Hw 32- Tattoos

Everything to us is symbolic. Titles are symbolic of status, which is symbolic of our position in life and how we view people. Tattoos act the same way. For some people, tattoo makes a great fashion statement, while others use it to reveal certain aspects of their personality. For some people, it is an expression of feelings of lovethat they have for another person. They reveal to people a part of who the tattoo wearer is or who they want to be. Many messages we get when we see tattoos stem from preconceptions people might have about tattoos. Whether true or not, it tells a story about the person, much like every action/non action a person does.


It can represent a part of who you were at a certain time as well. Like John Fanning's friend in Florida who got the rat tattoo. He wouldn't cover it up because doing that would be like denying the part of himself who got it at the time when he was a fifteen year old boy. People can get tattoos for as much as any other thing. For some people its about identity for other it may be about fitting in or it can be both. I found it interesting that it was an armour for Fanning because he had it, no one touch him because he knew who he was. Which relates to the identity thing too, its a physical representation of that. Its concrete and because of a simple thing like a tattoo, it protected him from whatever someone else may think of him because they didn't really get him and he knew who he really was.

A tattoo is like an idea in print. At the time that he got it, the times was different and it was something really out there, whereas now, its almost commonplace for people to get one. But a tattoo was and still is an act of rebellion. I think it means something different for him now then it did then, now its like a map of his experiences. His memories of the period he got them are attached to it. For his strength through wisdom tattoo, it helped him through his surgery and the message it meant was comforting to him. I thought he was really open sharing this with us and it was brave.

For me, I never really wanted a permanent tattoo but when I was in elementary school I used to have temporary tattoos, which are those paper ones that you sponge on and come off by rubbing. I didn't do it often but I remember it being fun at the time. The reason I did it was simple because I was more simple, it was a design that I liked and they appealed to me because they weren't permanents and when you're elementary school, that's good, because you're changing all the time and nothings too permanent. So for me, at that time, it was just expressing myself but I didn't want to keep it because that self was changing all the time.

Tattoos are pretty interesting. For other cultures it maybe a talisman or charm to protect the person or ensure happiness after death, but its revealing for the most part in American culture because its not required and those who choose to do it want to reveal in a conspicuous way something about themselves to other people.