how much fun would the world be if everyone looked the same?

The History Behind Piercings: Where it all began…

Many people get Piercings for all sorts of reasons. Some include aking a fashion statement, to rebel against society, to look “cool”, and for self expression. But I’m sure if you were to ask 20 different people who were the first to get pierced and what do they really mean, maybe 2 out of those 20 people would be able to answer. In this paper, you will see where tattoos originated, the issues people with piercings face, and what is currently being done to fix these issues.
Piercings, which started as far back as 5 thousand years ago originally identified with royalty, and represented courage and virility. Piercings were done for many different reasons. Egyptian Pharaohs would get their naval (belly button) pierced as a rite of passage (a ritual that changes a persons social or sexual status), Roman soldiers would pierce their nipples to represent manhood, and Mayans would pierce their tongues as a spiritual ritual. Many of the piercings people get today have much more reason then they will really know.
Earlobe piercings, practiced as early as 5 thousand years ago, were the first piercings ever attempted. During this time, many tribes believed that evil spirits and demons would enter a person’s body through their ears, and metal would keep them from entering. So, by piercing their ear the metal from the jewelry would prevent the spirits and demons from going in. Sailors believed that piercing their ears would improve their eyesight while on a voyage. In many other societies, they were a sign of puberty, and in some cases, both parents of a child would pierce one side of their ear to show the dependency of the child.
Nose piercings originally came about in the Middle East 4 thousand years ago. In the Bible’s Book of Genesis, it was known that Abraham had given a “shanf” also known as a golden nose ring to his son’s first wife Rebekah. Nose piercings were originally brought by the Monghul Emperors, and were mainly used by females in India. They believed piercing the left side of their nose would make child birth much easier and less painful. The ideas of nose piercings were later taken by the hippies that had traveled to India. This was later taken by the punk rockers that used this idea as a form of rebelling against the conservatives.
Labret piercings go all the way back to Dogon tribes where they were used as religious sacrifices. Tribes in Africa would get their labret stretched large enough so that wooden plates of clay could be inserted. Getting a labret piercing in Ancient Aztec and Mayan tribes meant they were members of a higher social class. In the Makololo tribe, members, especially females, would get their upper lip pierced as a sign of beauty. Men wouldn’t really want to marry any female without one. It brought something more appealing to a woman’s face, as a beard would for a man.
Tongue piercings were used by the Ancient Aztecs and Central Mayans to draw blood to please the gods. They were also an altered state of consciousness so priest can communicate with the gods. Naval piercings as stated earlier, were used by Egyptian Pharaohs as a sign of manhood. They are more of a modern society piercing. They became really popular during the bikini period in the 1980’s. They were considered sexy, yet provocative.
Nipple piercing originally started as a fashion statement in the 14th century. Originally men would carry capes on them. Before clit piercings were used as a sexual stimulus, the clitoris was considered the “devils teat”. Females who were caught having one would be accused of being a witch and prosecuted. Penis piercings also known as the “Prince Albert” originally got its name from Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Not only was the “Prince Albert” used for sexual pleasure, but it was originally used to hold the penis down on one side so the bulge wouldn’t be seen though the men’s tight pants.
Piercings have their own significant meaning. They were more than just something nice to look at. They were gotten for religious purposes; they were used to show a distinction between social classes. They were a form of showing a females coming of age. In addition, were a type of beauty and self expression. The meaning behind piercings hasn’t changed so much over time either. Today, they are still a form of self expression and beauty, and they hold meaning to anyone who gets them. We owe a lot of appreciation to the Egyptians and the Japanese. Without them, piercings wouldn’t be around and we wouldn’t have another more entertaining yet meaningful way of expressing ourselves.
Although piercings have so much meaning behind them, they still aren’t appreciated for what they are worth. They have become the latest trends, but they still aren’t accepted everywhere. In fact, a lot of discrimination that takes place today has to do with piercings. In more places than others. Today in the working environment, piercings are something that has yet to be accepted. People actually get into trouble, and even fired if caught with something pierced other than ones ears.


