Despite the common stereotype that "good girls" only pierce and tattoo themselves to rebel against their conformity in modern society, I feel that I need to express the way that getting body modification makes me feel. I'm here to tell whoever wants to listen that it's not about horrifying the world. If I wanted to do that, I could think of much more despicable and horrendous things to do.
At A Glance Author Michelle Contact [email protected] When N/A I am your typical goody-two-shoes, good grades all throughout life, I go to a private college, I'm more than likely going to graduate high in my class. Yet I have had my tongue pierced three times (I currently have it done), my eyebrow done three times (gone), my top navel done (gone, but soon to be redone), an inverted navel piercing (new), and three tattoos with plans for more. Instead of oohs and aahs that are to be expected from works of art, the most common thing I hear is why. Why would I want to do this to myself? Do I know how people are going to view me? Do I realize that tattoos are permanent (to those that ask me this, I ask you: do you really think I'm stupid?)?
The sheer fact that colors are formed into patterns on my skin is an exhilirating rush that only those who have experienced it can understand. Knowing that my body is a blank canvas that can be designed and modeled in any way I please (and can afford) is liberating. But rather than trying to understand that, people like my father call it disgusting, and ask when I am going to start doing drugs. Can someone please show me the literature that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that tattoos and piercings are linked to devious behavior? Or are these modifications in and of themselves deviant? I sit and wonder how something can be deviant, different from the norm, when so many people have done it, when it has BECOME the norm.
I'm tired of telling people that my tongue piercing is not for the reasons they think (despite the definite perk there), but only because I love sticking my tongue out at people or myself in the mirror and seeing different colored beads flashing there. I don't think I'm unique because I have piercings and tattoos, but I'm unique because no one looks exactly like me, and therefore the metal and ink on my body is comparably different to that on others. I don't wear midriff-bearing shirts, so not many people see my navel piercing, but I know it's there. I don't think pain is the answer to happiness, but with all this skin that's going to be there anyway, why not touch it up a bit? I have scars from skin cancer surgeries and the constant nagging worry that one day I will have to have surgery in an area where I have a piece of art, but these scars also represent who I am, even if they aren't filled with ink. No one would belittle me for these scars, or think negatively of me for them since they came from cancer. So why do people think differently of the more beautiful and colored scars that are my tattoos?
Being told on a regular basis that I am a sinner for what I do to myself only inspires me more to prove these old-fashioned stereotypes wrong. I am one of the most caring and loving individuals anyone could ever meet, a friend to anyone who needs an ear. The biggest crime I have committed has been having a few drinks before I was legal. I was given this body by whatever higher being one chooses to believe in, and I look at my body mod as a reverse of what most people think. I believe that I am showing my creator that I love my body, with all its flaws and imperfections. It's not saying that I feel the need for improvement. It's simply stating that I want to represent what has been given to me in the best way possible. The colors beneath my skin prove that I have a love for what I have, no matter what anyone else may believe.
Yes, I was your picture-perfect model citizen, and still follow a basic moral code. No, I am not trying to rebel against these high standards. I am simply exploring a world in which art becomes life on my fair and beautiful skin, in which every movement I make causes my tattoos to shift and be seen differently, and in which the perfect light from the sun may glint on one of my pieces of body jewelry. I don't do these things to be different, but simply to be me. I will continue to excel and do my best in school, and aim towards a life of health and happiness. The artwork which I may acquire from now on will only add to the positive and spirited way in which I view myself.