Rebellion, individuality or future mainstream?
What would be the last place you would get a tattoo? Most people would probably answer "the face". Yet face tats are increasingly visible in pop culture, see Post Malone or Justin Bieber.
So why is the face nowadays still a taboo zone for ink? Is the face to us, subconsciously, perhaps really the "sacred space" that also Facereaders would assign to it?
Yes, of course, we all know about the gangster prison image, but tattoos of any part of the body used to have that stigma too, no?. Haven't we already outgrown this cliché? Is there perhaps a deeper reason?
Certainly, there is no denying that face tats still have strong social connotations and in some cases diminish certain job and career opportunities. But I believe it has more to do with the fact that our face is the expression of our individuality. When we change that area with ink, it's a statement that stays. You tattoo your personality, so to speak. And you need a really thick skin to be able to deal with potential negative reactions in that manner.
Another factor is certainly the pain involved. Tattooing on the face is often more painful and difficult than on other parts of the body because the skin on the face is thinner and more sensitive. Additionally, the risk of ink bleeding is greatly increased. And there are also many nerve pathways in the face that are connected to all the organs and the brain. I suspect there is a direct connection here, too, to the fact that we subconsciously want to avoid this area.
Recently, I discovered the statement of a young woman with many facial tattoos. She said that she was increasingly bothered by being asked about her tattoos and their meaning because the person she was talking to was too rarely interested in her as a person.
This makes me wonder how much face tattoos also serve as a masking for us - similar to indigenous peoples, for example, where face tattoos stand for heritage, fame and spiritual connection?
Post Malone's stated reason for his face tattoos, by the way, is appropriately this: "Maybe it comes out of a certain insecurity. I don't like the way I look, so I get something cool tattooed so I can look at myself and say, 'You look cool, kid,' and have a certain level of confidence when it comes to my appearance."
It remains exciting, then, to what extent face tats will spread into the mainstream or remain just a trend among celebs. Let’s see.
Comments