Armijo Publish Club Talks Tattoos and Piercings
Written on October 11, 2010 by Kaila Cauthorn
Category: General Talk
America today seems to have become more liberal in regards to the adornment of people’s bodies with piercings
and tattoos, if only slightly. Originally they were only viewed to be the brand of criminal life or the mark of a rebellious delinquent. While these stereotypes may still be maintained by much of the older demographic, however, piercings and tattoos have become more common among people we see every day. They seem to be sported in one area of the body or another by every person you see, from those that you pass on the sidewalk to colleagues in the workplace to fellow students. While it’s not very common for students to have piercings (other than in their ears) at the middle school stage, quite a few can be found among high school students, and even some tattoos as well.
Is it true that this corporal decoration is really as uncouth as our parents and grandparents insist that they are? I presented the topic to Armijo High School Teen Publish Club, and they offered a sundry of opinions. All seemed to agree that the effect depends largely on the placement. Jhaynehl, for instance, observed that earrings placed conventionally on the lower ear lobe — such as the piercings I myself have had since infancy — look elegant and respectable, especially at fancy outings. However, the more creative styles are literally cringe-inducing for her. On that day I learned that one can not only have various areas of the face or chest pierced, but apparently also the thighs, forearm, neck, and hip, and all of them can be connected in any combination with chains. Jhaynehl recalls a movie about the satanic doll Chuckie in which he rips out someone’s piercings that were connected in such a way as was described above; this gory memory is perhaps the reason behind her trauma-filled childhood.
On the other hand, a student by the name of Colton is not so appalled, at least not by tattoos. As far as piercings, he only said that he isn’t so sure that boys should wear them, because he considers them to be “too feminine.” On the other hand, he does in fact feel comfortable around people who have tattoos. Apparently those people are easier to relate to because they tend to be less pretentious and more personable. Tattooed people working as salespeople, for instance, give the impression that they might be willing to take risks and cut their clients a deal every so often.
This does raise the question of whether or not tattoos and piercing should be allowed in the workplace. Jhaynehl and another student, Jonah, inform us that all piercings are prohibited during band reviews and swim meets for safety reasons. Additionally, there are quite a few businesses that look unfavorably upon people who apply to work for them who have piercing and tattoos. As the Late Late Show Host Craig Ferguson once said, “Nothing like a big spider web tattoo on the side of your neck says ‘I don’t want this job.’” Especially when taking into consideration the most well-renowned careers, it’s difficult to imagine a respectable economist, physician, or politician presenting his or herself in such a way.
There is a debate as to whether such adornment is a work of art or a destruction of the body. For example the piercing of one’s hip, the tattooing of the inside of one’s mouth, and the implanting of reptilian scales along one’s spine just beneath the skin are all beautiful expressions of individuality, but it would require quite a convincing argument to prove that they are in any sense practical. At the least they must be intensely painful and at the worst they are hazardous to health or mobility. Even piercings as relatively common as gages, massive earrings that can be well over an inch in diameter and stretch gaping holes in the earlobe, are viewed by club member Kacy to be an unwise decision because their expansion of the ear can be almost impossible to reverse. However many people, high school students in particular, view it to be a reasonable sacrifice because of how attractive young people view them to be.
Make no mistake; despite her conviction that gages might be too drastic, Kacy has her mind firmly set on getting a pair of lip piercings herself. She finds her decision to be sound primarily because she doesn’t participate in any athletics and therefore the safety issue won’t be a concern for her. Even if she ever does, they can be taken out either permanently or for merely a couple of hours once her skin becomes accustomed to them. Additionally she informed me that she can even wear studs made of transparent material if she wants to keep them in but would rather not let anyone see them. Nevertheless, piercings aren’t for everyone, and tattoos even more so because they are so much more permanent. As Jonah said, “They’re okay if that’s your accepted lifestyle and as long as you’re not interested in going into the typical job fields that won‘t accept them.”
