The Motivation Behind Getting Piercings, Tattoos and other Body Modifacations

I thought I'd take a different path with this installment and try to cover a subject that is often completely misunderstood. Possibly the main reason that it is so misunderstood is that it is often something very personal and can't always be described. We all have different motivations and drives that create the desire to modify and change our bodies. From the marking of significant events in our lives to something as simple as we like the way it looks. What follows is both a personal look at the reason that I have piercings and tattoos, and also some insight from my years of experience in piercing other people.

To gain a clear understanding of the motivation, I believe we must first review a brief history of the events that led to the Tattoo renaissance of the 80s and 90s and the emergence of modern body piercing. Body art is now a mainstream activity, but there was a period between the end of World War II and the early 1990s when it was largely unheard of outside of a handful of small subcultures. Tattooing was seen as a clear indication of anti-social behavior. However, it has been estimated that by the end of World War II, a majority of American households had at least one family member with a tattoo. A majority of them were those who were on active duty during the war. Tattooing had its first major boom in the 1940s. Several factors contributed to this boom. Many believed that they wouldn't be returning from battle, others it was a bonding ritual with their fellow servicemen, and others believed that if they did die in combat, it would make identifying their body easier. The practice of getting tattoos while in the service continues to this day, and often, the same motivations are still the basis. 

So, one could say that the decline was simply a case of fewer people joining the military after WWII, but I feel it was something more complex. The image and meaning of tattoos changed drastically to begin reflecting social rebellion and anti-social behavior. Many of those servicemen started to regret their tattoos or viewed them as a reflection of the foolishness of youth. My father would be a good example, and it was my first exposure to tattooing and body art. He had a forearm tattoo that was taken from a Sailor Jerry design of a heart and dagger that he got in Fort Riley, KS, before shipping out to Korea. It had his name, Jerry, on the inside of the heart, which he explained was because he couldn't think of anyone else's name to put in there. I always felt it had more to do with identification than that. By the time I had come into his life, the lines had blown out, and it looked more like a dancing girl or spinning top than the original design. I now wear that tattoo, too, with the added heart and banner: "My Pops". The tattoo was a continuing source of embarrassment for him; he rarely drew attention to it except when I'd stop by the house with a new tattoo. After I would tell him what I paid, he'd lick his fingers, slap the tattoo, and say, "Buck and a half in a basement in Fort Riley, KS, 1952. Son, you got took."

I never really understood his dislike for the thing; I mean, it didn't look good. It had been damaged by the sun and time, but he completely strayed away from any questions about it and would hide it whenever he could. When it was brought up, he'd skirt the discussion with jokes and half-truths or just avoid it. He was the same way about anything that took place between his childhood and marrying my mother. Oh, there were hints of hustling tourists with card games at Lake Okoboji in his teen years, and a little bit of playing the gigolo around the same time, whispered around the kitchen table during gatherings with my Aunts and Uncles. Also, there was his expulsion from high school for blowing up condoms during class and countless other acts, but when questioned about them, he pleaded the 5th under the darting eyes of my mother. When asked about how he received a commendation, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts, he would reply with jokes about getting stabbed with a fork in the chow line or being bayoneted while trying to climb a tree, which led to the massive stink bomb farts he was known for.

Later in life, I began to understand that the real reason behind his dislike for the tattoo was that it served as a continuing reminder of a past he didn't want to remember. To me, the tattoo was a mark or doorway into a secret part of his life, and one that he took to his grave. For most of my childhood, I sat on his la,p staring at it, trying to find the meaning in it and some hints to that past he was unwilling to share. I used to think that it was fear of my mother that was the reason behind this, but I know it was because when he married my mother, that door shut on that past to allow him to live a new future. It was how he dealt with it, and it wasn't the healthiest way, but it was his way. 

Regardless, that planted the seed in my mind to get a tattoo as a way to mark my adventures, my life, and express my distance from those around me. I had noticed this difference early on; my interests were different from those of the people around me on the playground, and I was drawn to things outside their vision. They saw it too, but I wouldn't say I was bullied; I was quick to anger, and I was willing to make everyone fully aware that I would hold them accountable for their actions. The scars that would form on my hands and body represented to me the code of accountability and my need to explore the edge of safety. In a way, they were my first body modifications, the first marking of events that shaped my life and the first doorways into my secret life.  Tattoos were a desire of mine because they were the representation of the pinnacle of rebellion. Outside of those in my family with military tattoos, the only time I saw examples of tattoos was on those on the edges of society. Criminals, outlaws, sailors, pirates, rock stars, and bikers. They represented adventure and danger, which was something I longed for. However, I had no interest in being any of those things.

