Portrait of a young man with a lot of tattoos and piercings
Keywords:
Tattoo, body piercing, mental health, body modification, body dysmorphic disorder, dysmophophobia, deliberate self harm.
Introduction:
Tattooing, Body Piercing And Mental Health. What is body modification? Tattooing and types. What is meant by body piercing? Why do modern people engage in body modification? What is the link between body modifications and mental health? Are those who do body modifications, more involved with the law?
Humans around the world, for thousands of years, have engaged in the practice of tattooing. Among the oldest tattoos, were found in the 3000s BCE, among mummies in Egypt. But some people believe that tattooing dates back further than this found in Egypt.
Most tattoos were done for spiritual or religious reasons, for cultural reasons, and for family identity. Some tattoos were even used for medical treatment, in history, while some were done for beautification purposes. There are evidence that tattoos were even used as punishment for people who misbehaved. In some cultures, it was used to show royalty and even strength.
Some people in the 1800s, would tattoo a crucifix on their chest so as to evade being whipped. When the crucifix was seen tattooed on the body of the guilty person, he was spared from being whipped. So tattooing was used as a form of protection, or portraying someone as dangerous.
The practice of body piercing globally, dates as far back as 1500BCE. Even genital piercing has been documented to have been seen in ancient Rome as far as 550 BCE.
Body piercing were done for different reasons, such as beautification, cultural, religious and spiritual reasons as well as self-expression. Some people used it for sexual pleasure, or for status symbol, while others used it to express rebellion.
Both tattooing and body piercing are collectively known as body modification.
What is body modification?
Body modification, also known as body alteration or body art, is an action one takes to alter one’s body. This can be done temporarily or permanently to alter one’s appearance for none medical reasons.
There are different types of body modifications. These include tattooing, body piercing, dieting, body building, placing objects under the skin, and tongue splitting. Others include skull deformity, neck elongation,
Yes, even breast and buttocks enlargements are forms of body modification. And so are liposuction and nose reshaping. The process of transgender is also seen as a form of body modification.
Tattooing and types.
Tattoos are permanent designs or pictures made on the skin for decorative or symbolic purposes.
These tattoos are made by introducing pigments or dyes under the skin using needles. Sometimes these are done manually or with a machine. The needle piercing are done between 50 to 30,000 times through the skin. These pigments when injected under the skin, are attacked by the person’s immune system. Then some cells of the immune system, absorbs the dyes, which enables the colours and design to appear on the skin and stay permanent.
The process of tattooing is a very painful process. Local anesthesia or medications to dull the pain are not used during tattooing process. This is because local anesthesia can make the skin feel touch and unable to work with.
Tattoo sites:
The most popular sites for tattooing include the neck, arms, abdomen, legs, the back, the chest and buttocks. But there are other parts that are not as popular that some people chose to apply their tattoos. These are especially when they are small and simple or have special connotations. The areas include the wrist, back, face, palm, fingers, and arm pit, nipples, behind the ears, foot, skull and groin. Others include foot, toes, etc.
Tattoo types:
People apply different tattoo types depending on their beliefs and emotions at that point in time. Some decorate their body parts with the faces of their loved ones, or the names of their loved ones. And some others use symbols of the identity of their associations, clubs, cults, communities, etc.
Many people decorate their bodies with pictures of flowers which they use to express love, beauty and a new beginning. Others show butterflies, fish, birds, to express freedom, joy and their connection with nature.
There are those who use fearful animals like sharks, tigers and wolves to show how aggressive they are. Others will use the symbols of weapons such as guns, swords, knives, violent images, to express aggression, strength and defiance.
What is meant by body piercing?
Body piercing, is done by puncturing the chosen body part and placing a jewelry or implant into it. This just like tattoo, is an invasive painful act or art that gives one a permanent body modification. It can be done with needles or machines.
Piercing sites:
When it comes to piercing, these can occur at more conventional body parts like the nose and ear lobes. But many others can be made on the tongue, eyelids, breast nipples and the human private parts. The face is also not spared by some people.
The piercing on the female private parts include the clitoral hood, the labia majora and vulva. Also piercing and tattooing can be done on the male penis.
At these area of the female private parts, after piercing, ornaments are inserted under the skin or on the skin. Then for the males, the ornaments are placed under the skin of the penis.
Piercing types:
At the ear –
Here there are different types of ear piercing. These depend on the area of the ear pierced, or the maneuvering of the jewelry. They include normal ear lobe piercing, transvers lobe, plugged ear lobe, orbital piercing, helix and industrial piercing.
Others include snug (antihelix), conch, tragus, daith, rook, anti-tragus, flat piercing, mid-helix (auricle), constellation, and triple helix.
Face piercing –
Some people apply face piercing, some with few face piercing, while others fill up their faces with multiple piercings.
The different types of face piercing include the eye brow, horizontal eye brow and the anti-eye brow. Others are the micro-dermal, septal, spider bite and cheek piercing.
Lip piercing –
There are the medusa, jestrum, monroe, vertical labret, ashley, labret, spider bite, snake bite, madonna and angel bite. Others include dahlia bite, cyber bite, canine bite, dolphin bite and shark bite.
Oral or inside the mouth –
On the tongue, you have tongue piercing and horizontal piercing. At the inner part of the upper lip, you have the smiley, which shows when the person smiles. On the upper and lower gum, you can find the frowny. Then under the tongue, you have the tongue web.
