Earring for gay left or right

Earrings have been worn by both men and women for centuries, serving as a form of personal adornment and a way to express individuality. Over time, certain meanings and symbolisms possess become associated with specific ways of wearing earrings. One such association is the significance of wearing an earring in the left ear. In this article, we will explore what an earring in the left ear can potentially mean and the various interpretations attached to this fashion choice.

What Does an Earring in the Left Ear Mean?

The placement of an earring in the left ear has garnered various interpretations throughout history and across diverse cultures. Here, we'll explore some of the most notable meanings associated with this intriguing fashion statement.

A - Historical Perspectives and Left Ear Earrings
1: The Pirate Symbolism

In well-liked culture, wearing an earring in the left ear has often been paired with pirates. According to legends and tales, pirates would wear an earring in their left ear as a symbol of their seafaring adventures and conquests. While this association may not hold true in modern times, it has contributed to the perception of an earring in the left ear

Which Ear Is the Gay Ear? Which Ear Is the Straight Ear?

Which ear is the lgbtq+ earring? The notion of a "gay earring" based on which ear it's worn in is a stereotype that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

According to this outdated belief, wearing an earring in the right ear signified being queer, while the left ear was considered straight. However, today this notion is widely considered irrelevant and outdated.

Which Ear Is the Homosexual Ear? 

You might recall hearing that if a man wore an earring on the right ear, that meant he was gay. The term "gay ear" was often used. Around the 1960s, people began to catch on that a right-ear earring was effectively a code for organism gay. At the same time, the left ear is straight.

As time went on, earrings as a whole became more popular, and even some vertical men opted to pierce their right ear. It soon became clear that the "gay ear" was no longer a reliable way to tell if a man was gay or not.

The "gay earring" fad lasted until the 1990s. But wearing an earring on the right ear is still a popular choice. And as ear piercings on both men and women are becoming more mainstream, more men than ever are opting to get their ears pierced.


Right and Wrong

When I was an eighteen-year-old freshman at Mizzou, way back in 1990, I decided to flaunt my newfound autonomy from my parents by getting an ear pierced. What a rebel I was! If getting a piercing while sitting in a comfy chair at Claire’s Boutique in the Columbia Mall doesn’t prove to your parents and the rest of the world that you are a certifiable bad boy, then nothing will.

Travis Naughton

When my dad first saw my new earring, he rolled his eyes and laughed. When my mom saw it, she said she could hold saved me the ten bucks and done it herself. She favored the safety pin, ice cube, and raw potato method—which, in hindsight, would have given me much more street cred than a trip to a boutique.

Nevertheless, I’ve worn an earring for the better part of three decades now. Kids at school often ask me why I have an earring, and hoping to enlighten them, I always say that boys can have earrings, too. Then they inevitably ask why I only have one ear pierced.

Until last week, my answer has been, “Lots of men have one earring. It’s just what some men did back when I was young.” Men like Harrison Ford, Michael Jordan, and Ed Bradley wore one earring in tho

Why Did We Grow Up Thinking a Piercing in the Right Ear Was Gay?

On the playground, it was a truth so firmly established that defying it meant social suicide: If you have an earring in your right ear, it means you’re gay. We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity.

It may have been the subtle homophobia of my Illinois community in the ’90s. But as I grew up, it seemed favor everyone I met, no matter their place of origin, knew and understood the earring code, as arbitrary as it seems.

It was even solidified in the New York Times: A 1991 report said gay men “often [wore] a single piece of jewelry in the right ear to indicate sexual preference.” In 2009, the Times covered it yet again, in TMagazine: “the rule of thumb has always been that the right ear is the gay one,” the creator wrote about his control piercing journey.

Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. Earrings on guys possess signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. In his book The Naked Man: A Explore of the Male Body, Desmond Morris explains that earrings have indicated wisdom and compassion in the stretched earlobes of the Buddha, while pirat