So what’s going on with piercings today?
As someone who has more than just two ear piercings, I have experienced my share of unfair judgments and discrimination. Especially in the working environment. Last summer while applying for jobs, I applied to three different StarBucks, all in different locations, and all interviewed by different managers. I am guessing they liked what I had to say on my applications and I had some good references because right away I got a phone call back asking to come in for an interview. Right away people asked me if I was going to take my piercings off for this interview and right away, I answered no. The way I see it is, if a job is going to hire me, I want them to see me for who I really am. And this means accepting me for my piercings and all.
I figured that it wouldn’t be much of a problem being that StarBucks is known all over the world and they get all sorts of customers. Its just coffee I thought. Unfortunately, I was wrong. After the interviews were done, I was being told the basics about the store. I was supposed to be hired on the spot, because one of the top managers that work for starbucks referred me. I knew her through my brother. Who is actually a current Starbucks employee. Once the interviews were done, I was told the basics (as stated before). At the end of my day there I was told that my piercings, could not be on while working. I had an issue with that, so with all three, I told them I was not taking them off and I never got my phone call back.
This isn’t something that only takes place in StartBucks and to people in Manhattan. A former Costco worker was fired after she refused to take her eyebrow piercing off. She was apart of the Church of Body Modifications, in which piercings, tattoos and other body modification was a form of celebration. She was terminated after refusing to cover up the eyebrow ring or take it off. She asked to be excused and was denied. Men also face discrimination in the working place. An optometrist was terminated after refusing to take off hit earring at work. He sued the company saying the company was discriminatory because if allowed women to wear ear piercings where men weren’t allowed to.
How are these forms of discrimination? Discrimination is Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit. When someone is fired because they refused to take out their piercing that’s discrimination. When someone isn’t hired because of the way they look, that’s discrimination. These type of actions are not only discriminatory actions but also a form of rejection. Believe it or not, although piercings are becoming more mainstream, people who don’t have the usual plain ear piercings, or just your plain Jane studs on the nose etc. are rejected amongst society and looked down on.
Personally, I was always looked down on because of my piercings. People usually accuse me of being depressed or gothic or even my favorite a “freak”. I was told that I would never get hired for a good job because no ones is going to take me serious. When in fact, the place where I’m currently working at now believes I’m an excellent worker. What I never understood was what does your appearance have to do with how well someone works? Why is it that in a working environment if those who don’t follow the “traditional appearance” are quickly terminated? And most importantly what is this “traditional appearance”? What does it look like? Who came up with this idea?


Dress codes are similar amongst all businesses. There is the traditional suit and tie for men and the traditional button down blouse with a skirt or slacks for a woman. Facial or tongue piercings are not acceptable and neither are visible tattoos. This is considered “unprofessional”. Businesses have a certain reputation to keep. They feel piercings will make the company look bad and unprofessional. In addition, they are believed to be unsanitary. Many people believe that people who get pierced have bad hygiene and that piercings are one of the many causes of diseases, because adding a hole to your body with a needle will bring HIV / AIDS and other diseases. When in fact, those who are pierced with the gun are at higher risk for catching a disease. Getting pierced with a gun that a hundred people before you were pierced with sounds unsanitary to me. No? So which is more unsanitary?
Where does the idea of piercings being unprofessional come from? These ideas are made out of ignorance; they come from society and from what people learn from TV, or from their parents and friends. Usually, when people think about piercings they right away jump to the conclusion that the person is rebelling against society. When in fact as stated in the beginning they were used mainly for religious purposes. Those who were royalty had numerous piercings. They are a way to become more connected with God.
The first piercings were traced back as far back as four thousand years ago. Where they were used to determine a social class and were symbols of wealth and courage.
And although these beliefs are less common in the United States, peoples still follow these beliefs. And to be rejected, and fired from a job, and looked down on because of it, is wrong. Its discrimination. It’s just as bad as not being able sit in a certain seat on the bus. Or not being able to go to the same schools as everyone else because of your skin color. People don’t see it that way because they don’t think a stud, or hoop means anything. And not accepting or hiring someone because of it is just wrong.
The way I see it is whether you work in a store, or a law firm, everyone in the world is different. If you take a persons self expression what would we be left with? And the way I see it is, people and businesses may think it makes the company look bad, but I think it gives the company more of a stronger appearance. It’s showing that you are accepting those who look different. And believe it or not this attracts more people. It’s more welcoming. And it gives the company more of a stronger name. And besides, “how much fun would the world be if everyone looked the same?”

end of the year....

