In recent decades, tattooed women are becoming more and more common. Studies, such as this survey from Fox News, suggest women have grown rapidly more comfortable with tattoos in recent decades. According to their results, 47% of women under 35 are tattooed, while only 4% of women over 65 have tattoos, showing a rapid growth in the number of women who have adorned their bodies with art in the last few decades. That’s what a tattoo is, art and the ultimate message for self-expression. When you choose to put something meaningful on your body forever, you are expressing yourself in yet another way. The same way some people carry specific purses or wear a type of shoes, tattoos are just an extension of ourselves. While some stigma of tattoos linger, the truth is that as tattoos have become more common on both men and women and they are also becoming more socially acceptable as well.
Tattoos and Self Esteem
According to an article in Psychology Today by Kirby Farrell, Ph.D, humans have been tattooing their skin, filing their teeth, and festooning themselves with ornaments since prehistoric times: sometimes to stand out, sometimes to blend into a group. Farrell explains that while reasons behind getting them are varied, all tattoos modify self-esteem as well as the bodies they’re on. Like cosmetics, tattoos are prosthetic, and like an artificial limb, they make up for something felt to be missing or inadequate. We’re always devising ways to enhance parts of our bodies, from diets and wigs to cosmetic surgeries and more. Tattoos often attract attention, which can also affect the wearer’s self esteem. We want to be original and interesting and not normal or ordinary. As a tattooed woman myself, every tattoo I have has a meaning to me. Even if that moment was 10 years ago, seeing the tattoo today brings back the feelings that the tattoo represents. Each of my tattoos is a snapshot of a time in my life I need to remember, be it good or bad. The bad must be remembered so I can continue to learn and grow from it, and the good should always be remembered and commemorated. Tattoos are a personal self expression that we paint on our bodies not for the judgment of others, but for ourselves.
Tattoos and Empowerment
A recent study by Texas Tech University’s Jerome Koch, a sociology professor, found that college-aged women with multiple tattoos reported higher levels of self-esteem than anyone else in the study. My tattoos are empowering to me. They are reminders, they are snapshots, they are a piece of who I am at every stage of my adult life. The outward symbol makes me feel empowered and happy, and since they are for me and not for anyone else, these are the only reasons I need. An article on YourTango eloquently stated “It’s empowering to turn something that pains you or that you feel is ugly (like a scar) into art, and even if you’re not someone with tattoos, they are indeed an art form. Some people use tattoos as a way of remembering a death; either of a relationship or a loved one, as tattoos can be a map of a person’s emotional life. They’re a coping mechanism — something that gives them strength.” Featured photo credit: Denise Krebs via flickr.com
