Reckless Reclamation of the Body: Insight into the Act of Getting Tattooed

Sydney / SOCI 485 Directed Study

Acceptance of Tattoos in American Society

Acceptance and perception of tattooed individuals in American society is varied dependent on age, demographics, and industries in the current era of American society, surfacing a prevalent issue of stigmatization where tattooed individuals are viewed as “reckless,” perceived to have deeply rooted issues, flaws of character, or poor morality (Dula et al., 2010). Conversely, tattoos are seen to be used positively throughout history, typically in exemplification of an individual’s achievement or to allow for the creation of a personal identity within a group (Lobel et al., 2013).  Rooted in this sense of empowerment, tattoos have subliminally carried this aura throughout history and into modernity. Despite the current dichotomy in perception and opinion of tattooed individuals at play in modern society, the act of tattooing continues to gain popularity. The explanation of this phenomenon is multifaceted and incorporates sociological concepts, psychological aspects, and biological components— values that have been latent in this practice throughout history and present unique values conducive to individual well-being.

Tattoos are Original Artwork in a Modern Reproduction Culture

Walter Benjamin attributes aura to original creations in his 1935 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” stating that once an item is produced on a larger scale and falls victim to mechanization, it loses the essence in which its power and significance resides. In a highly mechanized world, specifically in the hyper-consumerist culture of the United States, tattoos are a force that have retained their aura despite societal changes as each tattoo is an original work and must be uniquely tailored to an individual’s body, creating an inability for this act to fall victim to corporate mass production. In congruence with past implications of tattoos to serve predominantly as a means to commemorate a personal achievement or identify an individual from a larger population, tattoos have retained this essence and innate power throughout history and into modern society. Further, Baudrillard’s assertion that the lack of aura and authenticity in modern society pushes individuals to seek nostalgic means of capturing true aura and finding a source of authentic connection also accounts for this distinct pull individuals in modern society exhibit towards tattoos as well (Horrocks et al., 1996). Retention of this essence and power in addition to the authenticity and aura of tattoos creates a nostalgic appeal that draws a wide range of individuals despite any stigma, prejudice, or stereotypes that surround tattoos and tattooed individuals.  Regardless of whether tattooed individuals purposely aim to draw from this source of individual power that tattoos present, or view the act more simplistically and are drawn to the artistic elements, this subliminal pull has a wide reach in American society.

Tattoos Shape the Identity of a Person

Tattoos transcend all barriers of heritage, culture, race, and ethnicity, and have significant impact on individuals and communities. Rooted in the traditions of many early societies, tattoos have always carried meaning and presented means for individualism and understanding of one another; tattoos were initially ingrained in the totems and ethos of a society to the point that the meaning behind the design could be read unambiguously. In modern society these aspects persist as it is said that the body and its expressive tattoos are used in tandem as a vehicle to indicate social membership and individual identity. Though the implication and use of tattoos varies across cultures and societies, the modern art of tattooing has maintained many of its original values in this sense as well, a phenomenon further explained by fundamental components of both identity theory and social identity theory. Identity theory describes the means that contribute to an individual’s self-perception, in which categories are created by the individual to define their existence and individuality from others. This process of categorization and personal identification creates the formation of a personal identity and betters an individual’s understanding of themselves (Burke et al., 2000). By receiving unique, permanent markings, tattooing plays into identity theory through the presentation of a means by which people can achieve a sense of individuality and identify themselves as set apart from the larger group of society as it is unlikely for individuals to be tattooed in the exact same manner. Likewise, an individual identity that involves tattoos also presents the ability to be involved in a larger subgroup, adding to an individual’s sense of belonging in society and further establishing their sense of identity and belonging. In the current era, this can be accomplished both through receiving a specific tattoo relevant to a given group as well as being tattooed in general. Tattooed individuals themselves are a subgroup and can be broken down further into smaller communities that can aid in the further categorization of identity.

Tattoos and Self-Perception

Diving deeper into self-perception, tattoos play a major role in an individual’s psychological functions and mental wellbeing. Cooley’s “looking-glass self,” describes an individual as a reflection of how they believe to appear to others. In the modern era where media and consumption runs rampant, receiving tattoos provides an escape and the opportunity to regain control and assert dominance over the confines of how they believe others to view them. Additionally, exhibiting tattoos could also be an individual’s attempt to influence the perception they believe others to have of them and alter it to be further in alignment with how they desire to be seen (Littlefield et al., 2002). This reclamation of self and individuality, popular in the United States population with four of every ten individuals aged 18-69 reporting to have at least one tattoo (Armstrong, 2017), has a particularly profound impact with individuals who struggle with mental health or have experienced any sort of trauma (Maxwell, 2017).

