tattoo you

"Another generation of hipsters, laid low by the ironies of consumerism," writes David Brooks in The New York Times (8/28/06). What he's talking about is this: "We now have to work under the assumption that every American has a tattoo." Well, not quite, but he has a point: "A study in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology showed that about 24 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 have at least one tattoo, up from about 15 percent in 2003. Thirty-six percent of those between 18 and 29 have a tattoo." This is hardly news to anyone "who has been to the beach this summer ... There are so many spider webs, dolphins, Celtic motifs and yin-yang images spread across the sand, it looks like a New Age symbology conference with love handles," writes David. Yowch.

He continues: "Traditional religions have generally prohibited tattoos on the grounds they encourage superficial thinking (what's on the surface is not what matters). But it turns out that tattoos are the perfect consumer items. Just as Hummers make people feel powerful, tattoo-wearers will talk ... about how their tattoos make them feel strong, free, wild and unique." David goes on to cite a forthcoming essay by David Kirby, to be published in The American Interest, that outlines "two types of tattoo narratives, the Record Book and the Canvas. Record Book commemorate the rites of passage in a life. Canvas tattoos are a means of artistic expression."

That's pretty obvious, but here's David's point: "The problem is that middle-class types have been appropriating the symbols of marginalized outcasts since at least the 1830's. This is no longer a way to express individuality; it's a way to be a part of the mob. Today, fashion may originate on Death Row, but it takes about a week and a half for baggy jeans ... and tattoos to migrate from Death Row to Wal-Mart." Showing no mercy, David adds: "You run into these candy-cane grunge types: people with piercings and inkings all over their bodies who look like Sid Vicious but talk like Barry Manilow. They've got the alienated look -- just not the anger" and the "lesson is there is nothing more conformist than displays of individuality, nothing more risk-free than rebellion, nothing more conservative than youth culture."