Peer Pressure In Loise Montero's 'The Body Piercing Project'

Today, there seems to be a lot of peer pressure put on people that can negatively affect them in several ways. Peer pressure can affect others in ways such as, self-esteem issues, stress, and could affect decision making drastically. In an essay called “The Body Piercing Project” by Josie Appleton, some people turn to tattoos and piercings as an escape from all the pressures of society. It is a way for them to ignore resolving any problems from their personal lives. In an article called “Peer Pressure in Teen’s Society” by Loise Montero, it shows that teenagers tend to dress differently or apply more make-up to try and fit in with society’s expectations. They have so many pressures resulting from the types of clothing they wear to their hairstyles;

In the essay it says, “Some also claim that body modifications help them to feel ‘comfortable in my own skin,’ or proud of parts of their body of which they were previously ashamed” (Appleton 333). Society makes people feel so unconfident that they feel they must change to feel comfortable. People strive every day to be the “next best thing”, so they can be considered popular or trending. One girl from the essay stated, “‘I’ve always been kind of quiet in school and very predictable…I wanted to think of myself as original and creative, so I decided I wanted something pierced…Now people don’t think of me as shy and predictable, they respect me and the person I’ve become and call me crazily spontaneous” ‘(Appleton 333-334). Tattoos and piercings can get out of hand because they are addictive and people use them as a way to avoid life conflicts. This girl in the essay felt like she had to get a piercing because she wanted people to see her as fun and creative. Tattoos and piercings should not be an escape from all the pressures of society. Everyone should be proud of who they are and should love

Peer pressure seems to be getting worse, and it has become the biggest challenge for teenagers to overcome. In the article, it says, “She tried to pull parts of her top in every direction to cover her exposed skin, acting as if it was some kind of security blanket, as shame and discomfort spread throughout her body” (Montero 57). This is a description of a girl walking uncomfortably down her school hallway. She felt defeated, like everyone is judging her every move. Every day, there are many teenagers that don’t want to leave their house because they are afraid of not meeting society’s expectations. It seems that if people don’t have the up-to-date clothing, make up, or hairstyle then they won’t fit in with everyone else. The article goes on to say that “Peer pressure is just caused by people, people who are neither stronger nor better than the other…just people” (Montero 58). Teenagers or anyone who struggle with accepting themselves need to understand that no one is perfect. We live in a society that has photoshop, edits, and airbrush techniques to make people appear flawless, but they are far from perfect. We need to realize that everyone is unique, and we all bring a special touch to the