Don't Touch Me!!

I can totally understand that people take interest in my appearance. I get a lot of stares, questions and stupid comments thrown my way by everyday people. I have accepted the fact that this is something I have to deal with by choosing to have 29 visible body piercings. Something I have never been able to get over however, is when people are so bold as to feel the need to physically touch me and my piercings. Most people have a space bubble, and I am no different. When people do this, I feel like they don't regard me as a human being anymore.

I was working at Hot Topic when I got my cheeks pierced. The piercings took a very long time to heal, and they were swollen and sensitive for quite some time. I believe it was about a week into the healing when a woman approached me in my workplace and said "Oh my lord, are those REAL?!?!" and began to fondle my fresh piercings with her dirty fingers. I think this was also the first time I lashed out about being touched as well, I remember pulling away from her and saying "Yes, they are, and freshly pierced. They hurt. I also have feelings, don't touch me." I remember her giving me a disgusted look as well as complaining to my manager about my 'mistreatment' towards her. My manager reacted as I hoped she was going to, she said "Well, I dunno how many other people you poke in the face, but around here we really don't allow customers to 'bad touch' our employees". She left the store in a typical "I'm right, you're wrong" bitch stride.
Another Hot Topic story came about when I got the outline done on my back piece. I couldn't wear a bra because it would have destroyed the line work during the healing process. So I ended up buying a few 'built-in' bra tank tops. I remember I was organizing a rack of pants when I heard someone scream "OH MY GOD! THAT IS SOOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!" Then I remember hearing someone run up behind me and yank my tank top down. Needless to say, my boobs had popped out of the front, fortunately nobody saw anything. I quickly pulled my tank top back up and turned around to see a woman in her early 30's with dilated pupils and a huge smile on her face. I also saw my manager looking at the transpiring scenario with a look of disbelief. I felt like I had just been raped. This woman kept asking me abrupt questions about my tattoo. Asking a new question before I could even answer the one before it. Eventually she shut up and walked away. I don't remember much because honestly I was traumatized by this woman.

Sometimes little kids can infiltrate my space bubble. I don't mind kids so much because they are honestly curious and I tend to come off like some kind of cartoon character to them. I don't have much of a maternal instinct, if any, but typically I love kids that I'm not responsible for. Anyways, I was standing in line at a gas station when a woman holding a baby got in line behind me. She turned around to look at something behind her when the baby reached out and grabbed the large ring in my earlobe. Now, babies have some sort of freakish strength I cannot even begin to describe, this baby could have quite possibly hung from my earlobe just fine. The mother did not even notice until I had let out the standard "Umm, excuse me. Your baby is attacking me, help!" The woman showed little concern, and her friend had the nerve to take a picture before they bothered to unhook the baby. In the end I felt I was nothing more than entertainment for these people. To think, I could have been a hot tempered lesbian biker who was about to stab them in the face for them laughing, as well as insult to injury. I guess some people don't think about their life ever being at risk when they are in public though.