positive Correlation between body piercing and tattooing and high risk behaviors
The topic of piercing and tattooing has been to some interest of me for some time now. ... I have researched for the past two weeks intensely in journal articles, books, and many internet sources that have helped me to understand piercing and tattooing and the stigma associated with them. ... ’ Piercing and tattooing are considered deviant acts because it is not an action that the ‘norm’ of people would take. There are statistics stating that between seven and twenty million people in the United States have one or many tattoos and/or piercing. ... This paper will take the reader through the history of tattooing and piercing, explain some reasons why people choose to pierce or tattoo, and what some of the risks are by engaging in these behaviors. Also, this paper will show how religion and possible lack of job opportunities are involved with piercing and tattooing. The main argument in this research paper is showing how there is a positive correlation between piercing and tattooing and high-risk behaviors, and how higher group identification forms from the assumed discrimination. Although many people in the Western part of the world believe that piercing and tattooing is a deviant act, it was not always thought like that. The practice of body adornment has roots reaching back to at least 30,000 years ago. There have been places in the world, like certain archaeological sites in Africa, where evidence of body modification has been found. ... S area) for years, but many of these exotic body decorations served various purposes in different cultures. Many non-Christian cultures see body modification as a positive mark of identity, whereas many modern Western cultures see permanently marking the body to be degrading or deviant. The history of body art is rich in older civilizations such as the Burmese women who traditionally wore rings to elongate their necks. The focus of body art in today’s societies is not as extreme as former practices, but the degree of body mutilation still remains controversial. Body modification has come a long way in the American culture. The art of tattooing and piercing was a tradition that was once only known to be practiced by bikers and working-class men. ... Body modifications continue to carry a stigma of one that is “rebellious” or “socially or personally pathological. ... “To decipher this language, one needs to understand the shared symbols, myths, social values, and individual memories that are drawn on the body. Since body art can draw attention to cultural differences, it is also a means by which people ostracize others. ... edu) Body modification such as tattooing and piercing have been around for tens of thousands of years, and the stigma of being deviant associated with these is slowly dying away. Tattooing and piercing are very popular trends, and there obviously are important reasons that go into such a permanent body modification. From the article “Body Piercing, Tattooing, Self-esteem, and body investment in adolescent girls” found in the journal Adolescence, there are various reasons why people decide to modify their bodies. From this article there are three main reasons including, (1) body art constitutes a statement of control or ownership over the body in a cultural context characterized by accelerating commodification and alienation and is, therefore, an expression of individuality and uniqueness. (2) Body art is a means of identifying and affiliating with a group, and (3) body art is a manifestation of self-destructive impulses and can, therefore, be seen as a form of self-mutilatory behavior. These reasons are very vague compared to many of the individual responses for piercing and tattooing found in the study. Many of the individual responses to this research test were the participants: “wanted it”, “it is in style”, “it was cute”, “it was fun”, “it’s beautiful”, “it’s my body”, and “liking it.” Many people when they tattoo or pierce feel a certain control or ownership over their body. ... In the journal Symbolic Interaction the process of obtaining a person’s first tattoo or piercing is analyzed. Many of the subjects chose to get a tattoo or piercing to fit in with a group of people.