Weekly Readings

          The readings we had this week each involved some aspect of body modification; one where the author tattooed herself for self-expression and the other about cutting, where the author was unhappy with life, school, herself and the thing that made her feel better was cutting herself. Both readings made me think about having control and power over one's body.

            In Marked for Life: Tattoos and the Redefinition of Self by Silja J.A. Talvi; she talks about how getting tattooed she was "consciously taking a small step away from her emotional suffering and toward a radical new self-definition" (212). Tattoos in today's society are still seen as unladylike because women are still expected to have unblemished perfect skin. The author believes that women who get tattoos usually represent marginalized groups such as lesbians, female gang members, punks, runaways and other groups whose lifestyle or beliefs leave them on the fringes of society (212). The author always felt a sense of exclusion in her life starting with her childhood in Scandinavia and following her to her teenage years in California. She seemed to find a sense of belonging in the punk and Rastafarian scene and these principles provided her with a firmer sense of place and purpose in life. The author states that in a world that offers women few concrete ways to exert control and power over their lives, tattoos can bring a real sense of strength, identity and dignity (214). The way the author took control over her body in a world where she felt out of control was by tattooing things on her body that marked certain passages in her life.

            In Unwanted by Precious Angel, she talks about how she was very depressed about everything, life, school and home life and the only way she felt any comfort was when she cut herself. After the school counselor questioned her and found out she was cutting herself she was taken to the hospital and then the police took her home and her aunt still did not show any compassion towards her. After all of that and after all the counseling she went through she was still depressed and attempted suicide. I feel like the author felt out of control in her life, she was away from her family and being raised by an aunt who could care less about her and the only way she could exert power over her body was by cutting herself.

            Both of these readings made me think about the various things that we all do to have control and power over our bodies, especially when we are in situations where we feel like we are powerless and out of control.

 

Word Count: 509

 

Works Cited:

Lakota, Sicangu. "Unwanted." My Sisters' Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak out. By Iris Jacob. New York: H. Holt, 2002. 201-03. Print.

 

Talvi, Silja J.A. "Marked for Life: Tattoos and the Redefinition of Self." Body Outlaws: 

Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image. By Ophira Edut. 2nd ed. Emeryville, CA: Seal, 2003. 211-18. Print.