Piercings — one word that brings up a variety of attitudes and perspectives, from distaste for anything of the sort to the desire for self-expression.

Kurt Miranda, senior in social sciences, has a cheek piercing, snakebites (a pair of lip piercings), a microdermal teardrop, a straight-bar teardrop on the other side of his face and a two-gauge Prince Albert genital piercing. Microdermal piercings have anchors embedded under the skin with a flat stud or gem showing above the skin while teardrop piercings are located above the cheekbone under the outer corner of the eye.

Miranda said many people he has come across do not understand his continual desire for piercings, but each piercing he has connects to a different turning point in his life.

"If you are totally down with who you are and if you're free-spirited in your emotions, then you don't care what other people think about you," he said. "People like me, coming up from the South, we are just too lazy to care. If you don't care what other people think about you, you can move farther in life than you can by trying to fit the norm."

Miranda said he has moved "farther in life" socially since getting pierced — from people introducing themselves to him because they recognize him from passing each other on campus, to having an instant conversation piece in almost any situation.

Despite the social advantages of having art on his face, Miranda's piercings have presented him with numerous hurdles when seeking employment. This is the piercing paradox: while gaining freedom in the realm of self-expression, people with piercings face new restrictions when trying to get jobs.

Kerri Day Keller, director of Career and Employment Services, said some businesses are adverse to body piercings, tattoos and unusual hair colors because they do not match with the expectations of the industry or the clients they serve.

For example, banks tend to not allow facial piercings on employees because these institutions aim for a conservative image and serve clients across a span of generations, Keller said.

Aside from banks, Miranda said he has trouble getting hired almost anywhere.

"Pretty much everywhere I go, they're telling me that I have to take them out or put in plastic piercings, to cover up the fact that I have any piercings at all," he said. "I don't want to do it, but I know that if I don't work, I don't live, so I meet them halfway.

"But if they're going to tell me to straight-up take them out, then I won't work there because that's not a job that I need to be in. If they can't take me for who I am, then they obviously don't want to accept me there."

In contrast to Miranda's application experiences, Thread, an Aggieville business, regularly hires college students and young people who have facial piercings.

"We pretty much accept anything," said Tanner Pieschl, manager of the store. "I really just go by, ‘Is it an over-the-top thing?' or, ‘What kind of vibe do you get from the person?' It's really more about personality than exactly what type of piercings they have."

While first impressions are important in the corporate world, Keller said what matters in the end is personal authenticity.

"All of us want to be authentic, to present who we are, and certainly that is something where, as you get hired on and learn more about the company culture, you can be able to show more of your true self and of that uniqueness you want to demonstrate," she said. "Still, it is something that has a certain controversy associated with it."

Miranda said the most important thing he hopes K-State students will understand is that piercings are a lifestyle.

"It's not something that's going to go away — people are always going to have piercings, and we need to rise above the idea of thinking just because somebody has piercings or tattoos, that they're dirty or they're not intelligent," he said. "We just need to get rid of that whole concept, because it's detrimental to society."