yea so i guess its tradition to write about the end of the school year and whats going through my head right now. papers due, finals, moving out of the dorms....tons and tons of work to do...
i guess thats the joy of being a robot...
but, what if i decided that i just wanted to stop and not do anything...and explained to my teachers that i decided to not take any finals, and not do my research projects and not do my papers because grades are meaningless, and they dont really show what kind of person i was?
you think they would give in, and respect my decision and still pass me with a good grade?
maybe they'll respect me, but im sure they'll fail my ass on the spot lol....so i guess im doing that hw lol

this year was eh...
as a freshman i was expecting more...but instead i got less. although ive had my share of 2 to 3 good teachers this year...i still think it couldve went better. both my part and the teachers part.
i notice that just one teacher makes a difference...so that wasnt so bad.

my main complaint is how unsocial the people are in this school...its like
once people found their click...thats it...there closed off from everyone else...what are we in high school?

its just funny to me because, not even people you see in your class, who share the same professor as you do say hi to you when they see you, they do the put my head down before they see me kind of thing...i just laugh it off and say wow...and this is college...

what can you expect i guess...

im just hoping next year things will be better. hopefully ill make more friends, maybe the professors wont be so anti-social either...
ill hope...just wont hold my breath...

some more articles

even people on myspace want to speak out...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=37060398


and heres another article...lol

http://www.gcglaw.com/resources/employment/tattoos2.html

biiig proof of discrimination

http://www.bmezine.com/news/guest/20040405.html

They Perch On Their Stilts Pointing And Daring Me To Break Custom

On my face I scratched out something like a silhouette
around the golden ten like lambs on my face
I've hidden away any embarrassment,
away from my acquaintances
I'm not sold on anything but half a dreamI'm not sensing a thing

I see a blank notebook page
and it's my life and there is nothing I can think to write
I fear the thought of not sensing a thing

I hope you don't see a thing
I said, smile through everyone you ever see
(so what you gave him the time of day)
twist back and end this sufferingI'll dance around,
I honestly give up and de robe

I see a blank notebook page
and it's my life and there is nothing I can think to write
I fear the thought of not sensing a thing

Right side falls
heavenly grace to you I owe you too
Right side because heaven and I should be so easy
[to fade]

(this is one of my favorite songs by a band called saosin)

some of my research...

here is an article that shows that piercings has nothing to do with your performance at work...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17679/body_art_discrimination_in_the_workplace.html


here is a site that discusses employment discrimination...

http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/100405/EmploymentDiscrimination.htm


here is an article that talks about a woman who worked at cosco and got fired because she refused to take off her nose piercing, that was in for religious purposes...

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1134641110551


someone was angry in this one....
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/purple_vinyl/anti_piercing.html


has to be my favortie article yet....im all for it!
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52496

this dirt road...

walk with me down this dirt road,

hold my hand and tell me you were wrong,

wrong for breaking my heart,

wrong for not saying sorry,

wrong for deciding it was ok to hurt,

where are you now,

where have you beenall this time?

i hope your nights are as long as mine have been.

walk with me down this dirt road

and tell me you love me over and over again

and watch these tears of pain fall down my face

the pain you've caused me,

the pain i've felt for so long

walk with me down this dirt road,

and apologize to me a hundred times

watch me walk down this dirt road

as i wave goodbye to you...

and i'll watch you stand there in amazement

because you'll realize now it's you walking

the same road as i did...

piercing petition

while doing some research online i came across a petition that i thought would be interesting for my project. the mission of this petition is to stop descrimination against piercings in the working environment.

i signed it....check it out...maybe you should sign it too...=-)
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Piercing&351

heres another one...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/212577812?ltl=1177413620

the things you see on the train....part 2

if anyone has taken the F train im sure you have seen this add.it is a condom add. but not just any condom add its a nyc condom add. i thought this was interesting because i remember readin an article about a year ago where they spoke about making condoms with the nyc logo on the wrapper and i was against it. just because i felt this was a way to advertise nyc and not the condom. although it is a condom inside i just felt like thats not why they added that logo to it. now, i find this even funnier because ive never seen a condom more advertised as i see this one. sure they have commercials on comdomd, but on every other train, or every other add i see in ny its this one....now you tell me...are they doing this to show kids about condoms, or are they trying to advertise ny, and feel this is more of a tourist thing? you tell me...

what is happiness?

its funny how everyone in life wants to be happy, but when asked why, nobody has an answer. theres always the i dont know answer, or the i dont want to be sad answer. and im curious as to why no one knows why they want to be happy? so im going to take it as no one knows the definition of happiness...but...how is it that we want something without even knowing what it is? i mean..people say there happy, but i think there confusing it with contentment. the way i see it is contentment is a way of settling for less...
it makes me think, what if happiness doesnt exist...or what if this is as good as its going to get? should we even continue to try and be happy.
what if pain is happiness? ...

maybe i over analyze things to much..i dont know...but this is something people should think about before they say all they want is to be happy...

go figure...

this is an article i found that i think would interest everyone....



