In 2005, thirty percent of millennials claimed they have a tattoo, a figure that has undoubtedly increased as tattoo removal technology improves(Perraudin, 2018). The use of tattoos has evolved from its primitive uses and is becoming more universally accepted. The increase in demand for tattoos can be attributed to public figures such as celebrities and athletes publicly displaying their tattoos, making the possession of visible tattoos more commonly accepted (Luby, 2018). Another factor reliable for the increase in the number of tattoos is the tattoo artist community's activism and advocacy. Tattoo techniques were phased out in favor of new ones, with greater training and knowledge of health and safety practices put in place such as sterilization and new inks being implemented to reduce the danger of infection(Kosut M,2015).
As a result, Body art has become more mainstream, with many people in the tattooing industry correlating that the shift in social acceptance of tattoos has influenced the change of motivation behind getting a tattoo (Kayyali, 2021). Tattooing has evolved into a meaningful and intimate practice, a symbolic marker that can give you a sense of control and even alleviate mental pain, by permanently marking one's body.
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Alan Powdrill, a photographer, adds credibility to this argument. Powdrill took photographs and conducted interviews with forty people. He intended to document the growing popularity of tattoos in modern society, and the reason for having them (Stewart, 2018).
His portraits explored what these tattoos reveal about a person's identity, and what occurs when you conceal the tattoos that are a crucial part of that person's identity. There were common recurring themes of motivations such as self-expression, art, traumatic healing, and symbolic markers of personal experiences. Below are some of Alan's photographs, accompanied by a quote from each person regarding their tattooed body(Barnes, 2015). The expression 'the body as a canvas for art,' is frequently used by many tattooed individuals, to describe how they embellish their bodies with tattoos as if they were wearing jewelry or apparel. While this can be regarded as 'art for the sake of art,' many people have profound emotional connections to their tattoos(Mandy, 2020, and Bares, 2015)
A tattoo on the body can be regarded as a work of art because of its capacity to narrate stories with imagery and create visually appealing designs. While different people define art differently, Michaud believes that something is art if it can elicit emotion, feeling, or expression(Michaud,2012).
Expressionist art emphasizes emotions, implying that if a narrative is accompanied by or brought to life by a creative piece, it is art(Park Gallery, 2019). When the body is used as a canvas, the individual who gets tattooed is seen as a significant part of the motivation behind getting the tattoo, and as part of the aesthetic experience(Michaud,2012). People can acquire tattoos for the same reasons they get jewelry or wear specific clothing, they like the way they look and find them aesthetically pleasing. They select a tattoo artist based on their personal preference for style, techniques, and design. People pay a lot of money and travel far to have their tattoos done by a specific tattoo artist, they may even have a collection of their art or a collection of the works of other artists on their bodies.
Some even go to the extent to sell their skin to art dealers, a piece purchased by Steiner sold for a hundred and thirty thousand pounds, and once the person with the tattoo has passed away, they would have the skin removed and displayed in the personal art collection of the buyer (Low, 2017).
The body serves as the canvas; yet, tattoos don't fit into the fine art world's business model of selling and purchasing and are only considered to be valuable to the person who wears them. Although, the once subversive act is now recognized as an art form. Many galleries have held exhibitions with live performance tattooing, and have had an increasing number of tattoo works of art from ancient and modern times displayed(Nelendorf, 2014).
The Musee du Quai Brandly is a museum in the Quai district of Paris. By studying tattooing as an artistic medium, Brandly produced an exhibition called 'Taters, statues, or 'Tattooist, tattooed,' that helps support this argument. Silicone models featuring many intricate designs of both new and old artists, alongside preserved tattooed skin, are put on display. Even if they don't have a specific meaning, tattoos can be wonderful pieces of art(Madri, 2014).
Identity and self-expression
What is the story that our bodies tell? The immigration museum in Victoria, Australia, poses this question in their 'our bodies, our voices, our marks,' exhibition. Tattooing is examined as a form of self-expression, identity, culture, and art form in this exhibition. Tattoos are pieces of art that can symbolize a person's identity, individuality, and culture, as illustrated by the exhibition in Victoria(Quinn, 2019).
The exhibition's curator, Stanislava Pinchuk, invited attendees to contemplate what it means to document one's own body. Viewers of the exhibitions should be able to observe how a journey through one's life can be conveyed through their tattooed body. Pinchuk's exhibition, 'Documenting the Body,' focuses on local perspectives on tattoos while addressing problems such as immigration, heritage, and identity. She was also interested in learning more about how our bodies influence how we perceive others and ourselves(Kaviani, 2019, Quinn, 2019).
