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 In my family the rule was that you couldn't have your ears pierced until you began menstruating. I got my first period when I was 12 years old. Soon afterwards my mother took me to the local mall so I could have my ears pierced. When I first began dealing with gender I still had a thin loop of silver wire through each ear. I soon felt pressure that if I was really trans I wouldn't wear earrings and I removed them to make things easier. Three years later, after starting hormones and having top surgery, I thought again about the holes in my ears. I was struggling with being percieved as a "traditional guy", a designation I was anything but thrilled with. I wanted to be more visible to the queer community, I also wanted to own my history and show pride in myself. I went and bought two 14 gauge hoop earrings and had the holes in my ears re-opened. I decided I wanted something larger and so stretched to 10 gauge earrings. Having my ears pierced means not being ashamed of my past. It means being more visible as queer. It means pride in my self, my history, my future. I will always wear my earrings. |
