What are culture norm for body piercings?

Answer 1

Cultural "norms" can vary from city to city and region to region. Case in point, in down town Victoria, B.C. you can see a great deal of folks with piercings and tattoos walking around in the downtown business core. Where as in down town New Westminster, B.C. the chances of seeing anyone with tattoos or piercings in the down town business core would be a rarity.

So defining a "cultural norm" would be based on the age demographic for the area you are looking at. The chances of seeing someone with tattoos and piercings in Smith Center, Kansas are less likely than seeing someone in down town San Fransisco, California with tattoos and piercings. Each area has it's own "implied" unwritten code as to what would be "acceptable" to the mass population and what is considered "unacceptable".

The same as behaviour, what is acceptable behaviour in some places is not acceptable in others. So trying to find a "norm" would have to be flexible based on the age demographic for the area you are looking at. You would need to qualify any statement with a age demographic context to ensure you are not labeling something unfairly. But it would be safe to say that as the working force becomes younger, the acceptable norm would be more liberal or flexible to the display of tattoos and piercings, thus making it a "norm" for the area.