Next time you see a young person with a tattoo, why not ask him or her to share the story behind it?
You might be amazed at what you hear … and be better off for it. Although a little hard to see, she never forgets. She wears the discreet tattoo of a small tree on her right shoulder. When asked to tell the story behind her tattoo, she replies, “After I was born, my father planted this tree in our backyard in honor of my arrival. He was so proud of me. At 10 years of age, he walked out on us. When I turned 16, I got a tattoo of the tree to remind myself that at one point in my life I was very important to my dad. I haven’t seen him in years, and the tree is gone—but he can’t take my tattoo away.”
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Young people get body art for a variety of reasons. Some do it because they want to fit in, while others succumb to peer pressure. Many are testimonies to the power of the media’s influence on our choices. For some youth, it is a mark of shock and rebellion. For others, tattoos make them feel sexier. Some simply see tattoos as works of fine art to adorn their human canvases.
Every generation has had a mark that distinguished it from previous cohorts. Over the past 50 years, prior generations have left us reminders of their passing—ducktail haircuts, phone booths, rock ’n’ roll, transistor radios, long hair, dropping drugs, dropping out, bell-bottom jeans, platform shoes, polyester pants, pet rocks, disco, baggy pants and backwards hats, hip hop, rap, sex without boundaries, body modification and lives lived out on the Internet.
So what is left to make them unique when we look back on history? They will be the generation remembered for creating the most personal form of media there is—a permanent story painted on young bodies.
Many of today’s youth will look back on this decade and remember it not with fondness, but hesitation, as they recall their struggles to simply survive. They will remember words such as divorce, separation, fatherlessness, abandonment, abuse and blended. In many ways, they are a generation who lost their most special place in that thing called family.
In our research at Youth Unlimited, we have discovered another reason why some kids have tattoos. For a generation of kids consumed by the media, it has in many ways become their closest friend, understanding and listening to the issues many adults miss. In their identification with the media, they, in turn, have become the medium. If you have a story to tell, then why not put it on your body? Why not put it out there for all to see, in the hopes that someone, anyone, might take time to listen to your tale? Why not put an enduring picture on your body about a particular “chapter” of your life for all to read? At least this is one thing your family can’t take away from you. And it is permanent, always there, unlike your family. It is the most personal form of media there is. The medium is the message. You are the medium.