Tattoos Could be an Unknowing Self-Directed Therapy

The fifth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) defines trauma as “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The essay “Phoenix Ink: Psychodynamic Motivations for Tattoo Attainment by Survivors of Trauma” by December Renee Maxwell of University of Arkansas details reasoning behind traumatized individuals seeking out tattoos as a means of coping and empowerment and state that the stigma surrounding tattoos is lessening to make way for the therapeutic values of this act. Her study utilizes experiences of sexual assault survivors, where clear lines can be drawn between the aforementioned implications of tattoos and the complex symptomology common in this population such as identity confusion, lower self-worth, and feeling a lack of control. The act of tattooing allows for an interventional response to combat these symptoms, providing an effective and preferred means of self-imposed and directed therapy by these individuals due to the personal impact felt through the process.

The Future of Tattoos as Therapy

Though tattooing is not currently recognized for these therapeutic capabilities, the alleviation of trauma symptoms that the act of tattooing possesses does coincide with components of two current forms of psychotherapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing utilizes repetitive motions paired with an individual’s recollection and reflection of a given traumatic circumstance to distract the brain while discussing and working through given memories. In typical EMDR therapy, sources of distraction include a moving light, object, or systematic tapping, as found in EFT, to create other sources of input besides recollection of traumatic experiences. Though predominantly used in the treatment of those struggling with PTSD, EMDR has other implications as well and has been found to be helpful treatment for individuals with other diagnoses (Jayan et al., 2010) The combination of distraction and discussion helps individuals to process and move through their trauma, offering resolution and making it difficult to revisit. The procedure ETF, in a similar manner, involves tapping on specific meridian points on the individual’s body while recalling the source of trauma or distress. This action has been found to increase the flow of energy throughout the body that becomes stagnant when the body elicits a fear response. Conclusively, this restoration of energy flow in the body serves to eliminate and reduce negative emotions similar to EMDR (Holder et al., 2016). As the recollection of traumatic experiences utilized in these forms of therapy can be self-guided, the process of tattooing is unknowingly being used by individuals to conduct a combination of these forms of therapy to heal from past emotional wounds. Reflection of traumatic events paired with the constant motion of the tattoo needle, emission of sound, and potentially watching the tattoo develop provide a repetitive, distracting stimulus and a space of vulnerability and reflection conducive to healing and diminishing the hold of the recalled trauma over an individual.

Perhaps unknowingly, tattooing has long been used as a method of trauma release and healing throughout history. Though tattooing served many other uses historically, the pretense and conditions of many organized subgroups further serves to demonstrate the impact the process of tattooing has on quelling symptoms of trauma. The Yakuza, a notorious subgroup of Japan responsible for the origin of the Japanese Traditional style of tattooing, demonstrate this latent ability the act of tattooing has possessed. Though the pretense for being tattooed in the Yakuza was to commemorate the accomplishment of a given task and as a method of demonstrating commitment to the organization, individuals affiliated with the Yakuza undoubtedly experienced trauma (Campana, 2019). Given the methods by which the process of tattooing presents individuals with an opportunity to silently work through traumatic experiences, the requirement of Yakuza members to be tattooed served the purpose of imposing the retention of an individual’s sanity despite countless traumatizing experiences to continue the direction of the organization and further serve the interests of those in control of the operations.

Tattoos are an Ancient form of Empowerment

Conclusively, tattooing presents a unique opportunity for modern individuals to connect with an ancient form of empowerment, create and solidify personal identity, connect with those around them, and heal from invisible wounds. In a society highly driven by technological advancements and mechanicalization, tattoos provide an outlet for an experience of natural aura and allow for individuals to “recklessly” break away from these established societal constructs and frontier a strong sense of individual identity and steadfast sense of emotional wellbeing.

Further Research on Tattoos as a form of Therapy

Specifically, the implication of the act of tattooing as a form of therapy would pose significant benefit to individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as collateral impact of an experience with sexual assault or violence. In genesis of a specific experiment to investigate this hypothesized claim, employment of techniques such as questionnaires and surveys would concretely demonstrate the inherent need for this form of therapy as well as provide evidence for its success. Partnering with a tattoo parlor, willing participants could answer a questionnaire to be screened for diagnosis with any mental illness and identify any symptoms of PTSD. Questions would be administered to all willing tattoo clients to identify any known mental health diagnoses, identify symptoms of PTSD if formal diagnosis is unavailable, and investigate why that individual was drawn to receiving a tattoo. The questionnaire is posed are as follows:

