In the late 1960s, ear piercing began to make inroads among men through the hippie and gay communities, although they had been popular among sailors for decades (or longer). Traditionally, a right-side piercing identified a man as gay as part of LGBT “culture and code” to secretly identify oneself to the community. The left-side is widely accepted as heterosexual or straight while dual piercings indicate homosexuality or other varied expressions of sexuality. There has begun to be some challenging of these norms in recent years, though the standard view remains.