My first thought was, Eww.
She looked dirty. Like her hair was matted and could have used a long visit with Head & Shoulders. Then there was that huge nose ring. I hadn’t seen many pierced nostrils before—and only “bad girls” did it then—but Christina Aguilera wasn’t afraid to buck society with nasal trinkets. That 2002 picture of her still sticks in my mind. (In a maybe-I-should-shower-again sort of way.)
Her grunginess aside, the once-rare nose ring can now be seen everywhere. Trendsetter Christina paved the way for cleaner cut Miley Cyrus, Scarlett Johansson, Jordin Sparks and Kelly Clarkson, and even for Jane Doe and some of my friends and family members. Probably yours too. It seems to have taken just a few Hollywood celebrities and some photo spreads to reorganize lots of people’s thinking on the matter.
While I’m no longer shocked by holey nasal cartilage—in part because I’ve also seen countless women with studs overseas—it can still cause controversy in the United States.
I know. Last week out of sheer curiosity (and impishness too), I walked into the office wearing a fake stud on my left nostril. I did it because I wanted to see how much of the stigma remains—and more important, assess what the nebulous stigma is.
The tiny Austrian crystal got interesting comments from the few who noticed it—but only after I’d told them it was fake. Among the remarks? Some said things like, “It looks so genuine! I love it! Get a real one!” Others, however, were less flattering, saying, “Women who do this are insecure or angry,” or, “Women who do this are vain and careless,” or, “They’re just looking for attention.”
All over the map, aren’t they? But certainly less disparaging than they would have been 10 or 20 years ago. And that’s largely because of media.
So now I want to cast the net wider. In your part of the world, is this kind of piercing becoming a more acceptable societal norm much the way ear-piercing has over the last 50 years? Or do you think the stigmas are more often true than not? Most important, why do you feel the way you do?
For the record, I will never get my nose pierced. I don’t especially love my snout, but I’d like to keep it intact. Even the slim possibilities of infection, scarring and necrotic tissue just aren’t appealing. And honestly, dealing with the labels I’d probably get, coupled with my own second-guessing, aren’t either.
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