I don’t play with it, I’m starting to notice some chipped enamel on the backs of my bottom front teeth that my dentist and my father-in-law, who is a dentist, might have something to say about.  It really pains me though to have to consider this, though. 

LHDM:  How do you think about your piercing as a public marker of gender and/or sexuality?

HD: Both of my piercings do have to do with my sexuality for different reasons.  Even though I didn’t follow the conventional gay/straight ear dichotomy, my earring is a powerful symbol of coming out for me.  Nevertheless, it seems clear now that earrings for men no longer signify sexuality in the way that they once did in the United States.  The meaning of other piercings for men still seems to be in flux.  When I had my eyebrow pierced, I thought it marked me as gay as a guy.  Lately that seems to be less and less the case, as piercings for men become increasingly mainstream.  On the other hand, when I see guys with eyebrow piercings, I’m still tempted to read them as gay unless I have other evidence to the contrary.  It still signifies that to me, even though I know societal norms may be changing.

 HD: Do you see piercings as such markers?

LHDM:  I think with the increasing popularity of alt and hipster scenes, piercings no longer have such easily defined significances.  To some extent in high school and definitely in college, I ran with a crowd that was into body art and that encompassed a relatively large number of LGBTQ people, including myself.  I felt that to some extent my piercings connected to my identity as a bisexual woman, but I think this had to do more with the timing of my piercings (and first tattoo) than with  public conceptions of women’s sexuality and piercings as a marker thereof.  Of course, I have spent most of the past descade in large urban areas, and these perceptions about piercings may not be the same in more rural areas.  All this of course is a bit of a generalization, and I’m sure people can and will write dissertations on these topics.

HD: No doubt someone is writing such a dissertation, and I would love to read it!  My thesis overall would be that, despite recent fluctuations, piercings for men are more likely to be social markers of their sexuality than those of women.  I’d also be interested in thinking more about the role that piercings play in conceptions of class and race.

So, dear readers, what do you think about piercings in the academy?  If you have a piercing, do you view it as a public marker of your identity or sexuality in any way?  Do you feel as though you’ve ever experienced discrimination because of a piercing?