Expressing Individuality

One source once stated, “By masking the discomfort, of being pre-judged” (Mora 40). People should examine their culture in order to better understand how it affects their identity and perceptions. In order to understand one’s cultural identity, he or she needs to understand what the term means. According to one source, cultural identity can be defined as “We all have unique identities that we develop within our cultures, but these identities are not fixed or static” (Trumbull and Pacheco 10). Various aspects of a person’s life that may determine his or her cultural identity music, community, family, ethnicity, relationships, religion, clothing, and food. After analyzing several texts, the reader recognizes that four important

Non-conformity is skin deep is an article by David Brooks of 27th August 2006, which argues that people fail to adopt the violations that are socially acceptable such as tattoos shallowly. Brooks notes that people’s nonconformity is superficial because they adopt to some transgressions only to look powerful but still remain unchanged inside. The writer made a positive observation through this work because many people have transformed to the socially acceptable violations in the society.

“The Decorated Body” is an essay written by France Borel - an anthropologist who studies tattooing, piercing, plastic surgery, and other alterations. “The Decorated Body” was featured in the Parabola in 1994.

Moderation is important when discussing tattooing and piercings. When tattooing, piercings, and body modifications began to alter the overall appearance of the individual, the individual would be considered deviant by majority of society. There are many individuals in the United States that have tattoos and piercings, but majority of the people have tattoos that can be concealed or tattoos and piercings that are not gaudy. An article titled, “Tattoos in the Workplace” discussed that in 2012 a poll was conducted that stated that 21% of adults in the United States had tattoos (Osland, 2013). However, nearly 60% of people that have tattoos, have them in areas that are hidden by clothes (Kesling, 2013). Although this study may not cover every single individual in the United States, it does give a

Traditionally, tattoos were meant for sailors, soldiers, bikers and gangs. Along with several changes in the industrialized and technological society of the twenty-first century, the standard for getting body modifications have altered as well. Everyday, people are willing to get permanently marked as an individual choice rather than the customarily perception of belonging to a certain group. Tattoo and piercing shops are not seen as “the backstreet” of the commercial civilization today, it is somewhat an expected sight in all public places. Josie Appleton in “The Body

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary that someone must judge another to reassure their own position as a superior being. It is at this time, those that threaten individuality and culture be reminded that they are made of the same matter that nature intended for us as humans, and these oppressors of unique must now swallow it.

A major part of one’s identity involves a system of morals and beliefs which are too influenced though one’s culture and experiences in life. The

Body modification, which means to alter ones' physical appearance, is a phrase that tends to bring up many negative implications and judgment from people who are not fully aware of all the things that can fall under that subject. Body modification can be something as simple as having ones' ears pierced, or something to the extreme, such as pearling (inserting small beads underneath the skin of the genitals). However, the act of body modification is something that has been in nearly every culture since the beginning of time.

Body modifications have existed in our society for centuries and the way in which it is perceived has changed somewhat over the years. But certain stigmas still persists to this contemporary day. One such body modification is the act of inking or marking the skin: Tattooing. Like most body modifications, tattoos are an often misunderstood form of body modification. Despite the stigmas, tattoos have become a unique object of desire to diverse groups of people. But are the popular perceptions of tattoos out of synch with the true meaning behind them? This essay will explore the social and cultural practices of tattooing and the causal connection between the mind and the tattooed body. It will also explore why tattoos engender

While tattoos have become more and more acceptable over the years, the question still lies on whether tattoos or any other kind of body modifications in the workplace should be allowed. It's beyond easy to make cases showing the negative impacts of discrimination against tattoos and piercings in the workplace. Plastic surgery, drawing on your eyebrows, getting fake nails, and coloring your hair are also examples of body modifications. Though not everyone agrees with or thinks they’re beautiful, employees are not told to cover up these modifications. Tattoos and piercings are purely another form of beautification and what makes each person their own unique individual. Beauty is personal.

Different fashions will come in and out of style but people want to be able to stand out in their own manner showing the world how they express themselves. A common form of self-expression is by getting a piercing or tattoo, something that can set a person apart from the majority. Body piercings and tattoos on women at one time were unacceptable and distasteful in the United States. However over time women having assorted types of body art has become more acceptable in society. Today young women at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, use piercings and tattoos as a form of self-expression that is vastly encouraged by peers and social media. Each woman has a different reason for why they personally want a piercing or a tattoo but are there some factors that have influenced the college community of women as a whole?

Personal identity is essential in the human experience. Identity is complex and can be broken down into two main groups: introspective identity, and bodily identity. Introspective identity is based off of the groups, mentalities, or beliefs that you align yourself with, and bodily identity is based off of the physical side of yourself. Whether physical or introspective, your identity impacts every action you take. Whether choices ranging from what colors you prefer to which college you want to attend are primarily based off of your introspective identity, which is a combination of both memory and consciousness, physical identity impacts how others perceive you. Consciousness is mainly the awareness of bodily identity as well as continuous introspective identify, while memory is awareness of introspective identity. These two different facets of identity are imperative in the distinction between bodily identity and introspective identity. In means of personal identity introspective identity (which is evident in memory), is essential, while bodily identity (based partially in consciousness) has less credit.

The art of tattoos has been prevalent in many ancient cultures and represented many different things. In the more recent past times, tattoos were seen in a very negative light; mainly associated with circus freak shows, bikers or outlaws. Even though there are more Americans getting tattoos these days, there is still a disapproving view on tattoos in the workplace. Tattoos are continuously becoming more popular with each generation and more often have some personal meaning. Many companies that have recently started to accept appropriate body art in the workplace have seen positive benefits related to their new policy changes. This debate has also led people to file discrimination lawsuits against their employer. There are occasions that the subject matter or the placement of a tattoo on the body may not be professional for certain types of jobs. With the growing number of people that have body art, the more personal meaning behind it and younger demographics of both people working for and being served by many companies these days, having visible tattoos should no longer be damaging among many careers today. The debate needs to be evaluated by each company, and often each individual situation, to determine if body art can be accepted.

In recent years tattooing and body piercing have become increasingly prevalent in popular culture. These forms of body modification are no longer tools used by criminals and gang member, showing their role in society. These practices are used by many of teenagers and young adults in our society today. In fact many of these practices have been a positive trend in American culture, giving adolescents a way of expressing themselves

“In some industries, such as software and biotechnology, companies need to attract the most intelligent employees, regardless of what is inked on their skin or dangling from their flesh.” (WONG, 2005) This is a great example because it helps argue my point. A company should be worried about the work that its employee will produce and not worry so much about what is on or in their skin. “The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says employers will be forced to become more accepting of body art. "Some employers are already having trouble finding skilled workers -- they are not going to let some body art get in the way of hiring the best-qualified candidate," said John Challenger, chief executive officer of the Chicago-based firm.” (WONG, 2005)