Tattooless

Something I’ve been becoming increasingly more self-conscious about (or perhaps maybe observing, self-conscious tends to have such a negative tone) is that my body does not have any tattoos on it. A better way to phrase this is that, until recently, I’ve never really had the desire to get a tattoo. Everywhere I go I have becoming increasingly more aware and curious about people’s tattoos and the stories they tell. And I still don’t think I have the explicit desire to get one myself, but I am wondering what the sociological implications of being tattooless means and conversely the sociological theories of tattoos in general.

These recent observations that I have been making are likely the result of a couple of factors a) the summertime heat is making people wear shorter clothes thereby exposing more skin and consequently their tattoos b) lots of Philadelphia hipsters with cool tattoos and c) the self-fulfilling prophecy of observing tattoos resulting in an increase of observations and thoughts. So – as a tattooless person and chronic overthinker, I have been developing a couple of “theories” about tattoos and my relationship to them. Basically, this post will be using sociological imagination to think out loud (rather sloppily, I will admit) about tattoos and society. Maybe some of these are true, maybe some aren’t, but this is just me exploring ideas that, until rather recently, I have not considered.

Why have I Never Gotten a Tattoo?

Probably the most simple answer to this question is that I was never in a friend group where tattoo getting was the trend. And this is not to say I don’t have friends with tattoos. In fact, most of my friends do. But growing up I was never in social circles where people would go out and get tattoos with any frequency or at all. Peer pressure and socialization are really the only reasons anybody does anything. But there are other theories that I have which I will expand on. I think the overthinking part of my brain makes choosing a tattoo design a hugely daunting task. Choice anxiety etc.. People I’ve spoken to about this say, “Just jump in the water and get one, don’t overthink on what it is!”. I’ve never been in a spot where I want to get a tattoo, so I’ve never faced this problem head-on, but I could totally see it being an obstacle to ever getting needle under skin.

Additionally, I fundamentally like the ability to constantly change one’s appearance and be free from the past, perhaps having the option to rebirth myself if you will (not that I’ve ever done this, in fact, my appearance has been pretty consistent for the past several arcs of my life, but it’s the theory that counts). I feel like tattoos would prevent this theoretical rebirth, that the past would linger on the skin. Consequently, I know because of this belief, that if I were to get a tattoo, I would fall into the trend known as “tattoo” addiction, as such, that if I continually wanted to change I would only continue getting more and more tattoos. I spoke to a friend (perhaps one of my most heavily tattooed friends) about this perspective and he fully agreed stating – “you can either go two ways if you want your aesthetic to be non-static – never get tattoos or always get tattoos. There would be no middle for me”. So, the way I see it is that I will either remain tattooless forever or adapt a lifestyle where I will continually get new tattoos.

This brings me to another reason why my body is currently inkless: tattoos are expensive. I’m a notoriously cheap person, so the high price of tattoos (especially well-done and complex tattoos, which I feel is what I would like to do if I were ever to get tatted), is simply a financial investment, especially if I imagine I will continually want new ones.

And to top off all these other points, I am Typanophoic (fear of needles, don’t worry this I looked it up just to learn the official name) and am generally a twitchy person who hates long spans in a chair getting work done on my body (my extensive dental trauma is probably why this is the case, but even haircuts are something I avoid for these reasons).

So overall, tattoos never really appealed to me because a) I’ve never really had much of a personal drive or social pressure to get a tattoo and b) the obstacles one must go through to get a tattoo (e.g. needles, price, etc.) were too many without at first possessing a strong desire to. Most likely I will never get a tattoo...but the role that tattoos play in modern life do fascinate me.

Tattoos as Social Signifiers

Sociologically speaking, tattoos signify several things. The most prominent thing the tattoo does is that it grants one the identity of “a tattooed person”. There are probably micro-layers of social identifiers with the tattoo community in regard to the number and types of tattoos (e.g. one to two small tattoos, sleeves/fully inked bodies, tattoos for cultural religious reasons etc.), but there is a distinct dichotomy between someone with a tattoo and someone without a tattoo. Tattoos implicitly are a marker of having the experience of getting tattooed: People with tattoos run the full gambit of the tattooing process, facing the decision of what to tattoo on their bodies, where on their bodies they want it, the actually embodied experience of being under the needle, etc. So, by having a tattoo one is already a part of the social category of “having a tattoo”. I of course belong to the latter.

