Thursday, September 6, 2012
Social Deviance in Relation to Tattoos
Yesterday in class, we read an extremely long article about a survey linking the defiance of others with the types and amount of body art that they have. I found this very interesting and have been thinking about it ever since. The survey did not cover a wide variety of people. It was mainly focused on white college students. I feel that if the survey were expanded, the results would have changed drastically. Yes, people that get tattoos and piercings are likely to be more rebellious than those who would never dare. But along with that statement, you could bring in a ton of "what if" questions. What if the people that get tattoos are just more free spirited? What if THAT is what links them to social deviance rather than the tattoos themselves. What if people who get tattoos and piercings are known to be more artistic? Could that be the link to their rebellious behaviors or out of the ordinary appearance? Possibly there are people who have tried and failed fitting into other social groups, so they choose the rugged, tattooed, hard core life because unlike other social cliques, you don't have to talk to other people. In fact, the more you keep to yourself or the more mean things that you say to people, the "harder" you appear. Any number of these could be the relation between tattoos and social deviance. Maybe that isn't the connection at all. Maybe tattoos and social deviance are solely "side effects" of a bigger picture. I, myself, want tattoos. But that does not mean that I partake in rebellious actions. I simply love art in any form, and want to draw and design my own tattoos for the rest of the world to see. Some people get tattoos as a sort of memorial for their loved ones that have passed. Some people get tattoos as a reminder of something important to them. Some people get tattooed merely for the fact that they love artwork. It would be entirely too difficult to come to the assumption that people with tattoos are more rebellious, without asking each and every person the reason for having their body art. I may be wrong, and many of you may disagree, but this is entirely my opinion.
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I want tattos also, but not because I want to look tough. I think art is beautiful and if you have a favorite peice of art that you want to carry on yourself forever, go for it! Sure it will be there forever, but there are worse things. I don't think this particular thing effects one's deviant actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jada in a lot of things. I, myself, am a very artistic person, and a tattoo would simply be a customization to my personal canvas (body.) Every human being on this Earth performs a deviant act everyone once in a while. How and the he11 could it be related to tattoos? What about immaturity? Parenting even? What about the society that the individual person was brought up in or lives in? I do not believe that a person is born with common sense. It is your environment and experience, a long with parents and friends that make you who you are. There are so many factors that play into this. So, in conclusion, who ever drew ties to this didn't really take into consideration that tattoos are simply symbolism. Obviously if you have "I hate everyone" as a tattoo... it is kind of obvious your intentions, unlike a greek goddess or abstract design. I dunno, it's stupid!
ReplyDeleteGreat questions Jada and comments Lisa! Questioning research and survey results is the essence of sociology. The benefit of a science such as Sociology is in the process of questioning and the journey in seeking the "why". The benefit, nor the purpose of sociology isn't the end result because with these type of tests the data will always be inconclusive due too many different variables that can't be accounted for.
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