Piercing :: essays research papers

A Piercing Look at Society â€Å"If it sticks out, pierce it† is a motto for body piercing. In the past decade, body piercing has â€Å"steadily evolved† to be part of a trendy fashion statement that is spreading like Parkey throughout the American society. â€Å"Body piercing is an American style fad.† (Wattenberg) The influence of fashion is the most powerful pressure there is. The once rebel art of body piercing done only by so called â€Å"freaks† of society is now a trendy fashion practiced by many. The trend of body piercing was partially sparked by models and MTV. â€Å"Piercing gradually shed its outlaw image and was mass marketed to the impressionable generation by music videos, rock stars, and models.† (Leo) Piercings are also found on celebrities whose lives are so torn apart by the media that nothing is kept secret. News would eventually reach the public, which would spark a trend in admirers. Piercing also appears on the Tattoodles Doll in toy stores, and as games on the Internet such as Piercing Mildred. Through these style of piercing has grown to become acceptable by all ages from children means the playing with Tattoodles, to teens watching MTV, to adults on the Internet. Body piercing has excelled so much that it is now on a level referred to as body art along with tattoos. â€Å"Piercing is part of the broader â€Å"body modification† movement.†(Leo) It is figured that 1 out of 10 people have a piercing some where other than their ear. Today’s social standards are not what they once were. Society has begun to relax on what is viewed as the ideal image. It has gone from the conservative middle class look to the open-minded, anything goes creative look. The point is not to look like the crowd anymore; rather to differentiate oneself and make a statement to the rest of society. One doesn’t have to have the nicest or most business like look to get far. â€Å"Society has a tendency to indefinitely relax its standards to accommodate even more bizarre and anti- social extremes of behavior.† (Wattenberg)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Piercing achieved mainstream recognition in American society in the 1990’s. More people began to accept it. One newspaper put it well – â€Å"It moved from society’s margins to the mainstream.† (Leo) Piercing used to be done by â€Å"outcasts of society and was often looked down upon, but now, body piercing studios expand by about one studio per day.