Piercings and Tattoos

by Alexandra

When you see someone with lots of piercing or tattoos, what comes to mind? After asking some friends, I got responses such as “biker,” “trashy,” “punk,” “rebel,” “artsy,” or “idiot”. While I would expect these responses from parents or adults, I was surprised that they came from 16 and17 year olds. Maybe I was surprised to hear so many judgmental responses because I have an interest in the two, but rarely did someone respond saying that they wouldn’t think anything of such a person or have a positive connotation of them. In hearing these responses, I began to wonder where these judgments came from. In my understanding of societal expectations, it is socially acceptable to have multiple ear piercings, but not much more. Even a small tattoo seems like a big deal to most.

So why do people get tattoos or piercings? A lot of teens chose to get piercing or tattoos out of rebelliousness. Since they know their parents won’t approve, they get a thrill out of breaking the rules and may even be trying to prove something to others or to themselves. Other reasons people may get tattooed or pierced is because it is something that will set them apart, it is part of a religious ritual, they think it will make them more beautiful, or because it is a way to remember something or someone. I have six ear piercings. I first got my ears pierced when I was so young I don’t even remember it. Then when I was nine or so, I got a second hole because my older sister had one and I wanted to be like her. At around age 13 I got a first cartilage (helix) piercing because I thought it looked really cool on others. I then added a second because I saw someone else who had it and thought it looked nice like that. And finally I got my tragus pierced because not many people I knew had it and since I did it with a cousin from Florida and a cousin from South Africa, it was a fun memory to make with them.

Tragus:[1]

Here is an article that lists a few other reasons people get piercings:.

Like I said earlier, many teens get piercings or tattoos as a form of rebelliousness. This site talks about convincing parents to give

permission to their kids to get a tattoo and/or piercing by identifying the reasons why parents are opposed to them. First of all, it seems that parents are opposed because of permanence. Some fear their children are making the wrong decision and fear they will regret them as they grow older. Secondly, there is a fear about infections due to unsanitary tattoo and piercing parlors. Having been raised in a Jewish community, another parental concern surrounds the religious permissibility of tattoos and piercings. While the torah specifically prohibits tattooing in Leviticus: 19:28[2], there have been disputes among the rabbis as to whether or not this prohibition is particular to G-d’s name being a part of the tattoo. Either way, there is no specific punishment for those who break this law and it is a common misconception that Jews who get tattoos are not allowed to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. In terms of piercings, there are many biblical references to both ear and nose piercings (Exodus: 21:6, Genesis 24:47, Exodus: 32:2)[3] and there is no mention of piercings being prohibited. The only place where the issue becomes tricky is with the idea that man was created in the image of G-d and surrounding the concern of modesty[4]. Otherwise, piercings are perfectly acceptable in the Jewish religion. Another reason parents are opposed to piercings and tattoos is due to the generation gap and the connotations people have with tattoos and piercings. From personal experience, I had a negative connotation to tattoos until more and more people I knew started getting them, slowly making the idea seem less bad to the point where I now think they are really cool.

I think the media has a similar effect. The more celebrities that get tattoos, the more people see them around, the more socially acceptable they become. What famous people wear certainly has a large influence on how people dress and I think the same concept holds true for piercings and tattoos. In looking at this website, I noticed that among celebrities, there are trends in tattoos. For example, there is a long list of 23 celebrities who have gotten tattoos of stars. Since its clear there are some trends among the stars, I wanted to know if this affected teens and found this website, This site suggests that celebrities not only influence the choice of tattoos that teens are getting, but the body parts that are being tattooed as well. With more celebrity tattoos and piercings and a wider range and diversity of types of tattoos and piercings coming about, including the blacklight tattoo [5]

(Also known as the UV tattoo that is invisible unless seen under a blacklight,), which has recently become more popular, it is inevitable that they will become more socially acceptable and widespread.

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[1] http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/69/68831/tragus.bmp

[2] CJLS Responsum (Alan Lucas “Tattooing and Body Piercing” YD 180.1977)

[3] CJLS Responsum (Alan Lucas “Tattooing and Body Piercing” YD 180.1977)

[4] CJLS Responsum (Alan Lucas “Tattooing and Body Piercing” YD 180.1977)

[5] http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_tattoo7_060821_ssh.jpg