Growing up in the 1970s, I experienced the backlash to the social revolution of the 1960s. I was part of that middle generation, or what Richard Hell called the Blank Generation. Too young to be a baby boomer but too old to be a part of Generation X. Whenever I look back on the world around me in my childhood, I picture a world that was grey and cheap. Decaying, rotting. Fearful and in decline.  Regardless of what many believe, I think this period in American history has had a greater impact on shaping the world of the end of the century and today than the 1960s did. Sure, the 60s were a golden age of social and scientific advancement, but the decade that followed was the hangover, and the fear of that hangover shaped the world to come. The political shift that came in the 1980s was not about optimism; it was about fear and anger. Even as a child, I was clearly aware that the mood had shifted from "We can do anything" to "Why even bother?". For a lot of us coming of age in the mid-80s, the future was a dark and hopeless place with limited chances for discoveries, just endless decline in a crowd that had been there and done that. Oppression was the fade of the day, and self-gratification was the mainstream, and I for one wanted nothing to do with it.

So I began my migration into subcultures and the extreme sides of modern life. My first ventures were BMX and Skateboarding, which were far from mainstream at the time. Both were considered childish and, to a degree, anti-social behavior. My first encounters with law enforcement occurred during this period, often involving just riding a "Toy" at 3 am and being a teenager. The thing about both of them is that there was an underground culture that revolved around both. They had their own publications, vocabulary, clothing styles, and attitude. Most of it was taken from the 1970s Southern California Surf Culture, which made it completely foreign to most of those around me. It was at times very tribal in nature, making it easy to find those who were of the same mindset, even when they were skating or riding. Body Art wasn't a part of those markings yet, but in a way, being 16 and having scars and visible road rash was a great indicator that you were active on a more hardcore level than most.

Music was always a big part of my life, and I was always a little out of step with those around me. Whether it be my interest in old country and Devo in my Pre-teen years or my growing interest in obscure underground music and punk from my early teens to well, now, if it was new, different, strange, or extreme, I was interested. Especially if it expressed something I could relate to. I had several dabbling periods before settling on Punk in early hip hop, new wave, and even a brief stint with metal, but the one that stood out was Hardcore Punk. Much to my parents' dismay and the surprise of those around me, I began to express my interest in clothing and hairstyles. In Des Moines, Iowa, there were very few places selling anything that would be considered punk, so most of my early wardrobe was homemade and rather silly. Though I had wanted to get my nipples pierced since I was 12, which the motivation is still a bit of a question for me, Punk was my first real exposure to piercing. I think it was the first mainstream exposure that it ever got, mainly in the form of cartoon punkers with safety pins through their nostril or cheeks.

At the time, facial piercings didn't appeal to me. This was in part because I was still living a double life of sorts. At home, I played the role of the good Christian boy, and everywhere else, the wild, crazy punk. By this time, men with one pierced ear were fairly mainstream and acceptable. Now that was only the left ear and only one, anything else would put your sexual orientation in question. When I reached 18, I left the church, got my first tattoo, and began wearing multiple piercings. It represented not only my independence but also my affiliation with a subculture. It was a reflection of my commitment to that culture. Something that I had kept somewhat hidden from my parents up to this point. This was a big step because it was a lasting and visible expression of interest. I desired to clearly state that I was different from others, both in belief and interest. 

Now, this might seem silly, but it meant something to me. It meant a complete break from surfing through life and making a conscious decision to take a different path. I was at a crossroads in my life. One path involved college and a career that I was unsure I wanted, but was very secure, and the other was one of adventure, discovery, and an unsecured future. Altering my body was a commitment to that path. 

The Body Art industry was a completely different world in the late 80s. Most studios reflected the clientele of the time, which was predominantly composed of Outlaw bikers, criminals, rockers, and others on the fringes of society. Tattooing was looked down upon, and those who practiced it often had connections to the subcultures their clients came from. A Tattoo studio could be a very intimidating place. Most were run by oddball characters of questionable moral character, which only added to their bad reputation. Those in the industry were very guarded about their skills and turf, and it wasn't uncommon for this to grow into very violent acts.  There are many a legion of fire-bombed shops, broken fingers caused by sledgehammers, and like something out of the wild west, running, competing artists out of town. Folklore aside, this created a situation where there was no exchange of knowledge or progression of the art form. It had stalled, to say the least, and is one of the reasons that a majority of the tattoos from the 1960s to the mid-1980s look so poorly. This is partly due to advancements in inks, but a significant factor is also the approach and the lack of knowledge sharing.

