| I found something.. its something I wrote a few months ago.. not necessarily a rant, but there are some interesting thoughts in here.. hope you enjoy.. AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, this isn't perfect. So shoot me. Second, I'll be surprised if anyone actually reads it all the way through. Influence of Body Modification on Perception Body modification is practiced by many cultures for many different reasons. Regardless of whether or not people in Western cultures practice body modification to change society's perception of them, if often does. Because of this, it is important to consider some of the implications that follow an act of body modification. Changing your body can influence the way people view you and your abilities depending on the situation. According to the textbook Working in Groups, body modification, including tattoos and piercings, can create a negative perception of you, specifically in the workplace. In fact, 42 percent of people polled in a survey said that they viewed employees who had visible tattoos or piercings in a negative manner (135). Another study, mentioned on the website "The Influence of Tattoos on Peer Perception at Georgetown," supported these findings. The site refers to an experiment in which employers were asked to evaluate potential job applicants; both with body art and without. The job applicants with tattoos were "rated and ranked significantly lower" than the applicants without tattoos. For this reason, concealing body modification in a professional setting is important. There are some places it may be acceptable to reveal, or perhaps even "show off" your tattoo or piercing. Even in a professional setting, some body art may be normal. One example of this would be a tattoo or piercing parlor. If you are an employee of body modification parlor, it may even be a good idea to show off your taste in artwork in the form of a tattoo or a unique piercing because it will promote your service. Revealing body modification could also be acceptable if you are part of a professional group that wishes to maintain a certain persona. For example, employees working at "Hot Topic" are allowed, even encouraged, to display their body art. This exception could also include musical groups and stage performers. It all depends on what way the group wants to be perceived. Evidently, situation can play a part in the negative perception as well. A study testing the theory of the negative perception was done at Georgetown. According to the aforementioned website, the set up of the experiment was based around the interpretation of a poem. Three sets of subjects were given the same poem (that could be easily interpreted positively or negatively) and a list of questions to answer. The list included questions on the tone, content, rating, and a perceived description of the author of the poem. One set were given a photograph of the "author" with a tattoo, another set were given the photograph of the "author" without the tattoo, and the last group was only given the poem. The study showed that there "was no significant difference between how photos with the tattoos were rated in comparison to those without the tattoo." The situation is significantly different than the situation in the other studies. First, the most obvious change is that of the less formal atmosphere. In a professional setting, it is important to look, well, professional. Outside of that setting, however, it is more acceptable to reveal body modification. The author of the study also suggests that "tattoos can be associated with "artsy" people." It is mentioned that if it was a scientific article instead of a poem, the results could have been different. Of course, body modification easily fits the persona of an artist, but not one of a researcher or of a corporate employee. The final conclusion about the neutral responses is something that the author only mentions briefly, but has a great influence on the results. When conducting an experiment, it is important to take into account the demographics of the subjects who participate in the study. While the author mentions gender when discussing the results, he/she never really addresses the issue of age except to say that the pool of subjects were formed from Georgetown students and therefore would not draw good conclusions about the rest of the population. The immediate issue is the fact that the subjects were college-aged students, who tend to be more accepting of deviant social behavior than the employers who participated in the previous mentioned study. Another issue arises of generational differences. As the textbook mentions, "public perception may change as a younger generation of tattooed and pierced college graduates rises to leadership" (135). I realize that this study was done approximately five years ago, but people of that age were at the beginning of a new generation, of which tattoos and piercings are more widely accepted. It also went on to mention that the ratings were slightly higher among the group that received no photograph than of those that receive one. The author of the study asserts that this difference could be due to the idea that judgments could have been made based on how young the artist was or based on her gender. Considering the fact that the subjects were the same age as the "author," and therefore should judge "her" based on the same standards as themselves, there are other factors that might have contributed to the results. Merely the fact that the subjects had a photograph to judge physical appearance of the "author" can change the results drastically. Our society is becoming more and more critical of how a person looks, and often judges them by that standard. This can be observed through an idea called "the halo effect," which basically says that people who are more attractive are more likely to be perceived as smarter (or otherwise better) than someone who is less attractive but of the same intelligence. Based on this idea, the subjects with the photographs could have made negative judgments based on her physical appearance beyond just her age or gender, as opposed to the subjects without a picture, who could construct whatever appearance they thought suited the "author." Not only does body modification create a modified physical appearance, but it can create a modified attitude as well. This change can result from an array of reasons. First, especially when someone gets their first tattoo or piercing, they gain a new persona. It's almost as if the person now belongs to an exclusive group (no matter the size) of people who have experienced body modification. The person may have a "tough" attitude after they have endured the pain associated with body modification, or a "rebellious" attitude if they view the act as a way to rebel against their parents, other people, or society as a whole. Another change that can occur is an idea of a "new" beginning. The person changes their physical appearance to signify a change in their life. This can be as internal as a change in motivation or as external as the death of someone they loved. My personal perception of body modification is skewed since I have experienced it myself. I think it can be a positive or negative thing, depending on the reasons you decided to do it. If you decide to get a tattoo to make your parents angry, rather than because it is something you personally want, than it could be a negative act. Body art is just like everything else in that sense. If you do it for the wrong reasons, it can be a bad thing, but if you do it for the right reasons, it can be a good thing However, even though I have a piercing in my upper lip, there are still piercings that I view negatively. For example, there is no good way to wear your tongue pierced. In my opinion, it looks horrible (skanky) because it is linked with performing sexual favors. Not only that, but the person has to re-learn how to speak without a lisp, and in the meantime, can't be understood and slobber everywhere. Also, tattoos on the neck or face are just not appropriate. Tattoos that can easily be covered up, or are at least on the arm or hand are not too terrible. Also, I've heard the new trend is to tattoo on eyeliner. I suppose that would not be too appalling. Even though in certain situations it is view in a negative light, body modification is act that will continue to be practiced far into the future, if not until the extinction of mankind. We can only speculation how people's perceptions of this act will change in the future. For now, it is important to consider the times and places that revealing body art is acceptable. |
