Male Earrings: What Does it Really Mean?

After viewing and analyzing the 1968 Skipjack and the work of Andy Warhol, I have clearly found that popular culture is constantly changing and adapting to new styles, attitudes, and especially, the messages individuals attempt to portray with what they wear.

Since people have always been wearing certain things to portray who they are, I would argue that one of the best current styles that clearly personifies this is men who wear earrings. Back in the conservative era of the 1960’s, men with earrings were ostracized and accused of homosexuality. In ancient times, males wore earrings to signify power and prestige, and now in current times, this jewelry has grown accepted and adapted many new meanings. It’s true that some homosexuals express themselves through jewelry, even to the subtle distinction of which ear one is pierced, but now, this style has also been absorbed into the representation of power and wealth. In current times of material wealth, a man wearing huge diamond earrings turns heads not for the assumption of homosexuality, but the assumption that the man must be rich. By wearing expensive and flashy jewelry, these men display their wealth in a proud and prestigious way; a new age twist on the ideas of men from ancient times. Another earring style borrowed from ancient or tribal themes is known as gauging, or stretching one’s piercing to sizes sometimes far beyond the traditional 20 gauge stud. This style can portray many messages ranging from simple aesthetics to a display of current day deviant or counter-culture behavior similar to that of Warhol’s or the Punks.

Men wearing earrings can mean many things, you just have to look closer to see what message the ear studded man is trying to portray. Whether it’s an expression of sexuality, wealth, power, deviancy, or something else, the ever changing and growing sub culture of men with earrings is constantly manifesting new social meanings. After performing a semiotic analysis of this particular style, I can strongly argue that it reflects pretty much the biggest principle of pop culture: that it is ever changing and constantly used to project new meanings and beliefs.

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Male Earrings: What Does it Really Mean?

After viewing and comparing the 1968 Skipjack and the work of Andy Warhol, I have clearly found that popular culture is constantly changing and adapting to new styles, attitudes, and especially, the messages individuals attempt to portray with what they wear.

The message portrayed by the average dress of a college student in the 1960’s was simple; professionalism. These students all wore suits and ties as if already in the business world. These men were preparing for the real world by adapting to a professional attitude and conforming to what was considered appropriate dress for a wealthy educated individual. This attitude is also much related to the period in pop culture where being professional and conservative was ‘in’ and non conformists were looked down upon.

This brings me to Andy Warhol and the pop culture revolution. It was the dawn of an era where individuality, self expression, and even the eccentric and bizarre were celebrated while conservatism was shunned. ‘The Factory’ followed these new cultural guidelines similar to that of the Punks from “Style in Revolt, Revolting Style”. Warhol’s photography personified the void and vacant mentality by displaying his barren warehouse-like loft as opposed to a furnished professional studio. There were close-ups of faces not smiling, but with blank stares or strange camera angles, sometimes of the backs of heads or blurry motion shots. Also, the clothing portrayed was similar to that of the Punks, which starkly differs from the Skipjack and its business attire. Andy Warhol’s style boldly portrays the messages of a new pop culture, one of individuality, non-conformity, and the artistic portrayal of anti-conservatism.

Since people wear certain things to portray who they are, I would argue that the best style that clearly personifies this is men who wear earrings. In the conservative era, men with earrings were ostracized and accused of homosexuality. However, this jewelry has grown more accepted in current times. It’s true that some homosexuals express themselves through jewelry, but this style has also been absorbed into the representation of power, wealth, and fame. In fact, some argue that male earrings have been a sign of power and wealth for centuries. In current times of material wealth, a man wearing huge diamond earrings turns heads not for the assumption of homosexuality, but the assumption that “damn, that man must be rich!” Men wearing earrings can mean many things, you just have to look closer to see what message the ear studded man is trying to portray.

Word Count 413

Contrasting portrayals of homosexuality vs. wealth and fame through earrings in men

Lyrical Genius

In my opinion, there is no greater medium for a story than the lyrics of a song. Simply put, a song is nothing more than a story that is either sung, rapped, or sometimes even screamed. I can always recognize a good song when the lyrics really catch my attention. Some songs are chocked full of wild metaphors with a vast array of meanings meant to be interpreted differently by every listener. Other songs are more straight-forward, telling a story or preaching a message through clever rhymes or uplifting melodies. Regardless of the type of song, genre, or writing style, my ears always gravitate towards particularly meaningful lyrics. One personal favorite of mine is a band called 311. Their songs are always long and drawn out with their dual lead singers rapping over a mix of fast paced funk/reggae. Considering how energetic these guys are, I feel like I’m standing in the pit at one of their shows every time I give them a listen. I’ll never forget the first time I heard my current favorite song by 311 called “Nix Hex.” This song completely embodies every element of the band I just described and continues to blow my mind. The song is from 311's early days and speaks about their desire to become successful and giving proper respect to those who influenced their music. Here is just a taste of their lyrical genius:

Story time
Sways away the haze
They spent contemplating, formulating, theory siring abuse me swimming
Pay tribute to the few we look up to
Come again
You my soul fool
Who will know us but our brothers
Those who be down with us are thinking Newschool, tip top, pound the feeble
Walking and talking
Low down and evil
Follow me now Yo Vato
The Nix Hex is on

See 311 live at Pier Six Pavilion with Ballyhoo! on Saturday, October 23.

Word Count w/o song lyrics: 233

I Am Reggae

Playing, creating, recording, and listening to reggae music is what I do most when I'm not at work or in class at UMBC this fall. My name is Sam Waller and I've had a deep passion for music for as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to all sorts of music and took up playing the bass and eventually the guitar about 6 or 7 years ago. Just recently, I have grown very attached to a genre of music know as reggae. I played in a reggae-rock band called Chronic Rhythms for about 4 of those years and have been hooked on reggae ever since. The metronome-like guitar skanking, the overpowering rumble of the bass, the crack of the snare, the words of freedom echoing out of the speakers. In my opinion, its the most free-spirited and empowering genre of music out there.


word count 146.