The story of tattooing working its way into the mainstream acceptance has to be created to Don Ed Hardy and his teacher, Sailor Jerry Collins. Their approach as artists, the conventions they were involved in, and the publication of Ed Hardy's Tattootime marked the beginning of the transformation of the industry. The focus began to shift from close-guarded secrets to one of openness and a focus on the artistic side of Tattooing. This would not only make tattooing more public-friendly but also completely revolutionize the quality of tattoos. This marked the slow decline of carny, biker, and Ave A tattoo parlors and the rise of the Modern Tattoo Studio. The focus shifted from flash designs to a greater emphasis on customized pieces. Though flash is still the backbone of the industry, the level of design has significantly improved. Techniques and improved inks were developed because of the openness of this new type of Artist. Additionally, through publications like Tattoo Time and International Tattoo, artists were introduced to the styles and techniques of other cultures and exposed to the history of tattooing for the first time.  Within a decade, tattoos moved out of the freak show's tent and into the mainstream.

Suddenly, the fashionable side of Tattooing became a driving force, with a focus on personal expression, and the more tribal marking components of the subculture began to take a back seat. Now I'm not going to try to discredit getting a tattoo or piercing because it looks cool. Regardless of what anyone says, part of what draws all collectors to getting something is that they like the look of it. Many times, the true meaning of the body modification doesn't reveal itself until years later. As they say, hindsight is 20/20, but I think it's worth addressing the fact that many people ended up regretting them later. Often, because like my father, they express a part of their life that they wish not to express or reflect on. I, for one, would rather have the tattoo or piercing there to remind me of that point in my life and how much I've evolved from there. I see them as a badge of survival in a way—a testament to what I have lived through and experienced.

I've covered a lot of the history of Tattooing, and before I get more into motivation, I think I should talk a little bit about the history of modern piercing. Tattooing and piercing share a timeline, but unlike tattooing, which has a clearly documented past as an industry, piercing is a little harder to trace. If you want to nitpick, Body Piercing as an Industry began in the 1980s, although the practice dates back to ancient times. The roots of the industry can be found in three subcultures: the Gay leather community, Punk Rock, and the Bondage and S&M community. Who started it first is in question, but many of the piercings and the more technical aspects of piercing were developed within the Gay and S&M subculture, then spread to Punk Rock and other underground music movements. I must credit both of them with creating a focus on safety that was already a significant part of their activities, rituals, and standards long before piercing became an issue. 

It's hard to talk about piercing or tattooing without at least making a slight mention of sexuality and masochistic behavior because pain and fear are both an active part of the procedure. Part of the ritual is the rush and empowerment of confronting and overcoming the fear and the pain, which leads one to feel that it is a rite of passage in a culture that has very few. Since there is often an age limit involved in obtaining one, it not only marks one's passage into adulthood, but it can also represent the strength of their womanhood or manhood, a kind of test to describe this passage, which is hardwired in us from ancient times. However, there is a natural high or state of being that can be achieved during the process of getting a tattoo or piercing, caused by how the body copes with the pain. The experience can be much like that achieved by runners when they "break through the wall" or "hit the zone".

Additionally, it's often referred to in the S&M community as "sub space." It's a place where your body produces chemicals that place you in a euphoric state. Many tribal cultures have rituals that involve extreme pain that would be used to create this state and give the person visions or self-realization. An offshoot of the industry has moved to Body Play, where many S&M-style activities are done without the sexual component, like suspensions and reenactments of the Lakota sun dance and other religious rituals. Whether the motivation behind this is thrill-seeking, a search for spiritual enlightenment, or another is only for those who are involved to answer. At its base is the effect of pain on the body.

