世論 What Japan Thinks

Call me old-fashioned or square, but I am glad that in Japan even minor body modifications such as simple ear studs are not that popular, as this recent survey from iShare into piercing confirms.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 10th of September 2009 516 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 56.2% of the sample were male, 33.9% in their twenties, 30.0% in their thirties, and 36.0% in their forties.

I’d like to know if the difference in Q2 of 24% to 8% is due to gender-based rules or due to the men and women in this survey working in different industries. Looking at my own employer’s rules, I cannot find a direct ban on piercings, but there are notes about gaudy earrings (and loud hair, etc) which suggest that anything more than a simple stud for guys would earn one a visit to the personel department.

I do occasionally see people with lip rings (yuk!), but I usually suspect they are just fake clip-ons, not real.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever had a piercing? (Sample size=516)

	All	Male N=290	Female N=226
Yes (to SQ1, SQ2, SQ3)	21.7%	5.2%	42.9%
No (to SQ4)	78.3%	94.8%	57.1%

Q1SQ1: Where have you had a piercing? (Sample size=112, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=15	Female N=97
Ear lobe	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
Other ear location	7.1%	6.7%	7.2%
Belly-button	1.8%	0.0%	2.1%
Lip	0.9%	0.0%	1.0%
Nose	0.9%	0.0%	1.0%
Other	1.8%	6.7%	1.0%

Q1SQ2: How old were you when you had your first piercing? (Sample size=112)

	All	Male N=15	Female N=97
Six years old or younger	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Seven to twelve years old	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Thirteen to fifteen years old	5.4%	13.3%	4.1%
Sixteen to eighteen years old	21.4%	26.7%	20.6%
Nineteen years old	26.8%	20.0%	27.8%
Twenty years old or older	46.4%	40.0%	47.4%

Q1SQ3: Are your piercings still open? (Sample size=112)

	All	Male N=15	Female N=97
Yes	78.6%	60.0%	81.4%
No (to SQ4)	21.4%	40.0%	18.6%

Q1SQ4: Would you like to get a piercing in the future? (Sample size=428)

	All	Male N=281	Female N=147
Really want to	1.2%	0.7%	2.0%
Might want to get one	12.6%	6.4%	23.5%
Don’t want to get one	86.2%	92.9%	73.5%

Q2: Does your current place of work forbid piercings? (Sample size=516)

	All	Male N=290	Female N=226
Yes	14.0%	20.3%	5.8%
No	63.6%	64.1%	62.8%
Not currently employed	22.5%	15.5%	31.4%