What is of value in one community could have the opposite
effect elsewhere. Prison tattoos may be the most apt example of
this anthropological principle. Both while viewing photographs,
and seeing them in-person I have asked myself of prison
tattoos, “Why?” When viewed through our own cultural lens
such tattoos communicate hate, contempt, and defiance. Within
the prison and gang community however, they speak of power,
ownership, and solidarity. These tattoos identify a person as
a member of a specific group, tell tales of their feats, and warn
potential aggressors about the dangers of engaging the wearer.
Tattooing in most communities is seen as a deviation from
the natural. It is one of humankind’s devices for demonstrating
power over nature, and transforming it into culture. With the
decrease in obligatory, forced tattooing of convicts during the 19th
century, there was a rise in voluntary tattooing among inmates.
Inmates use tattoos to assert agency and display group solidarity
and community. In an environment where personal possessions
are scarce, prisoners are able to claim ownership of their selves
and minds via their bodies, while simultaneously gaining respect
among their peers.
In prison these tattoos empower the wearer, while in the
mainstream they can be very limiting to a person wishing to
change their lifestyle. People’s notions are difficult to change,
especially when deviancy is involved. Being the daughter of a
former alcoholic and current drug/alcohol counselor I have met
many shades of deviant in my life; addicts of all sorts, and quite a
few criminals. One thing I have learned about these people, as
I have been witness to the outpourings of their heart, is that they
are not always what their skin paints them to be.
Some of them adapted to a situation to survive and now bear
the markings. Some of them are so far removed from society that
there is little hope of them ever returning. Permanent deviance
is the exception, and it by no means warrants persecuting those
who are striving for genuine change. Though they at one point
removed themselves from society at large, it is unfair to refuse
them the opportunity to return simply because we can see their
past written on their skin. What once served as their symbol of
power now weakens them, and it is our duty to offer a hand to the
weak.
Works Cited
McCarron, K. (2008). Skin and self-indictment: prison tattoos, race, and
heroin addiction. ESC, 85-102.Mesquita, A. (2010, December 28).
American prison tattoos. Retrieved December 06, 2011, from ZERO6
arte/desordem: http://zero6artedesordem.blogspot.com/2010/12/
american-prison-tattoos.html.
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