Nose piercing –
They include septum, septril, rhino, nostril, austin bar, nasallang, high nostril, bridge and third eye.
Body piercing –
Neck and chest.
At the neck, one can find the vampire bite. Lower down the neck, between the two clavicles, the madison can be placed. Then at the back of the neck, there could be the nape piercing.
One either side of the clavicles, some people can place the collar bone piercing. At the sternal area, some people can place the sternum piercing. Then at the nipples, the piercing could be placed vertically or horizontally. At the lowest part of the chest, there could be a piercing called the third nipple.
At the abdomen.
Here one can see the piecing at the belly button or at the naval.
Hip piercing.
You can see some people piercing either sides or both sides of their hips.
At the genitals.
On both the male and female genitals, some people can do body piercing. The names of the piercings include christina, clitoris, inner or otter labia, fourchette, etc. for the females. And for the males, their names are dyode, kuno, jacob’s ladder, prince albert, etc. During the prince albert piercing, the needle is passed from the skin of the penis, through the urethra. Then the needle comes out to the other side of the penis skin. The urethra is the tube through which urine passes to get outside the body.
Why do modern people engage in body modification?
People who engage in body modification, use them as a form of communication. They use them to communicate in a radical way. Most of them will tell you that they use them to express themselves, including to express rebellion.
Such people will say that they use them to gain control of themselves, or to create an identity for themselves. So they want to be unique. Some people use body modification to create a “perfect or ideal body” for themselves.
Some people engage in body modification to enhance their beauty in social context. That is, some women use it to increase their attractiveness. The media and the fashion industries are some of the factors fueling body modifications.
Tattooing or body piercing helps them feel belonging to a particular group. It is like expressing, “this is who we are.”
What is the link between body modifications and mental health?
Many research has proved the link between body modifications such as tattooing and body piercing, with mental health issues. But it is important to note that not all persons who engage in body modifications, have mental health issues.
The link to psychological and psychiatric issues:
Psychiatric issues –
The use of having multiple tattooing or multiple body piercing has been linked to the person having mental illnesses. These include depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and suicide ideations and attempts.
Persons suffering from schizophrenia who believe in having tattoo, very few tattoos located at hidden places. Their aim for tattooing, is to show that they have separated from reality. This tattooing usually is done in their teens, before they start to manifest the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Some females who suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) or dysmophophobia, engage in body tattooing or body piercing. Body Dysmorphic Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder, where a person sees an imagined problem with a part of her body. Even if there is a problem there, it is so insignificant. But unfortunately, the person is still worried about it. So, the person will use tattooing or piercing on that part of the body to cover that imagined problem.
Also multiple body piercing have been linked to people who have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Some have also been linked to antisocial personality disorder, sadistic personality disorder, and impulsivity. Being impulsive will make it more likely that the person will engage in multiple body tattooing or piercing.
Some research have documented that people who have personality disorder and engage in tattooing, do multiple tattooing. And these multiple tattooing are haphazardly placed on the chest, arms and legs.
Psychological issues –
There is also a link to these persons having anger issues. Some use tattooing as a way to release tension.
Some research have documented that some persons who engage in painful body modifications are doing a form of deliberate self-harm. Deliberate Self Harm (DSH), is an intentional act of causing physical harm to oneself, without the intention of killing oneself. Some people call it None Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI). People doing this in the name of DSH or NSSI, are persons who tattoo or pierce obscure body parts. Such obscure body parts include the private parts, the face, eyes and head.
Some of these persons, also prevent wounds on their body from healing. So they are constantly pricking their bodies. Research has also found out that adolescents who mutilate their bodies through body modifications, suffer from low self-esteem.
Body modifications have been proved by many researchers, as a means to coping from abuse. Such abuses include Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) one had while growing up in the family. The ACEs include physical abuse and neglect, emotional abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, etc.
So such survivors of abuse, use tattooing and body piercing as a means to cope with what they have been through. They also use it as a means to heal from past wounds or trauma. Tattooing and body piercing makes the victims feel that they are now in control of their bodies.
Reckless behaviours:
Persons who have tattoos or body piercing, are more likely to abuse drugs or substances like alcohol, cannabis, etc. Such people are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours and risky driving.
Those persons who engage in drugs of abuse through injections, use tattooing to hide their injection sites.
Children who engage in school truancy, are more likely to do tattooing or piercing. Some people who have the history is running away from home, are more likely to do body piercing.
Are those who do body modifications, more involved with the law?
Due to the abuse of substances and risky behaviours, some people who have tattoos end up in prison. A lot of criminal gangs use tattooing as a form of identifying themselves to the group members. Research has it that the more tattoos the person has, the more likely that he will engage in criminality or offending.
A research carried out in 2009, reported that the more visible the tattoo, the more likely the criminal involvement. The tattoos on the face, neck hands and fingers, are more associated with deviance. A more recent research showed that individuals with arm tattoos are perceived as being offenders.
And since they are more likely to abuse hard drugs, they are at risk of getting into criminality. Driving recklessly and involving in risky sex, can easily get them into trouble with the police and the court.
So, this makes such people to be easily scrutinized by the law enforcement agents. Law enforcement agents may thus stereotype them as deviants and none conformists. This could lead to frequent arrests of persons wearing tattoos and body piercings, even when they have done nothing wrong.
When it comes to court decisions on defendants the juror’s decisions are usually biased when the person has a visible tattoo. They jurors see the tattooed more as being guilty, than not. This is a form of stereotyping.