  1. Have you been diagnosed with any mental health conditions or disorders? {yes/no}
    1. Have you been diagnosed specifically with post-traumatic stress disorder? {yes/no}
  2. Have you ever been directly impacted by a traumatic event or witnessed such an event take place? {yes/no}
    • Have you ever experienced sexual violence or abuse? {yes/no}
  3. Do you have recurrence of unwanted memories, nightmares, or flashbacks? {yes/no}
    1. Are any of the above caused by loose reminders to traumatic event? {yes/no}
    2. Do you avoid situations that may include such reminders? {yes/no}
  4. Is it difficult to recall information from given events? {yes/no}
  5. Do negative thoughts pervade your opinions of yourself and general outlook on life? {yes/no}
    1. Does this impact your interest and enjoyment of activities? {yes/no}
    2. Do you ever feel isolated? {yes/no}
  6. Have you noticed a chance in your reactivity to interactions or stimuli? {yes/no}
    1. Does this change include irritability or aggression? {yes/no}
    2. Do you exhibit risky and/or destructive behavior? {yes/no}
    3. Is concentration difficult? {yes/no}
    4. Do you have trouble sleeping? {yes/no}
  7. Does the tattoo you are receiving today hold significant value to you? {yes/no}
    1. Is this tattoo related to or prompted by a traumatic life event? {yes/no}
  8. Do you have any other tattoos? {yes/no}
    1. Do any of them have meaning, specific intention, or purpose? {yes/no}
      1. Do they uphold their intended purpose? {yes/no}
  9. Do you think that receiving a tattoo can positively impact your mental health? {yes/no}
    1. If you struggle with a mental illness, would you consider receiving tattoos as a personal coping mechanism?
  10. Have tattoos altered your outlook on yourself in a positive manner? {yes/no}
    1. Have they positively changed your outlook on life? {yes/no}

This set of questions utilizes the criteria detailed by the DSM-5 for diagnosing PTSD in the first six questions which allows for the impact of this therapy to be accurately assessed independent of if an individual has felt comfortable engaging a therapist in their traumatic experiences to receive an official diagnosis. The following questions aim to target the individual’s motive behind wanting to get tattooed that day which allows for full assessment behind many individual’s desire to receive a tattoo. Not only do these questions offer information regarding the impact of tattoos on individuals struggling with PTSD, but they also demonstrate the wide range of appeal of tattoos both to individuals with other mental health issues and individuals without such conditions. Responses to the questionnaire can be input into Microsoft Excel and coded to be transformed into usable data from which correlations and significant findings can be actively observed from the surveyed data. Participants could be contacted a year later and asked to rate the impact their tattoo(s) on a scale of 1-5 on their mental health and symptoms pertinent to PTSD.

Deployment of this survey would further expose the necessity of utilizing tattooing as a form of therapy based on concrete and tangible evidence provided from personal accounts and individual experience with tattoos, mental health, and PTSD. Understanding the motives of individuals with PTSD to receive tattoos and the significance that those tattoos hold to them has the potential to uncover the deeper components at play in the act of tattooing and benefit an entire population of ailing individuals.

Works Cited:

Dula, C. S., & Martin, B. A. (2010). MORE THAN SKIN DEEP: PERCEPTIONS OF, AND STIGMA AGAINST, TATTOOS. College Student Journal, 01463934, Mar2010, Vol. 44, Issue 1, 44(1).

Lobell, J. A., & Powell, E. A. (2013). Ancient Tattoos. Archaeology, 66(6), 41–46. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.srv-proxy2.library.tamu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hft&AN=91246862&site=eds-live

Benjamin, W. (2017). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. The Continental Aesthetics Reader, 429–450. doi: 10.4324/9781351226387-29

Horrocks, C. (1996). Introducing Baudrillard [Totem Books, USA]. Retrieved from https://monoskop.org/images/9/98/Horrocks_Chris_Jevtic_Zoran_Introducing_Baudrillard_1999.pdf

Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (2000). Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(3), 224. doi: 10.2307/2695870

Littlefield Rousseau, & Rowman. (2002). Charles Horton Cooley: Concept of the Looking Glass Self. Self, Symbols, & Society. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~hbsoc126/soc1/Charles Horton Cooley.pdf

Armstrong, M., & Richter, F. (2017, June 26). Infographic: 4 in 10 U.S. Adults Have a Tattoo. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/9980/us-adults-with-a-tattoo/.

Maxwell, D. R. (2017). Phoenix Ink: Psychodynamic Motivations for Tattoo Attainment by Survivors of Trauma. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3412&context=etd.

 Jayan, C., & Menon, S. B. (2010, July). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: a conceptual framework. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122545/.

Holder, M. D., & Waite, W. L. (2016). Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear. Researchgate.net. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wendy_Comeau/publication/264552493_Assessment_of_the_Emotional_Freedom_Technique_An_Alternative_Treatment_for_Fear/links/55199a130cf26cbb81a2add6/Assessment-of-the-Emotional-Freedom-Technique-An-Alternative-Treatment-for-Fear.pdf

Campana, L. (2019). Irezumi: Japan’s Tattooing Tradition. Retrieved from Texas A&M University ARTS 234 Body Art of Tattoos class audit.