Americans are getting more and more tattoos and piercings. This magazine article looks at why body art is becoming so popular.
Body Art
Why do so many Americans like body art? In a group of almost 500 college students, 60% of women and 42% of men had piercings, such as silver rings on their ears, noses, tongues, lips, or eyebrows. Twenty percent of the group also had tattoos, like pictures of animals or people’s names on their bodies. Research shows that body art is becoming very popular.
“This is how I express myself,” says 21-year-old Marina Harding, a graduate student from Seattle, Washington. Unlike people who don’t show their personality through their appearance, Marina’s appearance shows her personality, interests, and opinions. Marina has bright green hair and piercings on her tongue, lip, nose, and eyebrow, and six in each ear. Marina’s T-shirt says, “I dress this way to shock you.” Marina also has eight tattoos and she wants to get more. “I love body art!” she says.
Experts say that people pierce and tattoo their bodies to show they are different from others, or to remember an important event in their lives. Body art also shows a person’s sense of fashion and may increase their status, orsocial positions, in a group. Jonathan Daulton, 19, has ten piercings on his face. He said, “Honestly, I do it to be outrageous. I like to do things that are crazy and shocking.”
TV stars, movie stars, and musicians are often the role models for body art. Thousands of people tattoo themselves to look just like their favourite stars. Tattooing has become so popular that it’s one of the fastest growing service businesses in the United States.
People with piercings and tattoos may think they are starting new traditions; however, they are actually part of an ancient tradition. According to anthropologist Enid Schildkrout in New York City, “There is no culture in which people do not paint, pierce, tattoo, reshape, and adorn(decorate) their bodies.” Schildkrout, who organized a museum show on body art, says, “We want people to realize that everyone, including themselves, performs some type of transformation. We color our hair, wear makeup, put on clothes, have cosmetic surgery.” People’s reasons for changing themselves are the same as they have been for thousands of years: to attract a romantic partner, improve self-esteem, show membership in a group, and show independence.
There are many reasons people are piercing and tattooing themselves. They could be rebelling against their parents and society, unlike people who try hard to be the same as their parents and society. However, maybe they are trying hard to fit into their peer groups. Since history shows us that everyone adorns themselves in one way or another, tattooing and piercings are just one of the many choices. What will be next?