Since one of the primary goals of the industry is to reduce pain, it may seem odd to mention a motivation that involves it. Still, often those who are motivated will state that they needed or wanted to accomplish something to counteract stress or other life events. Pain has been used as a method to reduce stress and tension in alternative medicine for centuries. Acupuncture would be the first that comes to mind, but deep tissue massage would be another example. Maybe the motivation to seek out pain is a reaction to progress. We, as a society, have strived to create an environment that limits the amount of pain and discomfort we experience. It may be hardwired in us that we must experience pain and discomfort to feel whole. Something inside of us needs pain to confirm our existence.

Another motivating factor is that, at this point in human history, there are very few places left unexplored. So, is it a wonder that exploring and experiencing what your body is capable of couldn't motivate someone to undergo a piercing, tattoo, or other modification? A group of people interested in exploring their body and inner world has developed on the fringes of the body modification subculture. This led to many of the more extreme procedures and rituals that I mentioned earlier. The fact is that many of the early adopters of this were searching for new experiences and personal ways of expression. Many felt that we had lost our connection to our spiritual side and found a connection through body art to the past or their ancestral culture.  

If I had to pick out a type of piercing that seems to bring up the most questions about motivation from clients and others, it would have to be genital piercings. The most logical reasoning is sexual enhancement, but often with sexual piercings and even non-sexual piercings, I've had clients state that they were doing it because of a relationship ending. The piercing was their way of marking a change in their life, but there is also an underlying vibe that they are reclaiming ownership and control over their body. Most, including the psychiatric community, would consider this extreme and would lead to a question of what they are stating by modifying their body? Yes, there is often an increase in sexual sensation, but in a way, they are clearly stating ownership of their sexuality. It's also not uncommon for clients to state that they are getting the piercing and often re-piercing because their former partner didn't like the piercing. In my opinion, this is a healthy step toward healing and closure after a relationship ends, a way of expressing their independence, and an act of moving on.

After my son's mother and I broke up, we tried couples counseling, and I continued for a while after she quit. During one of my sessions, the counselor brought up genital piercings and asked if I had any. I told her yes, and she began asking me if I had been molested as a child. This seemed like an odd track for the conversation to take, and it felt like a waste of time because my motivation for being there was to gain insight into how to cope with being a weekend dad. She brought up a paper that had been published tracing genital mutilation(they meant piercing) to molestation and sexual abuse. I stated that first off, I didn't see the point of talking about this, and that I hadn't been sexually abused. This led to a discussion of what my motivation was behind my genital piercings and what I felt was the motivation of my clients. To be honest, I hadn't thought about it. The reasons reflected that period of my life. The first was, of course, sexual enhancement. The second reason was that I had not offered the service before, even though I was trained to do it and felt that I needed insight into what my clients would experience. The third is that I had just gotten out of a very intense and often very explosive long-term relationship. Also, the timing seemed right because I had no interest in being in a relationship at the time and felt I would have a break from sex. This led to a pointless discussion about my sexuality, which she concluded showed signs of sexual addiction. Suddenly, the sessions stopped being about my upcoming fatherhood and more about her convincing me that even though I didn't show enough signs of sexual addiction, I was a sex addict.  I soon stopped going.

That said I have had clients confine in me that they were getting a genital piercing as part of the healing process after being sexually assaulted or being in a abusive relationship. To them, it was a clear statement of their ownership over their body and part of how they were dealing with the trauma of the assault and abuse. Though many practicing psychologists would conclude that this was just a continuation of the abuse, I believed that after talking about it at length with a few of these clients, it was an empowering experience. Often, a way of expressing their defiance of their abuser.

The thing is that there is no clear-cut motivation behind modifying one's body. Most of the male population of the U.S. has had their most intimate parts altered soon after birth in the form of circumcision. Long before we are aware of our bodies or have a voice to protest, this is done under the drive for conformity, with no medical reasoning behind it.  Many vastly alter their bodies through selective surgery, but still view body modifications as anti-social and self-destructive, regardless of the motivation behind it. The fact is that our motivations are different from person to person. Some involve a statement of the subculture they belong to, others are about enhancing their body to attract others. Sometimes it is necessary to experience a rite of passage or to mark changes in one's life. For others, it may mean a clear statement of the ownership and control of their body. Some it's about sexual enhancement and others, body art represents part of their spiritual quest to reconnect with the past and culture in an ever-increasing climate of multiculturalism and a drive for comfortable living. Whatever the motivation, it's always a personal one that often doesn't show its true meaning till years later and has several contributing factors. It can be a passion or a fleeting period of your life, but one thing it will always be is a marker and a road sign to a significant part of your life.