The Psychology of Tattoos

The earliest evidence of tattoos were found on Otzi, an “Iceman” from the Copper Age found buried in the Alps on the border of Italy and Austria. The remains showed markings of 57 different tattoos covering his lower back, ankles, knees, and feet. The marks appeared to have been made by rubbing charcoal powder into vertical incisions in the skin.

Egyptian women adorned themselves with dots and dashes as marks of fertility.

Ancient Romans pursued the purity of form and chose tattoos as the mark of criminals and the condemned.

Warriors of the Crusades bore the mark of Jerusalem so they could be given a proper burial if they were killed in battle.

Borneo natives tattooed the palms of their hands to act as a map to their next life.

Japanese high-culture looked down on tattoos, as low-culture embraced them as a form of artistic expression during times of oppression. Many Japanese pursued full body tattoos filled with ornate designs to mimic the silk kimonos worn by the reigning class.

Capt. James Cook landed in Tahiti in 1769 to discover the local word "tatau," meaning to mark into the body, and a population of people covered in permanent markings.

Today 45 million Americans sport at least one tattoo, with nearly half of Millennials (the second largest consumer group only to the Baby Boomers) being inked. Psychology asks the question, “Why would so many people chose to carry permanent reminders of life events?”

Studies show that tattoos can be identified as a visual representation of our self-identites. Our ability as humans to change and construct our idea of self as we grow, flows out of our sense of who we are and how we experience ourselves everyday; our way of being in the world. Our bodies have become our projects.

The body is something that needs to be made unique and individually created in order to make any meaning. Meaning is attached to the feeling of accomplishment of coping with the pain of receiving a tattoo, this is pertinent for post-trauma tattoos—healing from the pain. Tattoos are a connection of empowerment, spiritual growth, and overcoming adversity, a way for our journeys and our hearts to be worn literally on our sleeves.

So what’s your odyssey?