TATTOOS AND BELONGING

 

Body art, including tattoos, can be pretty, personal and whimsical, a symbol expressing a deep feeling for something or somebody important.  They are frequently beautiful examples of creativity and self-expression. This is the light, attractive, harmless side of tattoos.  The pretty flowers and birds, the unicorns and dragons, the meaningful mantras and the personal expression that represents the freedom of choice to do whatever we want with our own bodies, based on the premiss that our bodies obviously belong to us. 


People tend to have a strong connection to their body art – after all it is part of their personal journey and who they are.  But do tattoos actually belong to us, even though they are a permanent inking of their owner’s largest organ? There is a whole copyright issue in relation to tattoos because it is argued that tattoo artists own the art that they create.  Cardi B is being sued for using a photograph of a tattooed person on an album cover and, in 2005, the artist who created David Beckham's tattoos threatened to sue after Beckham planned to feature them in an advertising campaign without the artist’s permission. Ordinary people probably don’t have to worry too much about this, but I think its an interesting concept.

David Beckham right arm sleeve tattoo.

Tattoos can have a dark side.  They can be a symbol of ownership.  Of belonging to.

Throughout history tattoos have marked individuals as property.  This is seen today in human trafficking, with tattoos enabling traffickers to communicate ownership and keep track of their victims.  Some tattoos represent sex trafficking while others are for labour trafficking.  Different countries are trying to set up a database of tattoos associated with the modern day slavery (eg bar codes, crowns or money symbols), to help identify and support victims.


Police found this tattoo on women in Madrid. The bar code was used to identify the 19 year old woman  in the image, and was a certificate of ownership by a prostitution ring.  The number below the barcode is the amount of money she owed the gang.

Members of some criminal gangs and mafia groups have tattoos with specific meanings, with each gang having its own ‘tattoo language’.  In some places individuals, usually young men, have little choice but to join a gang.  Others long to feel important and to belong in a group associated with hard men, power and respect.  “Don’t mess with me, I’m tough  - look at my body art!!”  But having achieved belonging, it can be incredibly difficult to reclaim self-ownership.  With luck they might be able to leave much of their violent past behind them, but they are stuck with the tats.  Even those that embrace gang membership and choose a life of crime can be burdened by body art showing gang affiliation. Gang tattoos are sometimes given forcibly, as a punishment, typically somewhere highly visible such as the person’s face.   In some prisons around the world a tattoo can be a sign of toughness, of belonging. It can also be a death sentence.


Body art demonstrating belonging can lose its appeal, even when it was created and applied voluntarily with the most sincere, romantic or honourable of intentions.  It might be lovely to publicly declare that you will always belong to your partner or your gang.  Until you change your mind and have to deal with a permanent reminder of where you once belonged.  Luckily most people continue to love their body art, it belongs to them, and it is a treasured part of their life story.


Jeanie Sept 25

Comments

  1. BridgetSeptember 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM

    The trafficking bar codes are horrific. It's ultimate ownership isn't it? Awful.

    Personal ones tho... I like. If they are done well

    ReplyDelete

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