Schools for scandal


Every year, millions of students and their parents go deep into hock to pay for a college degree. The last thing they need is to get bad advice on student loans from people who profit from their ignorance.

Now, an investigation by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo shows that this is exactly what is happening around the country.

Cuomo's probe of 100 colleges and six lending firms has exposed a slew of dirty business practices among private lenders, a largely unregulated industry that affects 90% of U.S. college students and did $85 billion in business last year alone.

Schools get bonuses from private lenders when their students take out loans; the bigger the loan, the bigger the payoff. They get even more if they put the companies on preferred-lender lists. College administrators get gifts and trips. The companies even staff university financial aid call centers, passing themselves off as school administrators giving students unbiased advice.

No wonder many parents suspect a huge scam.

Subpoenas issued by Cuomo's office have found that, for example, a financial aid officer at Columbia made more than $100,000 from stock options in the Education Lending Group. He was suspended, as were officials at the University of Texas and the University of Southern California. SUNY Chancellor John Ryan sat on the board of a company called CIT Group, a preferred lender at SUNY Maritime College, where he was president. An official in the federal Education Department whose job it was to oversee student loans earned $100,000 from stock in Education Lending Group.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. the probe is due to last another four or five months, and other states' attorneys general are expected to get on board.

Already, some prominent players are scrambling to clear their names. NYU, Syracuse, St. John's, Fordham and the University of Pennsylvania are paying back a total of $3.2 million to students. Citibank is putting $2 million into a fund to educate students and parents about loans. Yesterday, CIT put three top executives on paid leave. And dozens of universities, including 29 SUNY campuses, NYU, LIU, St. John's and Fordham, plus Citibank, have taken Cuomo up on an offer to adopt a code of conduct: No more so-called revenue sharing; no more gifts; students will be told why a company merits preferred-lender status.

The colleges should be deeply ashamed, and they owe students far more than just a promise to behave. They can start by getting out of the loan business altogether.

In this information age, there's no need for a university to be sponsoring a preferred-lender list. Students would be better served by a loan discussion board that listed all possible lenders, with interest rates and terms. Then the parents could rank them. You get a far more honest assessment from people paying the bills than from people taking money under the table.

wait....u can read?

is the hype over?

in the begining of the semester when we were asked to make a blogger account and write blog entries on whatever we want. people were writing all the time including me. now, the professor says he notices that people arent writing as much or even writing at all. but why? the way i see it is people have lost the hype of writing in a blog, and its not fun to them anymore? i know in my opinion i run out of things to write about. and its like i can only write about so much.
and yea when we have the free time we should right, but what if you dont have any free time? and you base your whole life on school and work. i know it gets really hard for me to even study because i get out of work so late, then what? and sometimes when i get home i always mean to do it but at times it doesnt seem like its as necessary as other assignments in the class or as other hw assignments.
in the beginning it was exciting, because i could write about what i want, and i had all these things to talk about and now its like...wheres my time and what should i write about?
im sure im not the only one who feels thisway. and i feel like i have more stuff for my Cbook than a journal entry. and its not like we can have tons of cbook stuff and not journal entries. keeping up isnt as easy and as fun as i thought it was gonna be.
not only that but writing in the blogs isnt as fun anymore. yea i think its a great idea and think its something completely different and i like the idea that as long as we write then thats fine, but its like whats next?

(heres a little something extra...this is a response i had to someones comment on the professors blog on people not writing in their blogs

when it comes to blogging i dont feel restricted. if i have something to say or i want to express what im feeling about a certain situation it will be expressed.
my only issue is not having time and not knowing what to write about. and i dont like to sit there and write about the generic stuff...such as how my day was or where im going..no!
if im going to write a blog i want it to be something interesting and something that will catch peoples attention when they read it.
why write about your interest and dreams when in reality no one cares but yourself. (keep it to yourself its better that way)
i think if someones going to write something in a blog make it worth the write!! and dont just take up space to take it up...because then its boring!

and whether im the only one who agrees or not i dont care)