What side is the gay side

Why Did We Flourish Up Thinking a Piercing in the Right Ear Was Gay?

On the playground, it was a truth so firmly established that defying it meant social suicide: If you have an earring in your right ear, it means you’re gay. We accepted it as gospel and never questioned its validity.

It may have been the subtle homophobia of my Illinois community in the ’90s. But as I grew up, it seemed appreciate everyone I met, no matter their place of start, knew and understood the earring code, as arbitrary as it seems.

It was even solidified in the New York Times: A 1991 report said homosexual men “often [wore] a single piece of jewelry in the right ear to indicate sexual preference.” In 2009, the Times covered it yet again, in TMagazine: “the rule of thumb has always been that the right ear is the gay one,” the author wrote about his own piercing journey.

Historically speaking, the truth is more complex. Earrings on guys have signified many things over the years, such as social stature or religious affiliation. In his book The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body, Desmond Morris explains that earrings have indicated wisdom and caring in the stretched earlobes of the Buddha, while pirat

I’m gay and I’m not a top or a bottom – I’m a ‘side’

As a gay man, prying strangers and potential hook-ups alike possess asked me one question more times than I’ve had hot dinners.

‘Top or bottom?’

Words get me out of bed in the morning, and when uttered by the right people at the right time, they’ve also been famous to get me into bed. 

But neither of these – top or bottom – accurately describe what I prefer to receive up to in the boudoir, so my response has always been a guarded mix of shrug and mumble.

Here’s the tea: I’m actually a ‘side’, a term coined by American psychotherapist and sexologist Joe Kort to depict those, like me, for whom penetrative sex – in either position – does very little. 

Getting the peach involved is, quite literally, a pain in the ass, but as for the aubergine, let’s just say that hands and mouths always understand the assignment way better. 

To continue the nourishment metaphor: if man-on-man action were a dinner party, I’d have zero interest in sitting down to a bland meal when the amuse-bouches are so good. 

I confess that I indulged in a lot of sex in my 20s – penetrative sex. 

It oddly took yo

Exposing the Truth: Which Ear is the Gay Ear?

Ever wondered about the importance of ear piercings and their connection to creature gay? I've thought about it, especially when the idea of getting an ear pierced came to mind. From what I've gathered, there was a time when piercing your left ear was a discreet signal among men to indicate that they were gay. However, that's old news. These days, fashion and its meanings are fluid. The principle of which ear is the gay ear doesn't hold the same implication anymore.

When it came to my own piercing, I recognized that the judgment was more about what I prefer aesthetically. Choosing between the left or right ear has change into a matter of personal taste, not a matter of sexual preference. So I concluded that whether it's the left or the right, it should just feel right to you.

Understanding Which Ear Is the Gay Ear Idea

Since I was deeply immersed in my self-expression, I have had my ear pierced. It is a simple act that carries weight. There was a time when ear piercing, especially if it was the right ear, came with which ear is the gay ear thought. And gay men would subtly identify each other by getting their right ear pierced. It was a

A few years ago when I was looking into nose piercings (it wasn’t until last year that I finally worked up the nerve and got it done) I discovered multiple websites debating which was the optimal side to get it done on.

I learned that in India the left side is preferred because it supposedly makes giving birth easier. I also learned that some people consider a particular side to represent sexuality.

Granted, there were no legitimate websites that provided me with this communication. My past English teachers would frown if they saw me consuming information from such weak sources. Still, I found many of these websites where one would ask “which side should I get my nose piercing on?” and people would battle it out in the comments claiming “Get it on the right side! If you get it on the left side, it means you’re gay!” or “No, it’s the right side that means you’re gay!”

I wasn’t too conflicted. Does the average person actuallyknow these so-called “facts” about the connection between nose piercing and sexuality? I assumed then, and still assume now, that they don’t.

A bigger issue that I had