HW 32-Tattoos & The Presentation of the Self

In our culture, we have become very accustomed to the idea of placing a monetary value on everything. In the event that we cannot define a monetary value, we find some equivalent tangible value eventually. This value, is what we call "worth". In a store, worth is what you pay, i.e. a candy bar is worth $1.00, and we will pay that much for said candy bar. Similarly, we have "self-worth". Self-worth is taboo in our culture, as a topic which really cannot be precisely measured, nor given a value. This leaves it up to each and every one of us, to define our own value, elevating ourselves above each other to be able to claim a higher self worth than those around us.

Culturally, certain things demonstrate worth, and others simply do not. Being rich is a monetary measurement of worth, and "popularity" is a social measure of worth. Those things however, are external, and have little bearing on our own feeling of self worth. The value of ourselves is something that only we can increase, and is completely dependent on our own emotions. As a result, we recognize the high value of emotional worth, and try to do things which will increase that value. Specifically, we want to be able to control and regulate our emotions as to use them to our advantage. That makes us need to externally flaunt our ability to control our emotions, and demonstrate the power of those emotions. Tattoos are a way which people often use to symbolize their emotions, no matter what the reason.

Some people say that tattoos are worthless if they don't have "meaning" behind them. I think this is an uneducated statement, as a tattoo which has no emotional value behind it, incidentally has as much value as a highly emotional one. Think about a tattoo as a window into a house. If the person is crying in their house, and doesn't want people outside to see them, they will close the window. If the person is sitting on the couch watching TV, they may leave the window open, but either way, the window still exists.

Just like the window, a person only gets a tattoo if they want the "window" to be open. If you want people to see something about yourself, you will put an image on your body to show it, and if you don't, than you won't get it in the first place. If you have a truly high emotional value, than you should be able to express your emotions through thought, action, and conversation. Having a tattoo is supposed to symbolize a certain event, emotion, or object in an attempt to demonstrate internal balance and confidence. When the reason for a person's tattoo is not emotional, and simply to seek social acceptance, this shows internal conflict, and has the exact opposite effect (think a window you can't close that you may not want open).