Tattoos As Self-Harm



By Danny Derrick

Reading a back issue of Skin Deep I came across an article that brought up the idea of tattooing being akin to self-harm. I got thinking and had to question whether the two could really be linked.
First of all, are there any similarities between them?
Both mark your body and are done through choice. But that’s it. In my mind nothing else draws a parallel between getting a tattoo and choosing to harm yourself.

When it comes to self-harm it is usually an act of release and a way of regaining power when everything seems out of control. There isn’t a ‘one-trigger-fits-all’ situation that can cause the feelings of helplessness, much less one universal reason for the situation to present itself.
Perhaps most importantly are the circumstances in which self-harming occurs. It’s no secret that society’s view on the subject is seriously skewed, which explains the highly clandestine manner in which sufferers go about things. It’s a sorry state that even now there is still such ignorance about psychological problems and the ways in which people deal with them. If more help and understanding was commonly known of, the chances are more sufferers would come forward and ask for the help that they deserve.

The main argument against the idea of tattoos being classed as self-harm is the control element. If the only shred of power in your life is to wound your own body, would you hand it over to a stranger? Would you allow them to inflict the pain you’ve come to rely on? Something that is so personal and therapeutic wouldn’t be relinquished just for a tattoo.
The power given to tattooists is huge; giving someone the opportunity to mark your body for life is something that requires so much trust and is fully governed by the artist. To cover yourself in tattoos is one thing, to suffer at the altar of self-harm is quite another, and it’s increasingly obvious that the two have no correlation whatsoever.

Tattoos are so common now that it’s rare to find a person without one. Does that mean the majority of the population self-harm? Well, no. It’s easy for psychologists to pop in their ideas by claiming there’s a link, but they probably have every Marilyn Manson fan down as a murderer and every football fan as a prowling, yobbish thug.
The point is, there’s no link between the two and claims of this nature are completely preposterous, not to mention potentially damaging and dangerous. Of course there will be self-harmers who get tattoos, but they aren’t doing so as an act of causing further injury to themselves. It’s the same for people with no desire to self-harm – they wouldn’t suddenly feel the need to inflict pain after getting tattooed.

I have tattoos because I adore how they look and I enjoy the culture surrounding tattooing in regards to travelling to get work done, creating new friendships and making great memories – not to mention being adorned in some beautiful art work. On the opposite side, I used to self-harm. It began when I was 14 and lasted until I was 19, with a relapse of around 8 months just before I was 21.
As a person who can speak about both subjects from personal experience I feel that the concept of tagging tattoos as self-harm is ludicrous. I want to show off my tattoos, talk about them, admire them and get more of them, whereas with harming myself I wanted nothing more than to keep it to myself for fear of being branded crazy or worse. There’s also a deep-rooted shame that I had to resort to those actions, whereas the only shame I’d feel with a tattoo is if I was stupid enough to go to a manky home scratcher and come away with a turd-butterfly and a side of AIDS.

Happily that’s not going to happen, and even happier is the thought of having those dark days behind me. Nowadays I look forward to the buzz of the tattoo machine and seeing finished pieces that are made with mountains of skill and effort.
That sounds like the complete opposite of harmful to me.