Month: November 2021

24/11

Before they started designing their own tattoos, I gave them a short introduction to their project. One of them had previously done my survey on tattooing in relation to body image. I asked them if the placement of tattoos affected their own attitudes to it and those of others, which was one of the questions in the questionnaire. Their views on this are all ‘Maybe’. It is difficult to say the answer to this question is absolutely yes or absolutely no. They think that tattoos are a very personal thing. Everyone feels differently. If having a tattoo in a visible placement works better for your self-esteem, you just do it. If it has a bit of a secret little story, you hide it. You are tattooing for yourself and the key thing is how to make you feel more comfortable.

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The participant who designed the second tattoo shared her story. Since puberty she has been shorter than her peers. This became a worry that has always bothered her. Before she started high school, The doctor told her that her bones had stopped growing. The only chance for her to grow taller was to have her bones broken as an adult.she even consulted a doctor and took an x-ray. The doctor told her that her bones had stopped growing. The only chance for her to grow taller was to have a limb lengthening and reconstruction surgery which was very scary for her as a teenager. She stated that even though she is only 150cm, it doesn’t stop her from doing what she wants to do and achieving a lot. During her drawing process, she told us that she was influenced by Japanese animation culture and that she has always loved drawing. She studied biology in the US as an undergraduate, during which time she taught herself to draw and then completed her own portfolio and applied for an illustration course at Camberwell College of Arts.

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25/11

Tattoo Workshop on zoom

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The next day, I held another workshop on zoom and invited two participants. The first participant often draws illustrations of his daily life, such as going to work, going camping, getting vaccinated, etc. The main characters of her illustrations are her and her two cats. And she often makes derivative products from her paintings. The tattoo she designed for herself shows herself swimming freely. She says this is her attitude to life, free and unfettered. As far as her appearance is concerned, she feels that there is nothing to worry about. No one is perfect, just accepts yourself as you are and enjoys life as it is.

Throughout this workshop, she expressed her satisfaction with her tattoo and kept complimenting it on its cuteness. She said she created the illustrations and made them into derivative products to remind herself to enjoy life and love herself more. Tattoos are also a good choice. She said she would be making tattoo stickers as her new product. The workshop attracted her to try tattooing, which is one of the things that made this online workshop a success.

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The second participant will have some body anxiety. Because she was a sports player until college. Long-term training resulted in her calf muscles being well developed. She said that two pairs of knee-high boots she had recently purchased would not fit because her calves were too thick. This became a point that has always bothered her and in response to this, she created this tattoo.

After these two workshops, I spoke to my classmate about our project and I showed her the photos of my workshop and the tattoos they designed. She found the process very interesting and asked me why I didn’t invite her, she really wanted to participate. I said I could still invite her even after this project was over.

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Interviews with two participants after they had attended the workshop

 Reflection:  I find that the tattoo workshop can be an opportunity to talk about bad experiences and an agent that promotes a sense of intimacy between people. Tattooing is a form of self-expression and the process of tattooing may help them accept themselves, and shape a new self-identity. In addition, tattoos are eye-catching, and if someone asks where they came from, it may be an opportunity to talk about it and may give them the chance to build a connection with those around them. After this workshop, if they feel uncomfortable and find the negative emotions overwhelming, they can contact the counsellors. Fortunately, no one felt uncomfortable.

Evidence from this action research, together with literature and expert interviews on female tattoos and body image, leads us to conclude that raising self-esteem requires maintaining positive beliefs and accepting imperfection and uniqueness. Tattooing as a method has a solid inner strength for most people, which could help some young Asian women think about who they are and who can really control their bodies. Designing a tattoo can help young Asian women re-examine themselves and accept themselves, which contribute to improving self-esteem and body image. It shows that tattooing could be an alternative to problem-solving to help them find solace for some women. Although my study and intervention result shows that tattoos have a positive effect on self-esteem and body image for some women, my project is still an exploration of tattooing in relation to body image. Another avenue for future research needs to be more participants, evidence, and psychological perspectives. This study would be more comprehensive if more psychologists were more involved.

I made two posters for my tattoo studio and posted them on Instagram. I plan to invite two or three people to my offline workshop. Due to time differences, covid and venue restrictions, the number of participants could not be large. The rest of participants may still have to attend the meeting on zoom. The workshop is an invitation for girls to look at their imperfections, recall their own stories, design a tattoo for themselves and then draw the tattoo (a temporary, removable tattoo) as a process of reconnecting with themselves and sharing their stories with other women participants.

Reflection: First of all I have to give a brief introduction to my project with the participants. So one of the things I have to do is tell them why I associate tattooing with self-esteem and body image. This is the question that was asked during the previous presentation. I think I need to address such doubts of others.

I have divided my reasons for choosing tattoos as a way to improve my self-esteem and body image into two aspects. On the one hand I think tattooed women challenge the dominant beauty culture. Women can protect themselves from mainstream beauty culture with tattoos and they could feel that they were armoring themselves against the mainstream beauty culture. They will use it as an expression of a rebellious spirit and a way of confronting mainstream aesthetics. Additionally, they recast tattooing as alternative forms of beauty and self-expression.

On the other hand I think for some women, tattoos can be an alternative to problem solving to help them find solace. Tattoos are actually a way of remembering or memorialising, a personal hobby or a way of expressing oneself. By this way, tattoos can make women think about who controls our bodies.

