Self Expression: Piercings and tattoos

During their four years of high school, teenagers try to discover who they are.

Teens seek to express themselves through personal style, interests and family background. One of the more public ways to express personal style is through body and facial piercings and tattoos.

A study by the Boston Children’s Hospital estimated that roughly ten percent of teens have tattoos. The most popular body parts to pierce are the ears, nose and navel.

One freshman, Cruz Madero, has six piercings which include, “[his] eyebrow, [his] lips twice, under [his] tongue, [his] neck, and [his] nipple.” The term for the two lip piercings is spider bites and the piercing under his tongue is referred to as a web. Madero chose these piercings not only because he likes their look, but because they “make [his] face look shiny. [His] eyebrow, neck and nipple were all pierced at Rubin’s in Millbrae and [he pierced] both of [his] lips and web [himself].”

Madero says, “I chose to get piercings because it brings out the crazy in you.” As far as getting a job with facial piercings, he thinks it’s not an issue: “You can easily just take them out for work and slip them back in after. No big deal,” says Madero.

Sophomore Marcos Gomez has four tattoos: “R.I.P Jose Luis,” “Gomez,” “Borrego,” and “Beto.” The first tattoo was for his grandfather’s remembrance, the second and third are his last names, and the fourth is his dad’s last name. For Gomez, these tattoos symbolize his respect and honor toward his family name. “I got the tattoos in order to show pride for my family and for who I am. The tattoos are mainly for me and I don’t really care what other people think or if they like them. I always wanted tattoos and waited a few months, after deciding on a design, to get them this summer.” Gomez believes that, “we only live once, so do what you want in life.”

Biology teacher Amy Schwartz says, “I was in high school when I got my cartilage loop and [I got] my other ear piercing studying abroad in New Zealand.” When asked what her parents thought at the time, she said “there was a sense of rebellion, and I was over 18 when I got my last piercing.” She comments that, “not many kids had their tragus pierced and I wanted to be unique.” Tragus is the term for the part of skin right in front of the ear canal.

One senior, Jordan Suarez, has twelve piercings: five on her right ear which include her tragus, earlobe, cartilage and rook (located in the upper inside of the ear). She also has four piercings on her left ear, one on her belly button, one on her lower back, one in her dimples and, previously, one on her finger. Regarding her finger piercing, she says, “[it] looked like a ring band.” She got her back dimples pierced because, “I thought they looked cute. I love that they aren’t permanent and you can take them out whenever.” Her back piercing is called an anchor piercing because it hooks into the back. “I don’t think anyone should judge a person based on their piercings,” Suarez added.

Gauges, one specific type of piercing, lead to the gradual stretching of the earlobe. This is achieved by upgrading the size of the earring over time. One freshman with gauges, Kitty Clohessy, says, “The smaller the number, the bigger the gauge and it goes down by twos. Once you pass 00 it goes into fractions. I do them myself.” When asked why she preferred gauges to regular piercings, Clohessy said, “I had regular piercings but I didn’t like having to pick out what earrings to wear everyday, but I liked the way gauges look.” She has size four gauges, which will still allow her ears to heal all the way should she choose to take the gauges out.

These students chose to get piercings or tattoos as a way to decorate themselves in an original and creative way. High school students trying to figure out how they want to present themselves can seek fun ways to let the world know what they are about. The challenge for these students is how to do so in a way that is unique and conveys a positive image to the world.