Hw- 32 Tattoos & The Presentation of the Self

Tattoos in our culture vary because of the many styles and meanings people choose to permanently scar their body with. Usually we associate tattoo's with hardened criminals or low life's because of the tough external feature it gives someone. Many of the teen cultures are drawn to tattoos because of the unique individualism it gives them, basically a visual representation of individuality. This unique individuality is mostly accepted in the "cool" scene because it represents rebellion,(you know, fighting against the norm).

My school director who has up to at least 35 hours of tattoo work done on his arms and chest was his way of breaking the normal, right-wing private school base in Maine that almost everyone followed. Joining the punk-rock scene of the 80's, a rising sub-culture caught my school director's attention(also a popular place where tattoos are accepted). It was interesting to know that he called his tattoo's armour as he described it as a way to shield himself from the oncoming attacks made by the "normal" societies and a basic way of telling them "F U". He also talked about how tattoo's can have many different meanings depending on the person, but it can also be used to show the map of some one's life. The tattoos that he gained all meant something different and all had a significant representation of what he felt during that time of year. He also said that getting a tattoo is a painful process but an empowering one when its finished. You, your body and the tattoo become one and gives you emotional strength which is visually represented.

It's interesting to note that many people get tattoos as a method of revolting against government and religion, but what about how tattooing started. Tattooing started with cultures signifying a right of passage or a sign of religion that a society accepted. And after many decades of tattoos being copied we have gotten to a point where now tattoos have come to rebel against government or religion.

Of course not all tattoos mean to rebel against the power society is controlled by, but for the remembrance of a significant other that a lot of people get such as a "heart with the words MOM" written in it, etc but just a external way of showcasing their love and emotion towards something. Even for tattoos that do not have a meaning behind it have a high value of meaning. A student in my class who had written a great analogy of what tattoos mean in our society is much like a window, and I agree. He explains that "tattoos are like windows into a house. If the person is crying in their house, and doesn't want people outside to see them, they will close the window. If the person is sitting on the couch watching TV, they may leave the window open, but either way, the window still exists." This meaning that those who do get tattoo's are only publicly and externally showing their emotions as towards those who don't.