The artwork in Pinchuk's exhibition has been promoted through a variety of different media. The Museum of Victoria has provided videos and pictures of some of the tattoos displayed in the exhibition. Along with a few voiceovers explaining why those tattoos are such an important part of their identity. One of the speakers says 'Transforming the body is an act of dreaming and belonging.'
Annie, for example, another voice participant in the exhibition, argues that she was not encouraged to express herself visually when she was younger, her mother encouraged her to keep her head down and blend in. Although, tattoos are now a way for her to represent the most important aspects of her identity. Her tattoos serve as a visual depiction of her cultural heritage, a crane tattooed on her leg surrounded by river reeds is displayed. She continues to explain that her tattoo is based on a photograph that her mother took when she immigrated from China to Australia. 'Mum was a little bit more accepting of that tattoo because I explained it was about her,' Annie subsequently claimed in an interview(Our Bodies, Our Voices, Our Marks, 2019). Below are some of the artworks displayed in this exhibition.
The young artist's work is incredible, it's amazing how they integrate indigenous, traditional iconography while additionally breaking gender barriers to create a stunning piece of art. The nudity taboo is also challenged by the presence of a nude male figure. Pinchuk also makes a point of exhibiting the work of those who are marginalized in Australian culture and society(Kaviani, 2019).
Tattooing was once considered a taboo issue in Japan. Although, it has subsequently received international acclaim for its artistic merits and historical significance.
In 'Walking the Walls,' Angela Tiatia confronts the Samoan taboo of female nudity by displaying her sacred maul thigh tattoos as a means of challenging gender norms. In terms of questioning the meanings and stigmas associated with tattoos, the exhibition is pioneering. It demonstrates how the art of tattooing has been employed by numerous civilizations for many years and shows how effective tattoos can be in representing identity (Australian art reviews, 2019, Quinn, 2019).
Tattoos have been perceived as a powerful form of expression outside of the exhibition.
Thousands of people throughout the world have semicolon tattoos to help raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health issues(Grisham, 2021). The majority of tattoos were found to have a personal significance experience that influenced the tattoo design and choice behind getting it.
Professor Susan Cadell, an expert in post-traumatic development, compiled qualitative data on how tattoos have been used in the grieving process(Cadell, 2021). She went on to explain that one of the couples she interviewed had given their son a difficult time after learning he had gotten a tattoo even after expressing their dislike for them. Unfortunately, their son passed away in a car accident, and a couple of weeks later, the father chose to honor his son by getting a tattoo of the same design that his son had. After that, the parents began a collection of tattoos dedicated to their son all over their bodies, as well as revealing tattoos on five other relatives who had also decided to memorialize him with a tattoo.
After losing one of her children, another interview participant had a design of one of her children's names tattooed on her. When questioned why she only had one of her children's names, she explained that her children who are alive are always with her, and unfortunately, her son is not so this was her way of keeping him close to her at all times, helping her feel as though he is still there with her, carrying the memory of him forever. Further promoting how tattoos can help with growth and healing after a traumatic event, and how tattoos can hold very personal and meaningful connotations(Cadell, 2021).
The stigma associated with tattoos may be fading. The tattoo ban on Air New Zealand personnel has even been lifted, acknowledging that tattoos are occasionally used by New Zealanders of Maori ancestry to display their history and heritage (Ward, 2019). They even had the first news anchor with traditional tattoos this year. A news anchor would never have been seen with a tattoo on his or her face. Orsini Kaipara, a young woman from New Zealand, made history when she became the first news anchor to sport a traditional Maori tattoo. In our current culture, this embrace of ethnic diversity seems especially important. Tattooing is a way for people from all cultures to convey their personal experiences and identities(Ravindran, 2021).
However, unfavorable stereotypes will always persist, with many companies in numerous nations demanding that tattoos be covered up. Many employers dismiss applications based on the fact that the applicant has tattoos (Daniel, 2021). Other nations, such as Iran, have a particularly harsh stance towards tattoo artists, with tattoo artists frequently being arrested(Van der Zee, 2019). Tattoos are certainly stigmatized in today's culture, but exhibitions such as 'our bodies, our voices, our markings' help to promote awareness of the cultural significance and beauty of tattoos.
