Why the modern man or woman stretches their ears
I have always been intrigued by the social behaviors of humans. I love people watching. Sometimes it gets me wondering why people choose to express themselves in certain ways. The question today is, "Why do people stretch their ears?" The following is meant to refer to society as a whole. (I know there are many varied reasons why an individual may want to stretch their ears.)
History has shown us that ear stretching was initially used to show that an individual belonged to a group or a tribe. It was accepted by the group and they were marked as being "one of us". When someone did not have stretched ears they were considered to be an outsider or someone who did not belong to the tribe.
The Modern Day Ear Stretcher
Fast forward to the modern day practice of ear stretching and you will see quite the opposite. People seem to be trying to break out of the mold and express their individuality. Maybe they want to steer away from their current "Tribe" and join a new "Tribe" that better understands their beliefs and ideas. It seems that the individual is expressing who they are or want to become. The person who was once accepted as part of the tribe is now shown to be the "weird one" or "outcast."
20 - 30 years ago ear stretching your ears seemed to be very different from what it is today. Body modifications like stretched ears were rarely seen (except in traditional tribes). In the Western culture they were mostly seen in groups like punks or goths. Nowadays it continues to be on the rise. Ear stretching is growing in popularity with both men and women and it does not seem to be confined to any one type of group. It is truly an artistic accessory to add to the look or style of each individual.
The point of no return
There is a point in stretching your ears that is known as the "point of no return." In a lot of cases, when the ear is stretched above 10mm (00 gauge for ears), it is not able to properly heal and will never go back to what it was before. Below this "point of no return" seems to be what is more accepted these days. This was not the case in the 80's or 90's.
It seems that the higher the ear is stretched past the 10mm mark (00 gauge for ears), the more one might receive judgmental looks or opinionated remarks. Comments like "That is disgusting.", "Can I stick my finger through your hole?", or "Didn't that hurt?" If you have stretched ears, these comments and questions are all too familiar. It's just the way our society is. Perhaps in another 10-20 years it will be a nonissue.
The New Tribe
No matter for what reasons people decide to stretch their ears, one thing is for sure. The art's popularity is growing. The New Modern Era Ear Stretching "Tribe" is growing. The tribe is expanding around the world and immensely diverse individuals are finding common ground through the art of ear stretching.
What's Your Story?
I am taking a survey to hear your story. Please comment below and tell me your story of why you stretch your ears.
85 comments
I began my ear stretching as a form of stress relief by self harm. I never fit in to the norm in school and have continued my body modifications in other ways not wanting to go past the 00 gauge in case I ever decided to let them heal up.
My ear stretching journey began in highschool when i began to not care about how i looked anymore after being bullied for years and embracing my individuality as a whole. Which I have carried into adulthood and as a working woman.
Normality never fit with me. Having Dainty, bow,& or bling earrings weren’t a thing for me. I’m not sure where I seen it as a child; but I saw an Aztec warrior wearing bones in his stretched lobes. And that peaked my crave to wanting to stretch my ears. I always thought of how beautiful his ears were. Contrast from the stretched lobe & bone. Always stuck with me as a kid. I started off at 14, wearing 3-5 earrings in the same hole. My mother, who has some Native American in her, despised me “sagging my ears”. I was 19 when I started putting paper clips, one every few days, to stretch my lobes. They got swollen & I calmed down with that; took them out. Researched and stretched better, & realized wood is my ears best friend. Now 5 years later, I’m a 1/2", my goal size, eventually I’ll go bigger. Happy with my size, and my boyfriend appreciates them. When I went past the “no turn back” I was eager to for my simple ears. Eager to make them into what I wanted. My temple of life. Pierced, stretched, & adorned. & finding happiness when I find a great pair of plugs also helps.
Ever since I was a kid, I’m talking about 8 or 9 years old, I’ve always found body modifications extremely fascinating. I’ve always talked about getting tattoos and piercings. I saw this as individualism and self expression also knew it used to be, and still is, a cultural thing. It all started almost 2 years ago, so I was 19 and one of my friends has his ears gauged and I saw it as an opportunity to actually go through with it, so I did; and I honestly couldn’t be happier:) I started off at a 12 and I’m currently at a 2 I think I might size up pretty soon though.
I began stretching my ears at 14, with my best friend. At that age it was more for aesthetic purposes – having something different that no one else has.
Now, at 22, I am at 3/4s of an inch and contemplating going up one more time. Now that I’m older and have read into it a little more, I have found it fascinating that in buddhism, the size of your stretched ear lobe is supposed to be correlated with how wise you are.
I view it as a form of art and self expression. The fact that it has such a rich and vibrant history is a big plus though.