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To Cry or Not To Cry

Has anyone ever been told ‘You shouldn’t (insert action) here!” or “You shouldn’t (insert action) in front of others”? You know, that moment when you’re doing something completely normal in life but it gets marked as socially unacceptable? Sometimes, I feel like there’s this weird aversion in seeing people cry or even people themselves crying, myself included. Continue reading →

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Can you be considered fabulous when you’re fat?

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Several days ago I came across a show with a woman crying during an interview. She was crying because she was talking about how people make fun of her for being over weight. I immediately stayed on the channel to learn more about this woman. What I learned in that one hour gave me confidence in myself that I desperately needed.

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Hair We Go Again

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Body hair, almost everyone has it. Some more than others and in more places too. But when did body hair become a symbol for unhygienic, dirty, and gross? There used to be a time when body hair on both men and women was completely normal. Men had hairy chests and women left their pubic hair in its natural state. But today both of those are big no – no’s in society. Continue reading →

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Butterfly Tattoos and How They Can Be Constrictive

butterfly-tattoos-17The simple beauty of a butterfly tattoo can be a thing of beauty as well as a thing of oppression. Few can see how this may come to pass, but it is an occurrence that has happened to at least myself. The butterfly tattoo is the epitome of feminine tattoos, but that can also lead to come questions if one is not fond of butterflies. Continue reading →

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Motorcycle Clubs, Gangs, Tribes and Tattoos

After concise and careful thought, we can call this show one of the greatest shows to ever grace cable television. Sons Of Anarchy, a show praised (by yours truly) for its barbaric violence and a shakespearian plot reminded me of some of our discussions in class. With hopes that my clear publicizing will coax some of you into watching the show I will try not to spoil the plot while trying to link it to our class discussion. You see the man above with the “reaper” tattoo on his back, and his motorcycle club above and the charter location below? That is a type of identification for the people in that show and in reality for many people in motorcycle clubs, gangs etc. Whenever there was a gang retaliation to an event in that show, the current leader would ask to “Check the ink”. The “ink” is so serious to them in this show that once a person leaves the club, they have to either cut the skin with the tattoos of the club off or blacken it out with a blow torch.

Culturally, paradigms about the body fluctuate. In some tribes in Africa, people get tribal marks in forms of tattoos and scars on their face, their arms, legs and other body parts and to this tells where they are from. The body is used as a sort of identification card. The spectrum that body art is viewed is amazing. A woman  struck a conversation with me in a cafe a couple of weeks ago and she had 3 very tiny tattoos on her left hand. I asked “What are those about?” She said “I got them because I was just feeling a little crazy, they don’t really mean anything but I have to hide them when I visit my parents”. I realized she viewed her body differently than the Sons Of Anarchy. They were overly proud and obnoxious of their identity through their body (which is not a bad thing), not only did they have the “reaper” tattoos they got jackets, baby clothing, furniture and all sorts of “reaper” paraphernalia. They made it a whole thing!  It was something they sported proudly because it proved who they were and proved they belong to something. Similar to some other cultures that having body art. No one gets 3 deep permanent cuts on their cheek if they do not want people to see it.

We can see how body art is juxtaposed in cultures some are really proud and must show it off while other cultures it is “not a thing meant for everyone to see”