But through my interviews with a number of people, it appears that human emotions and the purpose of doing things are very complex. Both of the reasons I have categorised above may be present in their heads. This means that she can express rebellious emotions and fight against mainstream aesthetics while also using the tattoo as a psychological comfort and using it as a reminder and a memento of herself.

Last week I did a survey about tattoo in relation to body image. As I delved more deeply into the project, I found more specific issues to examine. One of the things I’m trying to figure out is whether the placement of the tattoo affects people’s attitude. Some people get tattoos on hidden body parts for different reasons. I wonder if this means that they are not ready for the tattoo or that the tattoo will work for them and express them regardless of the placement. I have also translated this questionnaire into Chinese for some Chinese people to read easily.

Reflection: One drawback of this questionnaire is that it covers more people in East Asian, while women in other parts of Asia cannot be involved in. The first question shows that nearly 40% of the 33 people own tattoos. This survey also shows that there is a high level of acceptance of tattoos. Moreover, there is not a single person who cannot accept tattoos at all. The survey showed that people were not really sure whether the placement of the tattoo would make a difference to themselves or to others. This is justified that they had not previously thought about or studied this issue in particular. But they still have their own judgement on some views, especially as 40% of them have tattoos.

The survey showed that people were not sure whether the tattoo’s placement would make a difference to themselves or others. The more commonly agreed views were that tattoos are completely personal, placement and other people’s opinions don’t matter, and tattoos can be an alternative to problem solving for some women with scars and imperfects on their bodies to help them find solace.

07/11

Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoos

There’s been some sophisticated fiction about skin and ink. I am reminded of a book by Margot Mifflin called ‘Bodies of Subversion’. This book describes the secret history of women and tattoos and it was first published in 1997 but reissued now in a heavily updated and resplendently illustrated third edition. This book examines tattoos in the Western world from a female perspective. According to a 2012 Harris Poll, American women are more likely to be tattooed than men. Some 23 percent of women have tattoos; 19 percent of men do. They’re no longer rebel emblems, Ms. Mifflin notes. They’re a mainstream fashion choice. As for the history of Chinese tattooing it has been around for over a thousand years. According to the Chinese Tattooists Association, not long ago only 10% of the population tolerated tattoos, now this indicator has risen to 60%. Tattoos are particularly popular among women, and the vast majority of clients of tattoo studios are young women.

The writer of this book is an admirer of women’s tattoo culture. She declared that tattoos were ‘a symbol of empowerment in an era of feminist progress’. Bodies of Subversion is the first history of women’s tattoo art, providing a fascinating excursion to a subculture that dates back into the nineteenth-century and includes many never-before-seen photos of tattooed women from the last century. The book captures a series of stories of women and tattoos from breast cancer survivors in the 1990s who had their mastectomy scars tattooed as an alternative to reconstructive surgery or prosthetics, and the rise of tattooing and cosmetic surgery at the same time in the 1980s, when female tattoo artists became the soul doctors of a Britain plagued by body anxiety.

Mifflin notes that tattoos have the ‘ability to degrade as well as to enhance, to invoke the sacred and the inane.’ After reading this book, I think tattoos can make women think about who controls our bodies. Tattooing shifts the focus of women’s issues from society to the self. Tattooed women are empowered only in their minds. For some women, tattoos can be an alternative to problem solving to help them find solace.

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31/10

This Tuesday we did a short presentation to the Dragons. They listened to my presentation and recommended Professor Thompson, a specialist in my field of study. Then I read a book she wrote called Covered in Ink : Tattoos, Women and the Politics of the Body.

The book tells women with tattoos account for 20 percent of adults in the United States with tattoos. I also tried to find data on tattooed women in China. According to the Chinese Tattooists Association, in 2017 the indicator that residents can tolerate tattoos rose to 60%. Tattoos are particularly popular among women, and the vast majority of clients of tattoo studios are young women. It means that there is a growing acceptance of tattoos in China, a growing awareness that tattoos are actually a way of remembering or memorialising, a personal hobby or a way of expressing oneself.

Professor Thompson visited a number of tattoo parlours to talk to female tattoo artists and the women they tattooed, and she attended a tattoo convention and the Miss Tattoo pageant, where a large number of tattooed women gathered to share their common love of this art form. In this book, she talks about women’s love of ink, their personal choices about the art of tattooing, the meaning of tattooing in their lives, and their struggles with gender norms, employment discrimination and family rejection. Thompson(2015) points out that despite the stigma and social hostility associated with heavily tattooed women, many believe that tattoos empower them and create a place for self-expression, while also promoting good body image. 

Reflection: When it comes to stigma and social hostility, I am reminded of a study of tattoos on appearance anxiety and dissatisfaction, perceptions of uniqueness, and self-esteem. That study shows 82 British residents report significantly lower appearance anxiety and dissatisfaction immediately after obtaining a tattoo. Participants report significantly greater body appreciation, self-esteem, distinctive appearance investment, and self-ascribed uniqueness three weeks after obtaining a tattoo. Women reported greater social physique anxiety after three weeks, whereas men reported lower anxiety. This result shows that women bear more stigma and social hostility. So most women won’t choose to be heavily tattooed. So in my intervention, a removable temporary tattoo would be a good attempt for some women.