This topic was brought to my attention today by a friend. I totally pissed her off with my thoughts on it and I feel bad. But, it doesn't change my opinion on the topic which I will try and articulate now.
Body modification. Tattoo and piercings are the most ridiculous things ever. The modifiers most consistent point is always "art"
Tattoos and piercings are not art. You may and try to justify it as such. It isn't. Body mods are a weak and pathetic way of trying to fit into this weak ass pop-culture-centric country we live in.
You look through images on the internet and find something that looks cool. Then you try to piece together some weak symbolism to go with it. If you are using an image that has already been made, it is a terrible design and shouldn't be anything that you put on yourself.
Same thing goes with piercings. Piercings go one of two ways. One, you see someone that has a piercing. You think it looks cool. You go get one. Or, two; there is some radical new piercing that many would find too hardcore. You try to justify to yourself that you are being rebellious and going against society. When in fact, you are being the gigantic tool you are trying desperately to show the world that you aren't.
I don't want to seem like I am totally against body modification. Piercing your ears. Fine. Maybe a little nose stud. Fine. Ten piercings in your ears all the way up to and through your cartilage. Totally not fine. I don't mind a tongue stud. I see the appeal in those. Being someone that has an oral fixation, I can totally understand that one. Plus, it isn't one that most people can generally see all the time. People that get tongue studs really are doing it for themselves. Unless they are total attention whores that stick their tongue out at everyone they see.
Belly button piercing. Mega fucking lamely toolish. The belly button piercing is widely known as the sexiest of the piercing family. It's ridiculous. If you have one, the first thought I have is not that you are cool or sexy. It's that you are a whore. (Tramp stamps included.) Belly button piercings (from what I hear at least, I am certainly no expert) are one of the more painful ones and take the longest to heal. Also one that is most likely to get infected. All you are doing is appealing to the masses once again.
Another group that I must address are the hiders. People that get something small, something out of the way that no one can see or can be easily hidden. I am on the fence with these people. It goes one of two ways. One, they are getting one because everyone else has one so they think they need to. So, they get it somewhere really hidden such as the ankle. Then make something totally ridiculous like a flower or a butterfly. Or the second catagory. People that really do want this and it actually means something. They put it somewhere where it isn't instantly recognizable because it is for them. And not to show off to someone else.
I know I am all over the place in this post. I'm a sucky writer. I'm going with ideas as they come to me.
Now we move onto the modifier's second most commonly used excuse. "The Myspace Excuse." I'm sure a lot of you either heard or used this justification a few years ago when Myspace was getting huge. You'd ask someone about it, and they would say, "I've been using Myspace since way before it became popular." This is a popular excuse amongst people that started getting their mods in the mid to late 90's when they became popular. Why did the body mode fad take off? It took off starting with tattoos. Before, tattoos were normally relegated to big bad ass mother fuckers that were either in the armed services, prison or were just plain bad asses. They'd be some cool ass (but poorly drawn/tattooed) design using skulls or naked chicks. People saw these and decided they wanted to become bad ass as well. Then the plague spread. These new-agers were trying to be like these bad ass dudes by shunning social norms. Now, 95% of people between the ages of 18-30 have or at one time, have had a tattoo or piercing. You aren't being unique. You are being a complete social tool.
I could go on, but, seeing as I'm going to lose about ten friends from this post as it is, I'll stop now. My overall theme I'm going for is: If you are going to get something done. Make sure it is original. Don't use any pre-packaged bull shit that everyone sees ten times a day. Get a tattoo of your kid's names or someone who died. Get your ears pierced to wear modest earrings. Quit trying to get all these crazy mods done to try and stand out or to have something to show off at parties.
I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by this post. Thank you all for reading. Even though I'm sure not a single one of my two readers will agree with it. Thank you and good night.
Ok, I'm not going to object with the unoriginal tattoo's because me personally if I were to get a tattoo it'd be my own design, and by that I mean it'd be something I've put together myself (drawn, etc.) The periecings I can agree with you to an extent(the extent being that have 10 pericings in an ear or really bizzar whacked out ones) but other wise you're being a complete ass, and to correct you on a few things, a navel piercing is indeed the longest to heal, and the quickest to get infected, but how ever it is not the most painful as it is only going through skin/fat its not like sticking a needle through cartliage, how I know this? I have my navel peirced. I believe you are being waaay to biased about this topic in general as not always do people decided to get peircings to fit in with pop-culture, I for one sure as hell didn't get mine done to "fit" in, I got it done because I wanted it, I personally don't give a rats tarts if everyone else is getting one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Cherie! Glad to see you here. So, let's go through what you said. If you decide to get a tattoo, it will be your own design and something you draw. Commendable. My only question is, what is the criteria you are looking for when getting it? Is it going to be something meaningful? If it was, I don't think you'd need to think about a design. You should already know what you would want. So, all I can assume is, you are falling into the category I mentioned in the original post. Getting a tattoo that looks neat and making up some weak symbolism to go with it so that you can justify it's necessity.
ReplyDeleteThe navel piercing information you provided is completely correct as for the pain. I was completely speculating and thank you for clearing that up.
You comment that your navel piercing isn't because of social trends. You say you got it because you wanted it. I can very much respect that as well. I am just curious why you wanted it. What purpose does it serve? I've never heard a realistic and logical excuse for having any kind of piercing aside from the ears. (Aside from the sexual freaks that get the tongue thing for...blah...)
I completely agree I was being very combative in what I originally wrote. I assure you it was alcohol induced and had I wrote that same piece today, it would sound drastically different. Personally, I've just never seen the point. We've had the ability to get tattoos and piercings anywhere on our bodies for decades. Why is it that the percentage of the populace that have these mods has skyrocketed in the past 15 years? Pure popular culture.
Well Casey you know me better than that, when I say I'd drawl something of my own design, is because it is meaningful to me what ever it may be and drawling it out would make it original so you don't go to a tattooist that is utterly blind when you are describing what you truly want, the design is there and you'll get what you want, as it is I have two designs that are mine, I have my own unique mardi gras flur de lis I have this one because of my love for lousiana and it is far most the most beautiful place I've ever been to and has struck me to the core where no one else can see. I also two ace cards with spiders, and spider web coming out of the corners, entertwined in the webs are cards of various suits, the reason I drew this one as a design to get because of my passion for cards and my liking of spiders and the webs they create, none of my designs come with weak symbolism each one is thought out carefully and clearly before ever stuck on paper, or even thought about to go on my skin. I don't want anything that has been already used (i.e got off the internet or out of books, yes my designs are from various things I've seen and liked but they all have my own unique twist to it, making it my own) I will not die with something someone else has drawn on my skin, I'm creative enough to do my own thing and have the skill to design and drawl it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the peircing, its something I've always wanted, for me, yes every one has one, but when I got mine it was a promise to myself, that I would work hard on being able to wear it proudly one day and not have to hide it. right now with my weight i can not wear it proudly thus it gives me something to work for. I'm not in fashion, in style or anything else never have been so me getting it has nothing to do with popular culture trends.