A Short Recent History of Self-Mutilation for Fashion

1973

Striving to enhance his image as an outlaw, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones becomes the most conspicuous straight male since the Blackbeard era to have his ear pierced. By the end of the decade, a couple of hundred rock and roll trendies have followed suit.

By 1982

Every white heterosexual male between 18 and 25 in the West has had an ear pierce…