Donna, I can't add much more than what everyone else has contributed to except this - I had my ears done about 5 months ago. I had the starter studs in for the recommended 6 weeks and only had two comments - one from a former teammate I used to play rugby with and a North Jersey Italian friend (read mafia-type). Both discussion went something like this:
"Hey, you got your ears pierced!"
"Yup."
"Cool."
And that was it. Never another question in five months.
Since taking the starters out, I got two 18 gauge glass piercing retainers from the local piercing shop. They slide in nicely and keep everything open and I wear them out most of the time and they are virtually invisible (and held in place with a silicon o-ring). Since then I have seen ex-military friends, immediate and extended family and not a peep out of any of them. Maybe they noticed but no one really cared.
Frankly, I was the biggest scaredy cat all these years having angst over getting them pierced and now I realize what a total non-issue it is.
On the plus side, a GG friend who knows all about me commented how much "hipper" I look in boy mode with the piercings.
It's your ears and your life - most people are too wrapped up in their own existence to even notice such a minor detail.
My first therapy session after getting them even baffled my therapist. They said once or twice through the session: "You look different" or "Did you get collagen in your lips?" As I was walking out the door I pointed to the starter studs in plain sight and they said they did not even notice them.
If you want them - go for it sister.