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Ear piercing is very common for both genders these days. The amount of comment and the reactions you get usually depend on the circles you move in. On average, though, it seems that any comments about pierced ears usually last about a day and people move on.
So why would you get your ears pierced? As a crossdresser, the main reason has got to be the vast selection of earring styles that become available to you. Clip-ons also tend to be relatively heavy and slip off and disappear at the most inopportune times. Unless carefully adjusted, they can hurt after long periods of wear. Pierced earrings have none of these disadvantages.
The final decision, of course, is yours. However, should you decide to go ahead, read on. I had my ears pierced at a salon by a person who specialises in piercings (all locations) and learned most of what I know from him.
First, and most important: Go to a reputable place. Ask for recommendations from your friends and visit the place yourself. Look for scrupulous cleanliness. Fresh surgical gloves and fresh piercing tools for each ear are an absolute must.
Second: ask about all your options. There are two main ways to do ear piercings: the gun method and the needle method. Each has its advantages.
- The gun method is quick and easy to do and requires less training on the part of the piercer. A hand-powered gun drives the piercing stud into the ear. Other places use two guns simultaneously. The plastic bodies of guns can’t be totally sterilised between uses, so they use a sterile, sealed disposable cartridge that inserts encapsulated sterile studs.
- The needle method, preferred by most professional body piercers, uses a hollow medical-grade piercing needle and a receiving tube. The piercer presses the needle firmly through your earlobe and into the receiving tube by hand. The advantage of the needle method is that the equipment is totally disposable.
Here’s what all this stuff looks like.
 Piercing needles in sterile packaging |
 Piercing needle receiving tube |
 Piercing gun (without cartridge inserted) |
Ask about aftercare. You should be given detailed instructions, plus a handout and some sterile saline to keep the piercing clean.
Pretty studs are a nice way to celebrate your adventure, but here again, caution and long-term success should be your guide. Studs can be extremely hard to remove if your ear swells or becomes infected, and their design tends to keep the infection inside rather than letting it drain. A better choice, if rather less glamorous, is surgical steel rings. These leave room for swelling and also leave the piercing clear for easy disinfection. Sure, you’ll look like a biker chick for a few weeks but after that your ears will be nicely healed. And after that – anything goes! Rings can’t be inserted with the gun method, of course.
Okay, you’ve found the person you want to inflict pain and bloodshed upon your person – what can you expect?
