What do you think about the large gauge ear tunnels and plugs and ear stretching? I don't know anything about how its done or how long it takes to get the big giant holes I see on some of the kids....

Do you have them? Your kids? Do you like the look? Does it hurt? Will the earlobe ever shrink back once it's stretched open like that?

I was partially watching some MTV show where teenagers were in a kind of boot camp house and the male head of household gagged and almost threw up at the stench of the dead skin when the kid took the big ring out... That really grossed me out.

cj/

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My best friends son has them, but now he regrets what he has done to his ears and is saving to have surgery to repair the damage. It looks awful. He is 17 and says he fears he won't get a "normal" job with the way he looks now.

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I think they are hideous, so I'd never do it to myself. If others want to, that's their problem. Uh, I mean, that's their right.

I don't have tattoos or body piercings either (other than ears), so I'm pretty tame/boring in that regard.

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I think they are ridiculous and can't stand the sight of them. If I see someone coming towards me with that nonsense, I won't even give them the pleasure of looking at it.

Seems as though they only do it to themselves to draw attention.

I agree!! Sometimes it's nice to be boring.

I have some piercings and tattoos, so I guess I can put in MTC, right? Here's what I know: Stretching the ears to accomodate plugs does not hurt IF it is done slowly! I mean, SLOWLY! This is NOT something you want to rush, otherwise you risk skin tears, which can lead to infections, and believe me, an infected earlobe can hurt! I don't have my ears stretched, cause I'm a girl, and I like my earrings. If you stretch you holes, no more earrings. And what I can also say is how many people who have stretched their ear holes is that if they wear the natural plugs, say made out of wood, they start to get an odor about them. A BAD odor. This is natural. I have my septum pierced, the skin between your nostrils, and it is natural for your body to release lymph and oils through these holes, and there is an odor. Sometimes, I notice an odor from my septum piercing. And I wear titanium. I have worn a wooden piece there, and believe me, it does get an odor. So, not to be gross, but to be truthful. People won't notice this odor, only you will. Maybe some of you ladies who wear earrings have noticed this odor too? Its just natural. It's not from being unclean.

I wouldn't want to stretch my holes. Once you do, you can never go back. NEVER. You will have to be committed to wearing plugs for the rest of your life, otherwise you will end up with long droopy earlobes, like the Buddha had. If that is your thing, then go for it, but PLEASE make sure you research what other people who have them say about it.

I am always surprised by this attitude. While I am sure that someone, somewhere, might have chosen a certain look (a piercing, breast implants, a style of clothing) just to draw attention, In my experience people choose these things for *themselves*, not for anyone else.

Do you (general *you*) really choose your hairstyle, clothing, etc. based on other people? I just can't imagine doing that. I look the way I look for several reasons (religion being one of the reasons - spiritual adornment is an ancient practice that continues today, ranging from the person who wears a crucifix or yamulka (sp??) to piercings and tattoos)

While I undertand that some people will have questions/comments about my piercings, tattoos and shaved head, which I always answer/respond to patiently, I look this way for *me*, not for anyone else.

Oh, and to stay on the original topic, my ds 18, dd 21 and her husband, 33 all have stretched their ears and wear plugs/tunnels. I personally don't want to make my earlobes look any larger that they already are but I don't mind the look on other people. I've gotta say that seeing someone with "muffin top" is unattractive to me but I'm not the fashion police and if they are happy with the way they look then that's what really matters.

Seriously? You really think they care if you look or not?

Sure, some do it for attention. Some do it for reasons all their own, and they don't give a flying fig if you look or not.

I LOVE my tattoos. I don't care what anyone else thinks when they see me w/ my tattoos. My tats are mine and have significant meaning to ME.

I don't like the stretched holes simply because if a person changes their mind--it is a surgical procedure to get the holes sewn shut and repaired. You could say that about tats--however, generally tats can be covered by clothing.

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I think OUCH!!!!

Really, I don't give a flying fig newton what other people pierce, tattoo, enlarge, shrink, paralyze, remove, etc. on their own bodies as long as what they do doesn't interfere with anything I'm doing or expose parts of their bodies that are just not meant to be shown in public.

For example if a person had a piercing on their body that was so gigantic that it stuck out and made that person hard to maneuver around then I'd be bothered by it. Or if they had a ton of piercings that they didn't attend to properly and they stunk to high heaven as a result, I'd have a problem with it. Outside of things like that, which are unlikely to happen I would think, I really just don't care.

Now people going around with their butt cracks showing-that I have a huge problem with.

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Could someone please explain the process of growing the holes? Do the earrings have adjustments/expanders like braces? I'm naive about these things....LOL

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I think they are nasty and I would never have them but what others choose to do to their own bodies is their business. I just wonder what they will look like when they are 80 or 90 ?

My daughter has hers stretched a bit. I love some of the plugs she wears, very pretty. It's not anything I would do, but I like how it looks on her.

You have to do it very gradually. Here is a picture and you can see how the expander she has in can be moved slightly every few days to expand the hole in her ear.

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Ah, most of us will look pretty crappy when we're 80 or 90, so who cares about that aspect, LOL!

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I can't quite figure out the photo. Does the expander thingy have something poking her in the neck?

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It's not really poking into her neck, more like laying against her neck. But yeah that is it. You start out putting it in as far as it can comfortably go, then gradually move it in more.

And here is another picture of her because she is soo adorable and doesn't look ridiculous or hideous in this picture you can see her septum and her lower lip piercing. Don't look if you don't want to give her that attention

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Sometimes realize, I could only be as good as you'll let me
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Your daughter is beautiful! I *love* vertical lip piercings :-) When my DD has been stretching (she has a habit of stretching to a certain size, getting bored with it and letting it shrink smaller and then later stretching it again) she has also used tunnels with a weighted hoop put through the tunnel. There are several ways to stretch (and people don't just stretch their ears) you just need to go sloooowly :-)

Awwww Thank you so much!! I think she is beautiful too and I think her piercings are just so much a part of her now. And that they add to her beauty.

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Sometimes realize, I could only be as good as you'll let me
Are you woman enough to be my man?

I could care less what people do with their bodies. But, my youngest son wants to be a doctor. I wish that he would be a plastic surgeon. He could make a mint in fixing peoples ears that did this whole fad thing and then grew up.

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