Students at Morton East shared their opinions on trending piercings and body mods.

Piercings have become more and more popular among young people in recent years as a form of body modification that may challenge societal norms and help people define their own style. According to Chatgpt, body piercings can be traced back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, Rome, and India with cultural significance. Now, piercings may not offer as much significance. Most people get inspiration from social media and celebrities. According to Chatgpt, celebrities like Rihanna and Beyonce have been influential in showcasing unique and daring piercings. Subdermal implants are also on the rise as another form of self-expression. People often get skulls or a symbol, typically on the back of their hand, underneath their skin. These are often silicone, but some people also get magnets. Here at Morton East, piercings and body mods may not be as common and accepted as we think.

“I don’t have any piercings, but I would definitely want my ears pierced and an eyebrow piercing”, Senior Ivan Cousino says.

Ivan is not the only student with no piercings.

“I would love to have a piercing of my own, I’ve seen friends have their own. Some people judge them by having piercings because they don’t look normal, or they look ‘weird.’ In my opinion, people have many ways to express themselves with their own style and I admire people who are themselves and not like everyone else. I would like to have a septum or eyebrow piercing,” Senior Valeria Rivera says.

Valeria expressed a want for piercings even though she doesn’t have any now, showing the influence of piercings at Morton East. In a random survey taken by students at Morton East, it was revealed that 82% of students have piercings and 60% of those students have more than one piercing.

“I have the left side of my nose, ears, and belly pierced. I really been wanting my tongue, the snake bites piercing, and the top on my ear I don’t remember what it’s called but then I’ll be done with piercings. Septums are cool but I think the [subdermal implants] are too much and scary, “Sophia Guerrero says.

Sophia is one of many students at Morton East who already have piercings and still want more.

“I have a couple piercings. I want to get a smiley really bad because it looks cutsie. I think [septums] are sick as hell. If people want to do that, they can do that. Hand implants is… crazy, but it looks kinda cool sometimes depending on what they get.”  Says Victor Patino.

While everyone seems to support people who get piercings and hand implants, that is not the case.

“Septums make you look like a bull, they look ugly. [Hand implants] are very ugly and disgusting and I’m not a fan they like ick me out. If I see somebody with a hand implant, I’ll be really icked out and weirded out because it’s really weird but any other piercings I’ll just go about my day,” Freshman Sophia Barrera says.