Socially Acceptable Bodily Mutilation

Or piercings, for short.

I’ve been trying an online matching service since the first of the year, with varying levels of success. Lately, a prospective “match” asked me how strong my dislike of piercings was (I had listed it as a turnoff.)

It’s true that I’m not particularly fond of them. But my dislike stems mainly from my thoughts about relationships from 10 years ago,when they were not all that common. (piercings, that is)
I understand more now of the piercing mentality than I used to. I don’t think persons with piercings are “odd” or “off.” I really never did, but a lot of them definitely tell me something about a person, and how they approach life. I’ve always been willing to explore a relationship with someone who had them, should the right woman come along.

Basically, I don’t (and didn’t) believe that a beautiful woman is improved in any way by sticking a piece of metal into an otherwise attractive feature. But then I got to thinking about why I’m attracted to women in the first place, and it’s got very little to do with the body (which I do like), and everything to do with the person.

For a while, I rationalized that women with piercings somehow did not have the self image I was looking for. That someone who felt compelled to make an “unecessary” modification was not a candidate for a long term partnership, and that there were plenty of other women around that I was interested in that were not pierced.

That number is getting smaller and smaller all the time. And since earrings and nose studs are all over the place, the line is drawn a lot finer than I would like. On the flip side, I’ve never been against ink at all, which is a lot more permanent, and very indicative of the person. It’s a more emotional, permanent choice, and I respect the type of person who is willing to make it. Piercings always have seemed like a fad or attention getting thing to me.

Also, I’m a very….tactile…. person, and an unexpected bump is definitely a mood killer. I had a relationship end dead when an out of town paramour showed up with a bar through her nipple. It may seem shallow, but at the time there were other women in my life of similar age and temperment who had not seen the need for wackiness, so I was quite willing to move on. (Her drug habit and high risk lifestyle helped seal the deal, but the piercing was the knockout blow, since I’m pretty sure she got it just to piss me off.)

I personally have no plans to pierce anything. I am as I was made, and am happy with myself and self image. The beard is one of my only conceits, but right now I’m not wearing it. It grows back fast, though. I’m examining how long it will take me to give up on shaving again.

Random Bhagwan thoughts, as I clean out my inbox.