Article written by Claire Stroebel.
As I write, the scabs on my newest tattoo itch and peel a little more. It's not horribly painful, but it's not comfortable, to say the least. So why do I go through it?
More and more people are getting inked, and not just the millennials. I know people my mother's age who have gone and gotten a tattoo, to memorialise a lost loved one, or to signify the love they have for their grandchildren. Either way, the reason for their lateness is the same. It's more acceptable now. Why then, currently, do people still get the sideways looks? The judgements? All for deigning to decorate their bodies they way that they want?
They still hold stigma. In a lot of cultures around the world, tattoos have long been associated with lawless types. In Japan, for example, tattoos usually mean involvement with the Yakuza, which is interesting considering the Japanese style of tattooing is extremely popular. In Australia, tattoos are typically associated with bikies, and even the beautiful Southern Cross has been given a bad name. It's a similar story in a lot of places, but for the rest, it's the opposite. In pre-European New Zealand, for example, they don't have tattoos but rather Tā moko, where the skin is carved as opposed to being punctured by needles. It does not hold the exact same meaning as it did then, but even now it is still seen as something good and is deemed inappropriate for other cultures to mark on themselves.
Yet, tattoos still have a stigma in so many places. There is the case that, yes, there are dangerous people who wear tattoos, but it doesn’t mean that tattoos made them that way. However, it seems it depends on who made them popular that determines how they're accepted, but one would think that millennia of human history would make us a little more willing to embrace people for how they look.
It clearly hasn't. Humans aren't perfect, and we still deem another's worth by the way that they look. It takes a lot longer than we anticipate changing how people think, and people are impatient. Even when we can see and feel the target, we still want it sooner, not matter how trivial. We want traffic lights to turn green, the kettle needs to boil more quickly. It's all a little ironic, considering the time and pain people are willing to go through for a tattoo.
As I asked earlier, why go through with it? Why go through the planning, the pain, and the funds just to decorate my skin? Well, it shouldn't matter to anyone else but me, but it does otherwise I wouldn't be writing this article. So, I will explain.
Because it's fun. Because it's pretty. There are so many reasons to get a tattoo, not all of them reasonable. Most of us know that one person who got that horrible tattoo when they were drunk but, even then, it's not that big a problem. Some get them covered with a better, more carefully planned tattoo, or some wear them as a badge of honour. Some people even cover large scars from accidents or disease because it helps in their recovery. It's only skin, we all look the same in the end.
I think that for a lot of people though, the reason is memory. So that we don't forget a loved one, or to keep them close to our hearts (although getting someone's name tattooed on you is risky, at best). To remember things that give us purpose, or to remember a time when we were a different person, or just to remember something that brings us joy. I know that both of my tattoos encompass a lot of memories.
So, why are tattoos still a little bit taboo? They're not hurting anyone, not in any lasting sense. They're only hurting the sensibilities of people who cannot see the joy they bring. My tattoos remind me of my struggles with my mental health, and how strong I've become. Could I have achieved this differently?
Possibly, but the closeness and permanency of tattoos is something completely unique. The pain brings about a quality of its meaning lost on material items or words written on a page, and I can see how it's hard to understand that. We want to judge people by what we see, to take the easy, less patient route, which is why they're still seen as a little bit taboo. People feel that those with tattoos are perhaps hiding something or trying to deceive their viewer, which is utterly ridiculous, but so are people.
There are also a lot of other deciding factors in people deciding tattoos are inherently bad. A misguided upbringing is one of them, religion could be another, and the sway of the mob mentality is a strong contender too. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just going to take a little longer for us to bring everyone around and show them that tattoos are art. Or mistakes. Or just painful moments that bring us many years of joy afterwards. But we do need to show them that there's nothing wrong with wearing your memories on your skin.
Comentários