In recent years, tattoo culture in Hong Kong has steadily come of age, and people have gradually come to see tattoos as a form of culture, a kind of fashion, an art form. Some choose to ink a simple, telling image or phrase as a reminder to themselves; some tattoo the likeness of a loved one or a pet to mourn their passing; and others choose a collective tattoo representing friendship, a partner, or family to mark a relationship. So why are people willing to carve a mark into their flesh that will stay with them for life? And how can it help us face trauma?
The Evolution of Tattooing
The word "tattoo" has two origins: in Polynesian, ("ta") means "striking something"; and in Tahitian, ("tatau") means "to mark something". The oldest tattoos are believed to date back to a mummy from around 3000 BC known as "Ötzi the Iceman", on whom scholars found tattoo markings positioned over signs of osteoarthritis, suggesting that the tattoos of the time may have had a medical purpose — a form of acupuncture used to relieve pain (Pesapane et al., 2014). Later, some scholars took an evolutionary view to reason about the meaning of tattoos, proposing the theories of the "human canvas" and "upping the ante" respectively. The former holds that the tattoo is a form of human cultural expression, and also a channel for passing down ideas. Ancient people used cave paintings to record a piece of personal history or a story, but over time they gradually moved those paintings onto the body, conveying their stories through tattoos. The other theory holds that tattoos originate from sexual selection. Scholars believe the tattoo is a symbol of health that helps boost personal attractiveness and increase competitiveness between the sexes, which is why the practice has been passed down (Roggenkam et al., 2017). All of this shows that tattoos carry a rich historical backdrop.
The Meaning of Tattoos
Roggenkam et al. (2017) explain that people of different ages and genders have different behavioural motivations for getting tattoos. Young people hope to maintain a distinctive self-identity through tattoos and to draw attention. They pursue an appearance that sets them apart, and also see tattoos as a fashionable art form that lets them keep up with current trends and so blend into the mainstream. Beyond this, a tattoo can also serve as a marker of "enduring pain", and that pain is itself one of the reasons people enjoy tattoos. Scholars note that women tend to view tattoos as personal adornment, or as a way to express an independent image; whereas men tend to view tattoos as a symbol of group identity. So while a tattoo may bring a shared sense of belonging to different groups, at the same time each of us also gives our tattoo its own unique meaning.
The Psychology of Tattoos: What Kind of Person Loves Tattoos?
People once held a rather negative view of tattoos, regarding them as a mark of psychopathology, and psychiatrists even described tattoos as a feature of exhibitionism and masochism (Copes & Forsyth, 1993). They considered people with tattoos to be emotionally immature, lacking in self-control, impulsive, and some scholars even held that such people had self-harming tendencies, enjoying expressing themselves through the suffering of the flesh. These pathologising beliefs were also tied to the cultural taboos of the day, leaving tattoos discriminated against for a long time.
But there was also a view at the time that fits present-day society better, namely the stimulation theory of extraverted and introverted types. As early as 1967, Hans Jürgen Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck proposed that a person's extraversion and introversion depend on their cortical arousal, which in turn shapes their reactions to the outside world. Introverted people have a higher level of cortical arousal, so they are more sensitive to external stimulation and therefore avoid excessive stimulation. Conversely, extraverted people have a lower level of cortical arousal, so they deliberately seek out stimulation. Drawing on this theory, scholars note that most people with tattoos are extraverts, hoping to gain social stimulation through tattoos and to attract the attention of others (Copes & Forsyth, 1993). Recent research also supports this view, indicating that people with tattoos score higher on extraversion in the Big Five assessment (Swami, 2012). What is more, they also have a higher need for uniqueness and greater distinctive appearance investment, which goes to show that people who love tattoos all long to "look different".
Can Tattoos Help You Face Trauma?
Crompton et al. (2020), writing on "Tattoos in the wake of trauma", explain how tattoos help trauma survivors heal themselves, one aspect being that they let survivors bear witness to the trauma so it will not be forgotten. Many survivors said in the study that they needed some "scars" to record an invisible psychological injury. These tattoos not only give them a channel for expression, but also help them connect with other survivors, releasing the loneliness within. Another reason is transformation and regaining control of one's body. Survivors often feel an intense sense of powerlessness, and the "pain" of the tattoo is precisely what lets them feel themselves again and regain control of their bodies and emotions. So the process of getting a tattoo is like telling a story of life's transformation, and tattoo artists have even been called "half psychologists".
A tattoo may look like the pursuit of a personal image, but the meaning it can give you is far greater than that one symbol, that one phrase. Each person's tattoo carries its own unique meaning, so we should not criticise other people's habits and pursuits either. But before you choose to get a tattoo, why not take a moment to think it over: what does this lifelong mark mean to you?
References
Copes, J. H., & Forsyth, C. J. (1993a). The tattoo: A social psychological explanation. International Review of modern sociology, 83-89.
Crompton, L., Plotkin Amrami, G., Tsur, N., & Solomon, Z. (2020). Tattoos in the Wake of Trauma: Transforming Personal Stories of Suffering into Public Stories of Coping. Deviant Behavior, 1-14.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. (1967). On the unitary nature of extraversion. Acta Psychologica, Amsterdam.
Pesapane, F., Nazzaro, G., Gianotti, R., & Coggi, A. (2014). A short history of tattoo. JAMA dermatology, 150(2), 145-145.
Roggenkamp, H., Nicholls, A., & Pierre, J. M. (2017). Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice. World journal of psychiatry, 7(3), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v7.i3.148
Swami, V. (2012). Written on the body? Individual differences between British adults who do and do not obtain a first tattoo. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 53(5), 407-412.
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