'Weird' for not having piercings?

Very few women I know have the old-style lobe piercings of the kind you would wear a pair of earrings in. And probably 50/50 visible piercings of other kinds. Incredibly weird to me to assume someone has pierced ears.

if you really like them and they are worth it you could have them converted into clips.

no, not usual but exeedingly rare not to have piercings or tatoos.

Everyone's different. I don't have pierced ears but do have a pierced nape of neck.

I think you were a bit weird gushing and saying you'd try them later. Why didn't you just say"oh they're lovely, but my ears aren't pierced". I'd have found your reaction very insincere and a bit weird.

You aren't weird not yo have pierced ears.

I don't have any piercings. I don't like the feel of jewellery, sensory thing.
My SIL seems to think I do though as she buys me earrings every year. It's gone on a bit too long to say anything (I used to have pierced ears but not for like 20 years!)

I got my ears pierced later than most (30s) and I wish I hadn’t. One ear is fine but the other was problematic from day 1

Had to stop wearing earrings entirely a few years after I got them done and even now 30+ years later it still randomly gets hot and sore. I wish I’d never pierced them.

edited to add
one of my grandmothers was quite a snappy dresser in her day and never pierced her ears - I’ve got a few of her very glam vintage clip-ons which are tolerable for short periods. Really though I don’t bother anymore.

i suggest you regift them, or donate to charity, or ebay them

She couldn’t be bothered to check if you had pierced ears, but instead of apologising, as any decent person would, she’s blamed you.

Has she offered to replace them with something more suitable? I would request that. Hopefully if she has regifted them, she will have to actually spend some money on you.

I had mine done when I was about 11 but I haven’t worn earrings for about 30 years now.

I loved them as a teenager so I suppose it was worth it for that.

I'm much older than you, OP, and have no piercings, not even my ears. Just the thought of it makes me cringe! It's probably a minority thing, but so what? I'm not the only one, it's my choice and nobody has ever said it's "weird"!

i did have, when a teenager
but havent used them since they started itching

she properly was embarrassed. Most women I know have pierced ears but I know a fair few who aren't pierced. I wouldn't gift earrings without being sure.

I'm an 80s kid and my parents were so terrified about HIV they wouldn't let us have pierced ears...As an adult, I haven't ever felt I wanted to get them done- I think earrings look a bit weird tbh.

Your story is hugely embarrassing. For her! I bet she felt ridiculous, especially if she made a big deal about you trying them on.

I wonder if she was embarrassed and tried to make light of it

I don't think she was actually calling you weird though? Just making a lighthearted (you said it yourself) joke about her getting the present wrong.

I'm a 40yo woman, I know a lot of 40yo women, and I can only think of one who doesn't have pierced ears so yes you're unusual but obviously that's fine and it doesn't sound like she was making a value judgement. Just a bit of gentle humour to move past the awkwardness of an unsuitable gift.

I have multiple piercings... but none in the ear lobes. Does tend to confuse people! I might get them done though. No reason I havnt yet, except since I was old enough to get piercings there were ones I wanted more than lobes.

I suppose we are weird for not having then OP as its not the norm, but it's not like it's a bad thing.

I have a long face and felt earrings emphasised that - but I also worked in a health role where I had to ask people to remove them and the gunk around the stems could be yuck!

I don't have pierced ears and I don't think I've ever met another woman who doesn't. We're definitely the minority! I always get told I'm weird for that but I really don't care. I just say I think it's weird to punch a hole through your skin so you can dangle a bit of metal off it.

I never got my ears pierced though my older sisters did. I think it just kind of perplexed me as a kid why everyone (everygirl) did it without really thinking about it. I was tomboy ish so maybe that's part of it? Well when I was about 21 I let a guy pierce one lobe with a safety pin (we all did it) but yuck that came out after a few weeks.

Then I saw The End We Start From with Jodi Comer and she had tiny little gold hoops and all of a sudden I want my ears pierced with those earrings.

I had pierced ears but didn't wear earrings much. For some reason they closed up after one gap (no longer than any other gap in wearing them). One family member has bought me several pairs of earrings since. I find earrings, like clothing, a bit of an odd gift. She definitely buys me things to her taste not mine.

I wouldn't read too much into it.

She felt awkward and blurted out the first thing that came into her head.

I don't think she was even consciously trying to turn her embarassment back on you, she's just been caught in a moment and fumbled how she handled it, it's human, it happens.

I think it was a bit awkward how you broke the news to her as well tbh, initially pretending to keep them for a special occasion.
An 'these are absolutely beautiful, what a wonderful gift. So sorry to say I can't wear them not having pierced ears, a very generous gift though, don't worry it's one of those things one wouldn't think to check isn't it, I'm sure someone else will love them'.
Would have nipped the tricky moment in the bud and likely not made her feel so silly.

Mine aren't pierced.

Well, more accurately, I had mine done as a teenager but they got infected so I took the studs out and never tried again.

My mum, sister, niece and auntie all have theirs done. I think it's very common to have them done but that doesn't mean it's weird not to. Weird is an oddly judgemental word to use.

My DD isn't allowed piercings because of her heart condition. I have pierced ears but never ever wear earrings.

I'm early 40's and never bothered either! I think I'm the only one I know my age though, was definitely the odd one out at secondary. I've had people assume before and it's not something people really tend to notice. I don't usually go round staring at people ´s ears so I assume other people don't!

I don't have any piercings, both my sisters have many. It's personal choice and no one has said its odd but I'm 40 and I think I'm a minority. I told my sons they can get piercings if they want now they are teenagers but I'm not touching it. Luckily neither has wanted one.