Dr. martin
Sunday, September 30, 2007

Dr. Martin
The grain In Dr. Andres Martin’s article “On Teenagers and Tattoos” he identified three complex psychological underpinnings of youth tattooing.His first psychological underpinning was identity and the adolescents’ body. Martin states that “In using such decorations, and by marking out their body territories, adolescents can support their efforts at autonomy, privacy, and insulation.” In other words, the adolescent is attempting to gain his independence and uniqueness.The second psychological underpinning was the incorporation and ownership. Martin discussed that “In all instances, marks become not only memorials or recipients for clearly held persons or concepts; they strive for incorporation, with images and abstract symbols gaining substance on becoming a permanent part of the individual’s skin.” In the eyes of the owners of these tattoos, they represent something that can’t be taken away or removed.The final psychological underpinning is the quest for permanence. Martin declares that “as attested by the frequencies of divorce, abandonment, foster placement, and repeated move, for example- tattoos can be a readily available symbol of grounding.” Tattoos are a foundation, a symbol of stability.Dr. Martin’s profiles of the fundamental principles of tattoos and adolescents brought up some interesting points. Not all tattoos are fads or a symbol for a group’s recognition. They are placed on the body to represent independence, stability, and remembrance.Against the grainDr. Andres Martin spoke of a psychological underpinning of youth tattooing in his article “On Teenagers and Tattoos”. He referred to the underpinning as: Identity and the Adolescent’s Body, Incorporation and Ownership, and The Quest for Permanence. None of these are the reason why youths get tattoos.In the underpinning of Identity and the Adolescents’ Body, Martin leads us to believe that youths receive tattoos for identity reasons. This could not be further from the truth. The reason youths want tattoos is because this is just a fad, just as baggy pants. Another reason is that a peer may have one that they think is cool at the time.Then he refers to the underpinning of Incorporation and Ownership. Martin states that “Thickly embedded in personally meaningful representations and object relations, tattoos can become not only the ongoing memento of a relationship, but at times even the only evidence there ever was such a bond.” Again Martin would like for us to believe that after the relationship is over, there’s a strong bond to the tattoo that reminds us of those times of happiest.This brings us to Dr. Martin’s last underpinning of The Quest for Permanence. Martin argues that “Tattoos can be a readily available source of grounding.” Third Strike: Now I ask you what type of grounding can you receive from a tattoo?The truth of the matter is that teenagers get tattoos without consideration of the irreversible marking of heir body that may not be accepted in all social settings. Without thought of type, size of meaning; teenagers usually get their tattoos on the spur of the moment.