But then the tattoos also signify other things. Tattoos could signify one’s attachment to an artistic community, especially if the person giving tattoos is one’s friend. Tattoos could also be a symbolic identifier for belonging to a group or being a fan of something: such as a sports team tattoo, tattoos alluding to a fandom (Harry Potter tattoos, Zelda tattoos etc.), music lyrics, etc. etc. I like these tattoos because it often allows for a whole conversation about that person and the relationship they have with the larger group or artist. I also find a lot of charm when a friend group all get matching tattoos, signifying deep connection of a social memory for the rest of their lives I think tattoos also signify some sense of choice-ness and the act of self-creation. In choosing a) to get a tattoo b) what to get a tattoo of and c) where to get the tattoo, the individual owns and embodies all the above choices (multiplied for each tattoo!). The tattooed person thereby shows that they are in control of their own lives, their own body, and their creation of self. I think it is, for this reason, I am experiencing tattoo envy the most.

Are Tattoos Mainstream?

I’ve always associated tattoos with some level of non-mainstream, but I’m starting to wonder if this is inaccurate. Perhaps this is due to the secularization of society. Traditional religious mores linked tattoos as being deviant, and maybe as religiosity decreases so does the acceptance of tattoos. Less stigma and more acceptance of artistic differences.

Another reason I think that tattoo visibility is on the rise is because of social media (oh my) and what that has done to our neurology and sense of self-expression/conception. Social media certainly has increased the idea of self-branding – in as such we are customizable as people, and I think this also somewhat has influenced tattoo visibility, cultivating a tattoo profile on one’s body (low key this is a stretch, but I think it is the more cynical side of the “self-creation” point I brought up earlier). Social media also allows tattoo artists to share their work, which I think greatly changes the way in which people think about tattoos. Chatting to folks recently about their tattoos it seems like there is more an emphasis on who did the tattoo rather than what the tattoo is, and this is pretty cool because there is a relational element to the body art, the connection seems very visceral and real, and one becomes connected to the artist rather free-floating designs, one’s tattoo is part of an artist’s artistic profile rather than just a singularity. More concisely, I think that the tattoo pre-social media was more of a “person to person” basis, each tattoo belonged to the person and the artist who did the tattoo was often absent. However social media allows for each tattoo be belong to a greater body of work (I could be wrong about this, as, again, I am not and have never been part of a tattoo community). All in all, I do think that tattoos are more mainstream than they once were. But ultimately, I do consider this a good thing! It allows for more intentionality, more customization of self, and generally more acceptance of difference.

Tattoos as Storytelling

I think the most valuable discussion I’ve had about tattoos was several months ago. My partner and I were hanging out with another couple, each of whom had several tattoos. When the tattoo conversation inevitably came up (which it always does, at some point) one of them said, “The best way to think about tattoos is to think of each tattoo as a story – it doesn’t matter what the tattoo actually is, but there is always a story attached to the art.” And I think this is simply my favorite tattoo take. In general, I love attaching a narrative to my life, thinking about the story of who I am and all the different segments, arcs, and eras of my life, and tattoos serving as a visual aid to this narrative of self just seems like the most handy tool; it is only with this perspective that I wish I had a legacy of tattoos on my body, as ways to discuss and remember my life. Furthermore, because stories are inherently relational, having a heavily tattooed body, and therefore many stories, means that one’s body is the nexus in a whole relational matrix – each tattoo corresponding to a moment in space-time colored in with friends, relationships, and, in some cases, the very artist who tattooed that body.

So yeah…these are just some of my thoughts about tattoos. What they could mean is what identifying as a “tattooed person” implies, and the various perspectives of how people in my life have thought of tattoos. And I always consider my own relationship with tattoos, why have I never gotten them, and probably the most important question: am I lame for not having one?