Tattoos As Self-Mutiliation [View all]

[earthside]

This essay published yesterday over at CommonDreams.org has created quite a stir.

Tattoos As Self-Mutiliation by David Macaray

An excerpt:

According to the guy down at the donut shop, there are three possible explanations for the popularity of tattoos: Aesthetics, Imitation, and Exhibitionism.

Aesthetics makes perfect sense. A woman may think a large, red and blue flower on her shoulder adds to her overall attractiveness, makes her seem more feminine, and a man may genuinely believe that a fierce skull wearing a top hat makes him appear more masculine or menacing. There’s no accounting for tastes.

And imitation may simply reflect the powerful influence of peer pressure, something we’re all aware of and, if we’re honest with ourselves, something we’ve all succumbed to. When the high school student body president gets a tattoo on his/her arm, 200 classmates are going to want to get tattoos on their arms. So maybe that’s the explanation. Tattoos are viral.

As for exhibitionism, we can only hope that’s not the answer. We can only hope that a “Hey, look at me!” mentality hasn’t reached critical mass. “Hey, look at my design, look at my symbol, look at my message!” Don’t judge me by who I am, folks; judge me by what I have printed on me.

Tattoos are an interesting sociological phenomenon in 21st century America.

For myself, I find it fascinating how a once unique, individualistic 'statement' is so easily absorbed by the corporate popular culture, i.e., at least a half dozen reality cable television programs. What was briefly a non-conformist action has become very conformist, especially for young people.