I don't understand the fake plugs...

But seriously. I don't. I know that they make a lot of cool earrings for people with STRETCHED (not gauged, a gauge is a size) ears, but I just feel like if you REALLY want to wear those earrings, you aught to stretch your ears.

I do understand the people who simply can't stretch their ears due to work conditions or having lobes that are far too small to do so (though I've seen plenty of people with small earlobes stretch their ears to ridiculous diameters), or those who are just wondering how it would look.

But I feel like it's faking it. Like having fake tattoos rubbed on, or wearing extensions (unless your job won't allow you to have dyed hair, obviously, but I don't like extensions regardless unless they're being used for hair falls). I just don't like it!

I'm not trying to hate on anyone's crafts here, but I just...think it's silly to wear those around, when there are plenty of AWESOME and GORGEOUS earrings for people without stretched ears too.

This also goes for the fake plugs that Hot Topic sold a few years ago. They didn't even look remotely real, especially when it covered the bottom of the earlobe. THOSE looked stupid (simply because they were TRYING to be fake plugs, I thought they woulda been cute as legit earrings).

Also, they are not called gauges. I'm sick of reading it and hearing it, and I want more people to be informed. They're called plugs, eyelets, talons, claws, hanging, ornate, spirals, even just earrings.

tl;dr: Want to wear sick 00g earrings? Stretch your ears.

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66 replies since 10th August 2010 • Last reply 10th August 2010

*waves banner* I'm with you!
I'm especially pissed with the kind of people who are wearing them around here. It's becoming a trendy "look how rebellious I am"-item for trendwhore-blingbling-teenagers. -_____-

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I've got one that I'm going to put in my ear, one of those curly tribal looking ones that it's impossible to get in normal sizes, and even really hard to get fake ones. I'm allergic to lots of stuff so can only wear titanium earrings and it's surprisingly hard to find anything decent, and affordable, that I can wear. I can see why it annoys you, but I like the look of the big tribal swirled earrings and think stretched earlobes are hideous.

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I can understand someone wanting to see what they would look like with gauges without having to gauge first. They might wear it for a few days and realize that they don't enjoy the look. There is no harm in that.

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Keyword "fake". Some may like the look but don't want to commit to the actual ear stretching and the same with tattoos and other things that are permanent. I'm with KK though, stretched earlobes are a bit gross to me, but I don't look down on people who do that or wear the fake ones; to each their own.

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Oh yeah, not looking down on anyone with stretched lobes =P I just don't like them and wouldn't do it to myself.

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i dislike the entire look of them, fake or real.

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I don't understand the real ones either. I think it looks neat when they are in but when you take them out, bleck.

But, I do understand the fake ones to a point. If you are a tween teenager I think they are perfect. Their parents probably won't let them stretch their ears. I certainly wouldn't let my sons do it. That to me is a major descision. You can't put your ear back or hide it once it is done. Unless you get surgery. And I think it is a good idea for people who want to try it out and see how it looks before they actually do it.

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I've stretched lobes to a 0, have worked my way up over the period of four years. I also have seven tattoos, and i do tattoos.

To put it simply, people want to experiment. I don't agree with people wearing temporary tattoos as if they're real, or artificial plugs as if they took the time patience and pain of stretching.
as has been said before trying out a look is all well and good but there's a wonderful tool these days called GIMP(photoshop style free program) that's much cheaper than polymer clay.

But anyway on to the point I'd like to make.

In every culture, ever, there will be fakes and liars. there are fake punks, fake goths, fake people. Some people will do anything to fit in without the dedication to what a subculture is and stands for. It's sad, but it's inevitable.


Oh and Pixii, check out Mohawk thread in hair and beauty. The extensions i have right now may be an exception to your comments, as they're not meant to look like real hair. Happy They shine and move like plastic.

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well I say to each their own, but when they are fake admit it

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Yeah that would be terrible, to try and pass them off as real ones.

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I have awful wording! Autonomous, what you said was precisely what I was aiming for. Like I said, I understand people wearing fake plugs when they want to see how it looks, or simply because they like the look but their parents won't let them or their job won't.

But it's the people who try to pass them off as real ones who irritate me.

And I actually enjoy things like hair falls, fake dreads, wigs, and stuff like that...and again I understand not dying your hair because of parents or a job, but if you sit there and go "oh don't you love how I dyed my hair!?" then uhm. No.

I stretched my ears when I was thirteen to a 0, over the course of about four months. It was incredibly painful, and I ripped one earlobe. I'm very into the modification community, so when people have fake 'piercings' and they try to pass them off as real, it makes me incredibly angry, because I can tell (especially with the stupid suction balls for tongues and whatnot). Again, not putting down anybody who has them, I just think it's ridiculous to say "oh, look, I stretched my ears!" when they didn't. Because it's painful. And I've only just recently gotten my left ear to a six. It takes forever.

And yeah, lobes without the plugs in look a little silly/gross, but most everyone I know tends to keep them in (unless they're sleeping, in which case they take them out to prevent horrible horrible accidents).

I actually use Photoshop to see how I'll like a piercing on my face. =) And I usually edit my hair color to see about that, too.

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Oh fair enough then, that's really an issue of just lying bastards haha. Which sucks.

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Haha!! Yeah KK, that's about it. So yeah Pixxi, I understand that. It would be irritating for people to lie about something like that when you know yourself that it's a painful process.

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I have fake ones but a few actually do look real. I love the look when they're tiny (having huge ones just look primal and silly)but my job doesn't allow it and I doubt many others I'll have will appreciate the gaps in my ears. Plus I like being able to have "gauges" one day and the next go back to cute studs. Fake ones are for people who like the style but also like the freedom of trying everything out and not limiting themselves to one type.

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