Earring
Earrings are jewelry that can be worn on one's ears. Earrings are commonly worn in a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or by [|some other means], such as stickers or clip-ons. Earrings have been worn across multiple civilizations and historic periods, often carrying a cultural significance. They are worn by both men and women.
Locations for piercings other than the earlobe include the rook, tragus, and across the helix. The simple term "ear piercing" usually refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are often referred to as "cartilage piercings". Cartilage piercings are more complex to perform than earlobe piercings and take longer to heal.
Earring components may be made of any number of materials, including metal, plastic, glass, precious stone, beads, wood, bone, and other materials. Designs range from small hoops and studs to large plates and dangling items. The size is ultimately limited by the physical capacity of the earlobe to hold the earring without tearing. However, heavy earrings worn over extended periods of time can lead to stretching of the piercing; ear stretching can also be done intentionally.
History
Ear piercing for the purpose of wearing earrings is one of the oldest known forms of body modification, with artistic and written references from cultures around the world dating back to early history. Gold earrings, along with other jewelry made of gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian were found in the ancient sites in Lothal, India, and Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur from the Early Dynastic period. Gold, silver and bronze hoop earrings were prevalent in the Minoan Civilization and examples can be seen on frescoes on the Aegean island of Santorini, Greece. During the late Minoan and early Mycenaean periods of Bronze Age Greece hoop earrings with conical pendants were fashionable. Early evidence of earrings worn by men can be seen in archeological evidence from Persepolis in ancient Persia. The carved images of soldiers of the Persian Empire, displayed on some of the surviving walls of the palace, show them wearing an earring.Howard Carter writes in his description of Tutankhamun's tomb that the Pharaoh's earlobes were perforated, but no earrings were found inside the wrappings, although the tomb contained some. The burial mask's ears were perforated as well, but the holes were covered with golden discs. This implies that at the time, earrings were only worn in Egypt by children, much like in Egypt of Carter's times.
File:Giorgi III of Imereti by Castelli.jpg|thumb|left|King George III of Imereti depicted wearing earring. Teramo Castelli, 1630s
Other early evidence of earring-wearing is evident in the Biblical record; gold earrings were a sign of wealth, but ear piercing was also used on slaves. By the classical period, including in the Middle East, as a general rule, they were considered exclusively female ornaments. During certain periods in Greece and Rome also, earrings were worn mainly by women, though they were popular among men in early periods and had resurfaced later on, as famous figures like Plato were known to have worn them.
The practice of wearing earrings was a tradition for Ainu men and women, but the Government of Meiji Japan forbade Ainu men to wear earrings in the late-19th century. Earrings were also commonplace among nomadic Turkic tribes and Korea. Lavish ear ornaments have remained popular in India from ancient times to the present day. And it was common that men and women wear earrings during Silla, Goryeo to Joseon.
In Western Europe, earrings became fashionable among English courtiers and gentlemen in the sixteenth century during the English Renaissance. Revealing of attitudes at the time, and commenting on the degeneracy of his contemporaries, Holinshed in his Chronicle observes: "Some lusty courtiers and gentlemen of courage do wear either rings of gold, stones or pearls in their ears, whereby they imagine the workmanship of God to be not a little amended." Among sailors, a pierced earlobe was a symbol that the wearer had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator.
Piercing the ears for wearing earrings is practical for two main reasons: first, wearing earrings in pierced ears for prolonged periods is far less uncomfortable than alternative means of attachment to the earlobe, and second, the fastenings are generally more secure, which means that the risk of losing an earring is lower. However, styles and attitudes in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century dictated that piercing one's ears was considered primitive, barbaric, or to be practised only within certain ethnic groups; thus earrings during this period were predominantly clip-ons. In 1951 Queen Elizabeth II had her ears pierced so that she could wear a pair of earrings given her as a wedding present, perhaps prompting many other women to follow suit. By the late 1950s or early 1960s, the practice of piercing the ears re-emerged in the Western world, among young women who wished to identify with the anti-materialist youth culture, and as an act of generational rebellion, especially those who had travelled to more distant or exotic locations. Teenage girls held "ear-piercing parties", where they performed the procedure on one another. By the mid-1960s, with the invention of more modern ear-piercing devices, physicians began to offer ear piercing as a service; simultaneously, Manhattan jewelry stores were some of the earliest commercial, non-medical locations for having one's ears pierced.
By the late 1960s, ear piercing began to make inroads among men through the hippie and gay communities, although they had been popular among sailors for decades.
By the early 1970s, ear piercing had become fairly widespread among women, thus creating a broader market for the procedure. Throughout the United States, department stores would hold ear-piercing events, sponsored by manufacturers of earrings and ear-piercing devices. At these events, a nurse or other trained person would perform the procedure, using the ear-piercing device to pierce customers' earlobes with sharpened and sterilized starter earrings.
In the late 1970s, multiple piercings became popular in the punk rock community, and by the 1980s the trend for male popular music performers to have pierced ears helped establish a fashion trend for men; this was later adopted by many professional athletes. British men started piercing both ears in the 1980s, with George Michael of Wham! as a prominent example. By the early 21st century, it had become widely accepted for teenage boys and men to have either one or both ears pierced.
Multiple piercings in one or both ears first emerged in mainstream America in the 1970s. Initially, the trend was for women to wear a second set of earrings in the earlobes, or for men to double-pierce a single earlobe. Asymmetric styles with more and more piercings became popular, eventually leading to the cartilage-piercing trend from the 1990s onwards. Double ear piercing in newborn babies is a phenomenon in Central America, particularly in Costa Rica.
By the 1990s, boutique jewelry stores, such as Claire's and Piercing Pagoda, had become a mainstay of shopping malls in the United States, with inexpensive ear piercing via a multiplicity of styles of starter earrings as their primary offering, usually performed in plain view so as to demystify the procedure and present it as a quick, simple, exciting, and even enjoyable experience rather than as a painful ordeal, as it had often been characterized. This further popularised ear piercing, attracting both male and female customers, parents with younger children wanting their ears pierced, and encouraging repeat visits for multiple piercing, with teenage girls and young women as the primary target segment. Claire's claims it has performed over 100 million ear piercings, more than any other retailer.
From the 1990s onwards, with the increasing popularity of body piercing, a variety of specialized piercings in the ear other than the lobe had become popular; these require professional piercers who are trained with piercing techniques using bevelled piercing needles and specialised piercing jewellery rather than conventional ear-piercing instruments and basic starter studs. Such ear piercings include the tragus piercing, antitragus piercing, rook piercing, industrial piercing, helix piercing, orbital piercing, daith piercing, and conch piercing. In the 21st century this has further developed into the concept of ear curation, in which multiple piercings are "designed" for each customer to complement their ear shape, any existing piercings, and their desire for unique and personalised ear piercings and jewellery. Such designs are often referred to as "constellations", and some piercers have become renowned for their work with celebrities and influencers; as such, ear piercing has moved from the mainstream to having become a form of haute couture as it involves specialist practitioners, intricate designs, high-quality materials, and custom fitting.
In addition, earlobe stretching, while common in indigenous cultures for thousands of years, began to appear in Western society in the 1990s, and is now fairly common. However, this form of ear piercing is still infrequent compared to standard ear piercing, and may still be considered countercultural by some.