HW 32: Tattoos and Presentations of the Self

Tattoos have changed from something that showed violence and power to something that can express anything, people can have anything tattooed, and that tattoo will represent whatever they want and show that they have matured, serving as a right of passage. Tattoos are a valid form of expression but sadly they are permanent and many people who get tattoos regret getting them, the statement they want to make now with their tattoos may not be the same statement they want to make later in life.

Tattoos can be an interesting form of expression since there are tattoos that conform to certain standards, like for women to get tramp stamps, and there are tattoos that are unique and make people seem different. Tattoos are often seen as very cool because they show someone's individuality and commitment to their art or as very uncool because this "poser" is so committed to being a "poser" that they've permanently scarred their body to be cool, tattoos are either interesting or pathetic. This further enhances the point that nothing is universally cool, anything you try to do to be cool can be viewed as "fake" or "real" based on who's observing you.

Tattoos are interesting in the fact that sometimes just having the tattoo reveals more about the person who has it than what the tattoo symbolizes. It takes a certain kind of person to get a tattoo, the reason they have for getting the tattoo will reveal who they really are. People get tattoos to follow trends, to truly commit to their ideas and expressions and make them permanent, or try to and end up regretting their decision, or to remember experiences etc. Even though someone may try to seem artsy, their tattoo placement may reveal the true intentions behind it. For example, if a woman gets a tattoo of an interesting design that looks artsy and says its to "express herself artistically" but the tattoo is on her lower back, you can tell that person attempted to fill a certain role and failed at it, making them uncool.

This same method can be used to "decode" someone's identity, the way that they go about performing their identity will reveal who they are under their mask. However there will always be the conundrum of weather the person is truly being who they are, or being extremely committed to playing their role, just as it's hard to determine weather an actor has the same personality as a character they play or if they're just a good actor.

It will always be hard to see through the identities that we put up because we put so much energy into our identities to protect ourselves. Occasionally people mess up their identities and people see through them, but tattoos and other markings serve as "armor", as Mr Fanning called it, to protect the identity of the person who has it. Just like a wedding ring symbolizes someone's commitment to another person, a tattoo symbolizes someone's commitment to their identity and ideas.