Hi, Group:

Maybe I read too much. Linda likes to relate that about 20 years ago a librarian asked me if maybe I did too much reading, and she replied to him, “He could do worse, so I let him read.”

Well, I just finished reading an aeon.co essay, “How Clothing and Climate Change Kick-Started Agriculture” by Ian Gilligan. Nothing about tattoos was mentioned, but there was an observation that clothing gave way to body painting and scarring, and then back again, as the climate changed.

I’m not against tattoos, though my older generation was. Tattooing was even employed as group identification in early historic times. Now it seems that there is a resurgence of tattoo art, and that tattoos serve somewhat as clothing. Do any of you have thoughts about this?

I think of it more as "accessory" than "clothing."

I have a rather large tattoo on my upper back. I got mine in my early-40's and a lot of thought and time went into it. I even drew the "template" myself; and there is a strong symbolism that makes it very personal to me. When I found the "right" tattoo artist, I decided to pull the trigger on it.

Every once in a blue moon someone at the resort will ask about it, since it is when it's at its most visible. And it doesn't irritate me at all like some people; I actually enjoy explaining the back story.

The latest resurgence of tattoos has been going on for 20 years at this point. I doubt there's anyone who has not got used to seeing them over that time. I don't see them as any kind of substitute for clothing, people dress much the same with or without them.

Nudony:
DipperDave:

Thanks for responding!

Ian Gilligan is a professor of prehistory at the University of Sydney. He noted that bone needles and awls were employed about 40,000 years ago but were not used for another 20,000 years. Because cloth and leather do not endure like bone and stone, he surmised that this was enough evidence to assume that clothing was unnecessary for a time when the climate warmed, but then resumed when the world cooled again.

I realize that all this happened before our time, but we see fashions changing today. An internet blog, "thebiblicalnaturist.blogspot.com" asked the question February 8, 2014, "Why do we wear neckties?"

I think that tattoos are related. We realize that neither a tattoo nor a necktie will protect us, but either will identify us. We can identify many religions by the fashions that their adherents wear.

A tattoo is a sign of something that we could wear with or without clothing.

The total lack of tattoos on my body is my statement.
It is a form of visual silence, but not an awkward silence.