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TATTOOS AND BODY-PIERCING:
THE MORAL DIMENSION
by Father Peter Joseph
Many good people are repelled by modern fads
and fashions, such as tattooing, multiple earrings and other
body-piercing, but feel unequipped to give a clear judgment on
the morality of such practices, or to rebut the charge that they
are elevating their personal preferences into a moral code. In
this article, I will set out some criteria that are relevant
to making a moral judgment on these things.
In some cultures, a special bodily mark or design - on the forehead,
for example - signifies a certain attainment or marital status,
or whatever, and is socially acceptable. Ethiopian Christians,
to name one group, wear tattoo crosses on their foreheads. In
Samoa, it was once a widespread custom to tattoo the eldest son
or daughter of the local ruling family.
WESTERN SOCIETIES
In Western societies, ear-rings and make-up are acceptable as
a part of feminine fashions and public presentability. But certain
types of body-piercing and decorations in our society may be
extreme and unjustified, and some of them are motivated by anti-Christian
sentiments.
It would be impossible to give black-and-white judgments on all
bodily decorations. But we can point to a few negative aspects
which should be of concern to a Christian. Unless otherwise stated,
this article will refer to Western societies only.
1. EXULTATION IN THE UGLY. More than just being ugly, some body-piercing is
the expression of delight in being ugly. We recognize bad taste
in tattoos, rings and studs, by looking at their nature, size,
extent and place on the body. Ironically, even florid and colorful
tattoos fade over time and end up looking dark and dreary. When
one considers how, in concentration camps, prisoners were treated
like animals and branded on their arm with a number, it is amazing
to think that people today adopt similar markings as if they
were fashionable or smart. This is truly the sign of a return
to barbarity, the behavior of people who do not have any sense
of the dignity of the human person.
2. SELF-MUTILATION AND SELF-DISFIGUREMENT. This is a sin against the body and against the Fifth
Commandment. Some body-piercing verges on self-mutilation. A
form of self-hatred or self-rejection motivates some to pierce
themselves or decorate themselves in a hideous and harmful fashion.
The human body was not made by God to be a pin cushion.
3. HARM TO HEALTH. Doctors have spoken publicly on this health issue.
In 2001, researchers at both the University of Texas and the
Australian National University reported on harm to health caused
by tattoos and body-piercing. Some earrings (on the navel, tongue
or upper ear) are unhealthy and can cause infections or lasting
harm such as deformities of the skin. They can also poison the
blood for some time (septicemia).
4. A DESIRE TO SHOCK AND REPEL.
It can be appropriate to shock people,
as for example, when one recounts the plight of poor and hungry
people, or protests against crimes or terrible exploitation.
This can be a healthy thing, when done properly and with due
care, in order to arouse people out of complacency, so that they
realize something must be done. But to shock people for the thrill
of shocking them, with no intention to promote truth and goodness,
is not a virtue, but a sign of a perverted sense of values.
In evaluating tattoos under this heading of repulsiveness, we
look at the nature of the images, the size and number of the
tattoos, and their place on the body. In evaluating piercings,
we consider similarly their extent and location on the body.
5. INDECENCY AND IRREVERENCE. It is always immoral to get or exhibit tattoos of
indecent images or phrases, or derisive figures of Our Lord or
His Mother or holy things. Tattoos are more serious than other
adornments since they are more or less permanent marks on the
body. There's many a man or woman who has been tattooed gladly
in youth, but regretted it not so many years later when they
came to regard it as an embarrassing disfigurement. Once they
mature, they pay dearly for the luxury of getting rid of it.
The removal of tattoos is expensive and difficult - and can
leave scars. The removal of big tattoos requires surgery under
a general anesthetic, with all the potential risks, plus the
significant medical and hospital costs. The removal of large
tattoos can leave big segments of the skin permanently disfigured
or blotched, like skin that has been burnt. Many adults find
themselves ineligible for some jobs, because businesses will
not employ them with their hands covered in tattoos, impossible
to conceal years after their youthful folly.
UNIVERSAL CRITERIA
In any culture, things can arise, become acceptable, and become
part of the culture - but this does not necessarily make them
right. Here are some examples from foreign cultures which I equally
regard as wrong. In one tribe of Africa, women wear gigantic
and heavy ear-rings which change the shape of the ear-lobes.
In another place, women put coils around their necks and elongate
them unnaturally, or put plates in their mouths to make the lips
protrude some inches. In China, there was once the practice of
binding girls' feet tightly to stop them from growing, because
small dainty feet were admired. These and other drastic alterations
to the natural growth of the human body must be judged immoral,
as forms of abuse springing from vanity.
It is not always possible to draw an exact line and say where
the bounds of moderation have been exceeded. But this does not
mean that there is no line. No-one can define at what exact temperature
a day passes from being cool to cold, but everyone knows that
when the temperature is near zero, it is cold beyond dispute.
Let us never fall for the ploy which tries to argue from borderline
or difficult cases that there are no guidelines or principles,
and that there is no such thing as a just mean or moderation,
just because they are hard to define.
The human body is meant to be treated with care, not maltreated
or disfigured. Its dignity and beauty must be kept and cultivated,
in order that it be an expression of the deeper beauty of the
soul.
The author has a doctorate in Theology from
the Gregorian University, and is currently the Chancellor of
the Maronite Diocese of Sydney. |
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Saturday, 09 May
