Saturday, August 8, 2009

Tattoo Me?

What is the Catholic perspective on "gettin' a 'tat"?

Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid, over on his blog site has resurrected an old Envoy Magazine article on the topic of body art called Tattoo You?

My personal take is that this is an area that is one that is mostly a matter of taste rather than morality (unless, of course, the tattoos have immoral subject matter or the piercings are tied in to perverted sexual activity. The less said about that the better.) While not passing judgement on any one who has tattoos or piercings, I would never get one myself. In my opinion, unless one belongs to some traditional native culture or even a modern cultural sub-group (like bikers, Marines, sailors or circus tattoed ladies) which have always used tattoos as a rite of passage or a symbol of group identity, the practice strikes me (again, personally) as vain and a little juvenile. And when it comes to my fellow males, especially, body art and piercings just seems --well, effeminate. Somewhat akin to the 18th century fad of wearing a powdered wig, except without the lice. This might be news to those guys who think (even subconsciously) that getting a tatto makes them tough but, honestly, how tough could it be if you have a bunch of pre-teen girls getting them left and right?

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