“So, is it the new thing to put big holes in your ears?” asked my friend Katelyn, innocently. I responded in the affirmative and explained gauging to her.

For those who don’t know—especially my parents because, as far as I know, they’re my only avid readers—gauging is the practice of creating large holes in the ear through a series of gauges that gradually increase in size.

If I had, at the time, not been sick and feeling woozy, I would have opened upon her the flood that is the extent of my views on gauging.

Gauging serves as yet another bane upon this generation. Ear piercing is one thing. Piercings can be played up or down depending on the situation. They can be taken out and healed over with little to no scarring.

Gaugings, however, scream, “Look at me!” They cannot be made to look elegant, sophisticated or even businesslike, as can regular piercings. And even if removed, they’re not really gone—the ear can’t come back from something like that. The scars will be an everlasting memento of a careless youth obsession with “individuality”—which, if thought on for any time, one can clearly see that if it’s a fad, it isn’t by any means unique.

Putting all their hideousness aside, one word comes to mind: future. After graduation, in the real world, those gauges will have to go or the chance at a job might slip by.

Gauging can and should be likened to massive tattooing. It might be the in-thing now, but when you’re 40, are you still going to adore those ink sleeves? Moreover, is your employer?

It’s the common argument to say, “Well, I don’t care what people think.” Once again, you might not care now, but chances are that’ll change a bit when a job comes around that you really want, but they either won’t hire you at all or they’ll make you hide your “individuality.”

It’s a lesson parents have been drilling into children’s heads for centuries—think before you act—and it’s about time people start listening.

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3 comments

Anonymous

Fri Feb 19 2010 13:10

Could we have someone actually use this space in the paper for something useful? Or at least research it before one runs a filler op-ed at the last minute?

Anonymous

Fri Feb 19 2010 10:45

Not all gauges remain permanent. In general, lobes can be stretched as large as 0 and still shrink back to their original size. A little more research should be done before such opinionated claims are published. To each his/her own.

Anonymous

Wed Feb 17 2010 16:24

This article screams " I have no idea what I'm talking about, and was probably homeschooled." Seriously, it sounds like a 5th grader wrote it. Just because people have different tastes in their style doesn't mean they're a lesser part of society. Also, not everyone wants to be business CEO when they grow up. For some jobs, tattoos and gauges would be considered A-Okay. You say to think before you get gauges, maybe you should think before you write?

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