Here is my initial question: It’s normal for females to have pierced ears, correct?

Let that sit with you for a second.

You see a man walk into a restaurant; he’s middle aged, maybe 40s or 50s. He has a tattoo sleeve on each arm, colors ranging from all over the color wheel and they extend all the way from his wrists to shoulders (as far as you can tell). He also has his ears pierced, doubles in fact, and a small hoop in each of them.

Naturally, you judge him. Just because he has ink, and just because he has metal in his ears. But why? For all you know, he could be a firefighter who saved a family of four just yesterday. He could be a male nurse who worked a 12 hour shift last night, saving lives, and is now enjoying himself a nice, warm breakfast. He could be a police officer who works his butt off every night protecting your city from bad people.

Yet, naturally, he is associated as bad just because of the way he chose to decorate his body. No one looks at him and thinks about all the things he could be; instead, he is thrown under the umbrella of stereotypes that all people with tattoos and/or piercings are thrown under. Not educated, not worthy and not capable of maintaining a high powered job. There are a thousand more, but those are the most common ones people come up with.

This sickens me, and here’s why.

Would you turn down someone’s service just because they have a facial piercing or visible tatt? I hope your answer is no. Piercings and tattoos are a way of self-expression. That’s all it is. They’re a method of accessorizing, a way of decorating your body and even a way to represent things that you believe in. We are in a time period where self-expression is a tricky thing.

Yes, times are changing and people are learning to become more open to other ideas, looks, and ways of life. But at the same time, it is still hard to truly be yourself without having some sort of judgement. Things will always be that way, I guess, but the whole “piercing and tattoos are demoralizing and harming to your body” boat needs to sink, and it needs to sink fast.

Let’s go back to my earlier question. It is normal for women to have pierced ears, right? This would be correct.

In fact, it’s kind of strange if you’re a female and don’t have pierced ears. At least that’s what society has brainwashed us to believe. It's all about perspective. If people stopped thinking about what the idea of a piercing is and what it represents (unfortunately they represent being trashy, dumb, uneducated, etc.), and just thought about what it actually really is, things would be different.

A pierced ear is really just a little metal object going into your ear lobe (duh), but why is that important? Because it’s the same thing with any other body part. Your upper ear, middle ear, nose, lip, eyebrow, belly button: you name it. It's really just a little metal object on your skin. So why is it okay and "normal" for you to have a pierced lobe, but then you're immediately portrayed as trashy if you have a piercing somewhere else?

It's the same exact thing, just different location. What if the “norm” was for all women to have pierced noses? Well, then it wouldn’t be looked down upon if women did that! What if it was the “norm” for all males to have their ears pierced as well? Same thing.

The same point comes with tattoos. I understand tattoos are more significant because they are permanent (most piercings you can remove and they'll heal as if they never happened), but it's the same idea. They fall into a category that isn't "the norm."

What if it was the norm for everyone to have a tiny tattoo on their wrist? Then people wouldn't view them as "trashy and dirty."

Again, it's all about perspective. People focus on the negative stereotypes of tattoos, or the idea of them and what they represent (hand in hand with piercings –– being trashy, dumb, uneducated, etc.), instead of what they really are. It's just ink on your skin. You can get them however small, or large, you like, and in any place. I don't think that's something to discriminate against if it's what the person wants.

I mean hey, if parents frown upon tattoos so much, why do they fantasize the idea to their young children with temporary ones? That's immediately OK just because they wash off a week later? It's the same thing; it's a picture of something really stinkin' cool that makes the child smile. So fast forward 20 years: now the child (well, adult now) wants to capture another really stinkin' cool picture or saying, but permanently. How is that all of the sudden wrong?

A piercing is a piercing and a tattoo is just a tattoo. They do not make you any less smart, any less capable or any less of a person. They most definitely have a negative connotation and negative stereotypes associated with them, but if people looked away from those for a second, and took a moment to just understand that they're a way of self-expression, I think a lot of the negative talk would go away.

There are people who work hard every single day with ink on their bodies, and metal in their body parts (as odd as that sounds). That does not mean they deserve any less respect or any less opportunity.

I mean, does sitting in a tattoo parlor kill brain cells and make you dumber? No, that is actually the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. Does getting a needle poked into your nose cause all your skills to magically disappear?

No. You are still the same person, with the same abilities; you just have a tiny little stud in your nose. If the person who cures cancer has tattoos all over their skin and 20 piercings scattered about, would you really stop and question their intelligence or give them a double take? Hell no you wouldn't.

Because in the grand scheme of things, how they choose to make themselves look doesn't matter. It's their business! So stop associating such little things as big, bad "no no's". If someone wants to take their body and put art on it, by all means, it's their right to do so.

As far as jobs go, of course, there are jobs out there where you probably shouldn't be covered in ink or have metal pieces all over your face. That's a whole other topic and dives into another world of arguments, but at the end of the day, it's a personal choice.

If a person chooses to go into a field that is ridiculously strict with appearance, then I guess they have to figure out their priorities. Simple as that. Tattoos are not professional looking, and neither is having 5 facial tattoos.

That's something everyone can agree on (even people who are covered in them can agree!), but then again, not everyone is going into a career field that is completely professional and strict. So again, it traces back to being a personal choice.

Piercings are removable, so going to work and taking it out isn't a problem. Who cares what you look like during the other hours of the day? And if having a tattoo is just that important, but not allowed in a so-called job, nothing says you can't hide it. Having a foot tattoo or one on your back shoulder (where no one can see!) should not be something that is frowned upon (a phrase I'm sure you're sick of me repeating).

If you work hard and are successful and happy, and look professional while doing it, then what's the problem?

And yeah, I am totally aware that they are not for everyone, but I do think that regardless of how you choose to “decorate your palace” as some say, you deserve respect and kindness. If you don’t like them, that’s okay. Don’t get them. You decorate your body the way you want to. But let’s get one thing straight; a person with piercings and tattoos is just as worthy as someone who does not have piercings and tattoos. Case solved; end of story.

PSA: I am 19 years old, and I have a total of 10 piercings: 4 in each ear, my belly button, and my nose. I go to college, make my own money and my family still loves me. So hey, I don’t think it’s the end of the world.