Tattooing has become a part of mainstream society, a method to visually display and define one's identity. The permanency of the tattoos is important because they allow you to forever carry significant memories of growth, or loved ones, and also allow people to express and define their identity. Studies show that in the United States, women are becoming tattooed in far greater numbers than ever before, with fifty-nine percent of women having tattoos in comparison to men, having only forty-one percent, under the age of fifty-five(Thompson 2015). However, this does not necessarily imply that the stigma associated with tattoos and the people who have them has shifted. Research done by Nicolas Gueguen found that women with tattoos are perceived to be more sexually promiscuous, less attractive, or less honest ( Gu©guen, 2013). The study looked at the effects on men's perceptions and behavior toward tattooed women. The results concluded that significantly more men approached a woman if she had visible tattoos. Following interviews with the men, it became apparent that these findings were not due to the women being more attractive, but rather because the men believed tattooed women were more inclined to be intimate on the first date, with 440 men contesting this (Swami and Farnham, 2007). In a separate experiment, a woman was photographed with temporary tattoos covering both arms and subsequently without any visible tattoos. When she was shown with tattoos to the public, she was described as appearing more promiscuous, less intelligent, and dishonest than when she had no visible tattoos. Revealing that some individuals ascribe unjustified attributes to tattooed women (Gueguen 2013) Guegen concluded; 'women get tattooed as a way to enhance their sexual appeal to men and to attract more suitors. In the same vein, men are drawn to women who show more sexual receptivity; in this case, in the form of a tattoo.' (Gueguen 2013, EIC, 2013)
I disagree with this statement, women get tattoos to celebrate and highlight their own beauty, not to make themselves more appealing to men. For some women, negotiating this issue within our beauty culture is a primary element of becoming a heavily tattooed woman in a gender-normative society. Women must justify their tattoo decisions on a daily basis if they choose to get multiple, large, visible, or ugly tattoos (Hinde and Mirza, 2016).
This is true for women who are considered as heavily tattooed, as opposed to women who have small and few tattoos, as simply having a tattoo is not contravening gender norms. Tattoos are considered feminine if they are small, cute, or concealed, and if they are placed on a sexualized region of the body, such as a small flower or butterfly on the lower back or breast (Nadvornick, 2016). However, when women's tattoos become polar of petite and cute such as getting 'sleeves' or more masculine-presenting tattoos, they face societal repercussions and prejudice for their tattoos, which the public finds shocking on the female body due to this transgression of gender norms(Thompson, 2015).
Even when women seek power and control over their own bodies, the meaning attached to their tattoos is 'culturally written over' by society(Nadvornick, 2016). Albert Parry recounts a rape case in the late 1920s Boston in which the prosecutor requested the case be dismissed after learning that the young woman he was defending had a tattoo. The judge and jury released the two men who sexually assaulted her because the tattoo of a butterfly on her leg was 'misleading'. Like many other women with Rape cases, the defendant herself was put on trial, and her tattoo was seen as evidence of her guilt, overriding whatever meaning she had hoped to assert through it(Albert Parry 1933).
Tattoos are obtained for a variety of reasons that can vary by gender, and women are currently becoming heavily tattooed in much larger numbers than ever before (Thompson 2015). There is limited information about why women get tattooed, how it can help them to define and express themselves, and how women who choose to become heavily tattooed view themselves.
My next discussion will center on women's motivations for getting tattooed. I will cover two main areas where tattoos are employed as a means of empowerment and self-expression, and healing after enduring a traumatic experience. I will explore each area in detail, concentrating on therapeutic rehabilitation and the means to reclaim one's body.
Tattoos as a form of empowerment and self-expression
Plastic surgery, cosmetics, and other methods of body modification have been used to subject women to unattainable beauty standards. Tattoos have overturned this standard of modification by empowering women to choose how they want their bodies to be presented, allowing them to step away from the expectations of how a woman should look. (Gladwell, 2019).
Tattoos are part of an individual's identity and may have meaningful connotations for them. Mun and colleagues looked into the meaning behind women's tattoos and how they affected their self-esteem. The data suggests that having a tattoo positively impacted how people felt about themselves(Mun, Janigo, Johnson, 2012). India Clutton's research on how women view themselves before and after getting tattooed, adds credibility to these findings. In her study, many interviewees described themselves as empty, plain, or bare, among other descriptors. One participant Olive claimed: 'I feel so plain and unmodified, I don't feel like that's me in the picture. I just look bare, I don't like how my arms look at all'(Clutton, 2016).
Many other participants had similar sentiments, including that tattooing a specific area on their body that they were self-conscious about made them feel more secure and comfortable in their own skin(Mun, Janigo, Johnson, 2012). These findings demonstrate the emotional path they have taken to get where they are today; nearly all of the participants expressed loathing their non-tattooed skin, claiming their tattoos had made them who they are. Nonetheless, these women reclaimed their body image by embracing the expressiveness of tattoos to create a sense of self(Clutton, 2016).
Getting tattooed can have a beneficial effect on women's sense of empowerment and identity development. Baltzerjaray and Rodriguez discovered that getting a tattoo helped some women to redefine beauty on their own terms, based on their personal preferences. A depiction of who we firmly believe that we are.
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