[jennyp]

Whether you do or "do not seek approval of others," people make judgements about each other. In the case of tatoos and piercings, I surmise it is done to evoke a certain response from others.

Excellent point! Some try to be "enlightened" & claim that it's all value-neutral, just their own decision & shouldn't be given a moral judgement. And in one sense they are correct. But you are also correct: How we display ourselves is a form of communication, and as such is necessarily translated by everyone we meet into their current "language" that they "understand". How can it not be?

I'm still waiting for earrings on men to disappear completely. I never forgave them for stealing one of our major feminine symbols. Weird how earrings on men seem to have some staying power in certain defined subcultures, such as in macho black atheletes. A total inversion of their original meaning, which is very very jarring. (But that's also a generational thang. I date myself by my revulsion.)

[OregonRancher]

A little historical note: In the days before steam, sailors wore gold earrings as a sign of achievement: Left ear sailed the pacific crossing the equaitor; right ear the atlantic...nothing silly or feminine about them...