My ears were pierced. One has closed up completely, the other is mostly closed, but you can still see where it was pierced. My ears would just get too irritated every time I wore earrings, and it didn't matter what kind...surgical stainless posts, gold, etc...so I decided to just give up trying and let the holes closed. I wish I could find a way to convert my pierced earrings to clip-ons that wouldn't look tacky, because I have some very pretty ones I'd like to wear again.

No tattoos. When young people talk about getting tattoos, I suggest they think about what that tattoo is going to look like as they get older and wrinklier and if it's still something they'd want to be stuck with then, and to wait 6 months to a year after deciding they want a tattoo until they get one, to make sure they still really want it and it's not just a passing fad; afterall, they'll have the rest of their lives to enjoy it if it's something they really want, so waiting a year isn't a big deal for something permanent. If they aren't that committed, I strongly encourage playing with temporary tattoos instead and having their fun with the look without making it permanent. I have no objection to people having tattoos, and when a mature adult decides to get one, that's fine. I just worry that the young people are doing it as part of a fad, and from the perspective of experience, knowing how much my tastes have changed since being a teen or young adult, I worry about any "fashion trend" that is permanent. I'd rather they stick with goofy haircuts and colors, clothes that irk their parents, obnoxious attitudes, etc., than permanently ink their bodies with butterflies and dragons and barbed wire or whatever that they might not think is so great in 5 years.

As for me, I can't even decide on a paint color that I'd want to live with the rest of my life, so definitely am not going to tattoo myself with something.

Neither and no plans to either.

Nope.

I did have my ears pierced for a while (although they've closed up now), mostly because I was given a rather beautiful pair of platinum and sapphire earrings. Unfortunately, I experienced the same sort of problems as Calluna, so now they are sat in a drawer (the earrings, my ears are still firmly attached).

I don't have any tattoos, but one of my brothers, when he was in the Army, had "B Pos" tattooed on his upper arm, which I thought was a very good idea. Several of my girlfriends have tattoos, mostly quite small ones on their ankles, stomachs and shoulders. I wasn't put off by the pain (which I believe is minimal), I just never liked any image enough to have it permanently marked. I have spent several happy hours with my nieces playing with transfers and henna tattoos, though.

I'm the same as Sooz. I was thinking about getting another hole in each ear, but I don't think I will because my hair generally covers my ears.

I also thought about getting a tattoo, but would never put it on my arms or back or anywhere that anyone could see it - except my husband. My husband is one of the funniest people I know and when I told him my tattoo thoughts, he responded that he preferred verbal communication.

No. All of my wounds and scars have been accidental.

Let's hope tattoo removal methods have improved in that time as well. I think that some kids might make more rash decisions about getting a tattoo, thinking that if they really hate it later, they can "just" get it removed. People know there is such a thing as tattoo removal now, but I don't think they realize that it isn't really perfected. You can wind up with scarred/bleached skin, or it may not ever fully remove the tattoo, just fade it. And, it's not like you go to the dermatologist for a single office visit and zap it away. It can take many, many repeated procedures, each of which is very costly, to work...if it works.

I had plenty of fun with the "lick and stick" tattoos that used to come in Cracker Jacks boxes when I was a kid (you had to moisten them to apply...most quickly accomplished by licking them), and now they make much better quality temporary tattoos that last a few weeks, and henna tattoos are pretty neat too. I think those are a better way to go if you want to decorate your body. For me, it's not an objection to the look, it's just the knowledge that what seems "cool" at 18 seems really childish and stupid at 38.

It just occurred to me that for a bunch of people who all were horribly reluctant to admit to normalcy, I would have expected at least a few tattoos and extra piercings beyond the standard one in each ear (and am surprised there are others besides me who have either never had their ears pierced or let their piercings close).

It's very frustrating to me that it's pretty much impossible to find clip-on earrings anymore, and the ones I can find are really, really tacky. If there are two of us who can't wear pierced earrings, and three in total who have no pierced ears now, out of such a small group here, this can't be all THAT uncommon of a problem.

I'm normal and I have neither tattoos or piercings.

I have a couple pair of swarovski clip earrings, but generally only wear them to weddings and cruise formal nights.

unbeleivable..ha ha

So as not to disappoint Calluna, I will reveal that I have four tattoos and three holes in each ear. I rarely wear more than one pair of earrings. I have no plans to remove any of my tattoos. They are all large, black tribal designs. I got my art all after the age of 35. I wear suits to work. The one on my ankle is sometimes visible in work attire.

More than you all needed to know, but YOU asked...

Cool, Queen! I think over 35 is a good time to consider tattoos if you're going to get them. At least by then you have some idea of what places are starting to think about sagging, and can make wiser decisions based on that, and it's a mature decision, not a youthful impulsive one.

My sister has a tattoo, which is fine, though I think the one she got is awfully cliche...a little teddy bear on her hip. One of my other friends has a huge tattoo on her thigh, and while I'm not usually very fond of such large tattoos, hers is to help cover a large scar from a very serious accident she was in, and the design is sort of a memorial to the person who died in that accident (it seems to be part of her overall healing since she had a very hard time getting over the emotional scars more so than the physical ones). At the same time, she makes fun of her husband's tattoos, which are just some sort of Chinese or Japanese characters and he can't even remember what they mean anymore...we tell him they all say, "Stupid white boy wants an Asian tattoo."