Also, please read the following articles from our texbook:
- On Teenagers and Tattoos by Andres Martin (24 - 28)
- Under My Skin by Jon Bowen (29 - 32)
Based on the two articles, do you think teenagers should be able to make their own decisions to get a tattoo? Use details from both articles to support your response.
(post response in comments section below before Tuesday's class)
Nina.
ReplyDeleteYouth is usually danger because of its maximalism and tendency to act in protest at the existing order. Teenagers' decisions often are based on their desire to distinguish themselves from the mass, become noticable and get attention. Tatoo's permanent character brings the problem of the allowed age to the another level and demands careful consideration. Skin decoration that was done at the early years stays for a life-long period or can be removed by means of painfull and pricy procedure, as it is shown in Jon Bowen's "Under my Skin". I do agree with Andres Martin that undestanding of teenagers' motivations and reasons for such a serious acquisition as tattoo is very important and just a strict prohibition is not the best way to prevent it. Indeed,motivation is important, but not for the purpose of the passive acceptance of the possibility that teenagers have their right to have their own point of view, but with the aim to make your position on why they should not get tattoo more persuasive, reasonable and understandable. Young people, certainly, need counseling and advise from more sophisticated and experienced adults and can not make their own decisions on such serious subject.
Based on the reading on teenagers and tattoos and my own personal expierences i believe that anyone , no matter what your age is you should be able to make their own decisions. Yes a tattoo is permenant, but the decision to marke your own body should be no ones elses but yourself. the decsion might be regretted in the long run, but u live and you learn, the only way to learn in life is through your own expierences whether they are right or wrong. I see it as if someone tells a teenager that they cant or shouldnt get a tattoo, the curiosity will still run through their mind , and will most likely do it still probably behind their parents back. Making our own decisions separates us as individuals, and if we let other people make decisions for us , we wouldnt have anything to separate eachother from.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe it is up to the person who is getting the tatoos because it will be on their body, whether young or old. As for a teenager it could be their way of expressing who they are and being independent. Hopefully as they get older they will still enjoy it as much as they did when the first got it because I assume it can be a little painful to have it removed.
ReplyDeleteI think teenagers should not be able to make their own decision when it comes to getting a tattoo. Most teenager would get tattoos thinking that its cool and not think about the future, like it says in UNDER MY SKIN by Bowen "they say, 'I was young and stupid' its something that embarrasses them now," even though now technology has improved and unwanted tattoos now can safely be removed, it is still not affordable for everyone and also is very pain full. Also in On Teenagers and Tattoos by Martin it says " A wish to hold on to a current certainty may lead the adolescent to lay down in ink what is valued and cherished one day but may not necessarily be in the future." Again its saying that teenagers might be getting the tattoos thinking about today and not tomorrow. Teenagers should not be able to make their own decision about getting tattoos.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers should be able to make their own decisions on tattoos, no matter what society sees as moral or immoral. Because it is restricted to only adults 18 years or older doesn't mean that the teenagers are not going to find other "alternatives" or lower end tattoos like jail house or self made tattoos as stated in "On Teenagers and Tattoos". Society, by restricting the youths to only 18 years or older leads the teenagers at a higher risk for infections and other ailments that come from a less sterile source. (re use of needles) As stated also in on teenagers and Tattoos, the tattooing could be beautifying to the youth but the parents may see it as a rebellious act.Some teenagers do get a tattoo to go behind parents authority, but its there body shouldn't they do what they please with it?
ReplyDeleteGetting a tattoo means having it on your body for a lifetime. I understand where society puts a limit to 18 years of age, because your more likely to make a wiser choice and your mind is more made up. Teenagers do it without knowing the consequences of it, and may affect them in the long run. as stated in under my skin, after years have gone by the tattooed youth gets older have kids and house and then regrets getting it. Its a decision making thing. you made the choice, you have the option to remove it which can be painful.
I think teenagers shouldn’t be able to make their own decisions to get a tattoo. Taking account of my own example, I can testify that the manner in which I used to thought when I was between 14 to 19 is radically different from the way I currently think. At that point in my life, my priorities were quite different, in fact quite trivial and just as my paradigms (or examples to follow) were also very different from today. I am convinced that many of the decisions I made and things I did, I would not do likewise today. For all this, considering my own experience, I think that teenagers lack the maturity necessary to make any permanent decision. I agree and understand that teens have their own language and form of expression, but I also think that tattooing goes beyond "a simple expression of their thinking and feeling" by the fact that it has permanent consequences. In conclusion, I believe that in order to avoid future regrets, which may cause them emotional identity crisis, parents must continue intervening in this kind of decisions.
ReplyDeleteI think teenagers should make their decision to get the tattoo. According to Andres Martin, tattoo resolves identity crisis for the growing teenagers. Personal identity is very important for "developing adolesence" because the identity determines you in the futre. The tattoo also reminences the past of the tattooer as part of his "story". Despite the permanent placement of the tattoo, there are number of ways to get the tattoo removed: Surgical excision, dermabrasion, salabrasion, chemical peels, and Q-switched Ruby Lasers. Although the process of removal is "painful" according to Linda Griffin in Under My Skin, ultimately,its upto the teenager to get the tattoo or not.
ReplyDeleteI think teenagers should be able to make their own decisions to get a tattoo. Yea they might make decisions that they would regret when they get older, but it is there own bodies. They should have a say in what goes on it. Hey if there are able to pay for it on their own who are we to say they can’t do it. We say no because we disagree with the whole idea of tattoos or maybe it’s because when we where growing up parents dictated everything about a teenagers life. It is a different time now. Allot has change in society and how different things are accepted. I say if a teenager is whiling to make such a decision on there own they should be able to deal with the consequences on there own. As a parent they could only educate their children on the pros and cons of a tattoo and the rest should be up to them. In this country parents are responsible for their children until the age of 18 and if they are going to college I believe it’s the age of 21. If a teenager really wanted to get there tattoo they would do it regardless of what there parents say. You can even see it in the readings and how you can see the different age groups getting these tattoos. The readings even talk about the procedure on removing it and the reasons why people do so. So as long as we have the technology to remove tattoos I say yes, let them get the tattoos. They will pay for it twice, once with money and the other with pain if they regret there decision.
ReplyDeleteI think for teenagers is better not to have their own decisions about having tattoo. In the Young age everybody of us makes mistake but paying too high for our mistake is very unpreferable especially its about our body. Becoming adult feel of sorry for teenagehood deeds such a bad feeling that most of us won't like to have expierenced. Any teenage becoming adult will change his mind automatically. Its like not to allow drunk man to drive, while in his drunk conditions he can easily destroy many things driving including himself. The same way is with teenagers i think whatever is not usefull is not neccesary
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