Ink on Skin Doesn’t Necessarily Indicate Sin

*gag* *cough* BS *cough* *cough*

I’m sorry, but is this research even legitimate?? Are they seriously saying that there is a connection between body art and deviant behaviour?? Well obviously, when body art is considered deviant and pushed underground… jeez and this is called science.

In addition to the very valid points raised by those before me; I have to add that I believe that the types of individuals who are inclined to express themselves in a very overt fashion (i.e. multiple tattoos and piercings) are also more likely to HONESTLY and overtly express themselves about other facets of their lives as well (i.e. drug use, cheating etc.) These individuals are much more likely not to give a d*mn what others think, and as such have no fear of admitting to activities that the more conservatively minded might keep hidden from others, even though they engage in them just the same.

Mm. Well. Here I am, with 8 tattoos, 4 piercings, and 2 scarifications. Each and every one of them carefully and thoughtfully considered for their symbolic, emotional and spiritual significance to my life. None of which I will regret, even when I’m old and the ink is as stretched and wrinkly and gross looking as I am. And yet, I’m vegetarian, I don’t drink, don’t smoke, have no criminal record, and I’m a very successful illustrator. So, when does my personal choice of self expression poison my behaviour? Oh yeah, when it scares people who don’t bother trying to understand it.Great science we’ve got going on here.

This is a retarded article. Stupid texans lol

Now wait, everyone who has more than one sex partner *over the course of a lifetime* is a deviant?Wow. I never knew my mom was such a slut.

I am happy about this article. I think one more thing that needs to be considered. Alot of these decisions are made by an immature mind set. It’s all about the here and now. In the future when they want a good mainstream job or just to be taken seriously its going to be a problem. I do not mean the tat’s you cant see. I am directly referring to the tattoo’s and piercings clearly visable. If you also think that your children wont be embarrased to have you represent them…think again. Most “conserative” parents embarass thier children, imagine the effect this will have on them. You all should think before you make this kind of life altering decision. I know that your furture employer will. Signed a mother of a tattooed and peirced girl, who is engaged to a tattoo artist.

That really is bullshit I don’t agree with this AT ALL I know tons of people with tattoos and piercings that are really good people and that have never been in trouble. So yeah I call bullshit.

Ignorant rubbish!!

Wow I have multiple piercings and I have em in both my nipples and my genitals. I work in law enforcement and have no drug problems or crime issues, bs I say

this article is complete bulshit…i am very heavily tattooed. i am raising 2 very smart, very well behaved children, 1 of which won’t even say bad words at his jr. high…i am well respected and in high management in my career and have never done heavy drugs. the funny thing is my sister looks like she stepped out of a gap ad and has no tattoos or piercings and is the biggest stoner…everyone looks at me like i’m the delinquent…just because a lot of stupid kids get tattoos because they’re popular does not mean they lead to bad behavior. don’t judge us for our art.

First of all, the word “deviant,” means “diverging from normal standards,” it does not mean “bad” (Oxford English Dictionary). Second, I read the actual article, it is interesting, but somewhat limited; and by the way, I am a Ph.D. student and teach a graduate level course on social science research methods. Below is my full critique. 1. The issue of The Social Science Journal, in which this article is being published is not yet available. The version on the author’s website does not include the tables which would more clearly demonstrate the significance of the statistics cited. Mr. Jacobs, the author of the blog, has not seen the published article either, it does not come out until March. Perhaps the tables and graphs would help him to understand what is being said. 2. Literature Review: The literature review is quite revealing in terms of the quality of the project. While the group at Texas Tech has a substantial record of researching body art and modification, there are others in the social sciences studying the phenomenon as well. No prior research on body art and modification is cited in the article except for the work of the Texas Tech group. They do not even attempt to refute the work of others, they simply fail to acknowledge it’s existence.3. Methods: a. The use of convenience samples always faces reliability and validity issues.b. The sample was collected from four universities. Two were “state-supported public schools,” and two were “prominent and highly selective religious schools. Each were geographically proximal to one of the state schools.” Yet if all four are in one state or region of the country, the results may reflect a relatively localized phenomenon. Furthermore, the proximity of these schools to urban centers versus rural areas, could skew the sample and results.c. The use of the term “sub-culture” as opposed to the academically accepted term “co-culture” may indicate some bias on the part of the researchers. Academics have been moving away from the term “sub-culture” for some time now, as the prefix “sub” means “beneath or below,” whereas the the prefix “co” indicates “with or beside.” In other words, cultural minority groups are not beneath or less than the dominant culture, they coexist within or along side it. d. While the research appears to demonstrate an increase in deviant behavior, which only means behavior that is different from the norms of the dominant culture, it would be interesting to repeat this research with other co-cultures on these campuses, such as populations based on racial identity, or socio-econmic status, as well as what could be termed “voluntary co-cultures,” such as members of athletic teams and social fraternities and sororities. A comparison of the results might show common deviant behaviors among co-cultures, but behaviors and characteristics which deviate from social norms of a dominant culture is what defines a group as a co-culture in the first place. The very act of getting a tattoo or piercing (other than the earlobes for women) is deviant, in that it is not concurrent with social norms. e. Mr. Jacobs, not the researchers, overplayed the increased reports of cheating on college work. This finding is statistically insignificant, and the researchers disclosed this freely. In other words, the number of participants admitting to cheating is not much higher among the co-cultural group than it was among the dominant culture. According to this research, people with tattoos and piercings cannot be said to be more likely to cheat on college work. In fact, I suspect that if we account for the finding in the study that people with a greater number of tattoos and piercings are statistically more likely to smoke marijuana, and then compared their likelihood to cheat to a broader sample of marijuana using college students, we would find no difference, or perhaps an inverse relationship. Marijuana does effect motivation, thus a marijuana user may be more likely to cheat rather than to do their own work. Finally, Mr. Jacobs should acknowledge that he is making the judgement that what is deviant or different is necessarily bad or harmful. The case against marijuana has been reopened. Bias against people with tattoos and piercings may lead a police officer to arrest one person and ignore another for the same act, thus the arrest in the correlate not the criminal act. Having sex with a higher number of partners while using condoms is not as dangerous as a lower number of partners without the use of condoms. Finally, binge drinking and cheating have been going on in higher education for as long as universities have existed, and students have many reasons for turning to these two harmful behaviors.

This is a ridiculous study. Just another ploy at discriminating those who are different. Fuel for the fire, as they say.

Since I can only focus on the few quotes you have offered. The key phrase for me is ‘deviance reported’. Most people who have tattoo(s) are wearing who they are on their sleave(s) already. Few art majors hold secrets in this area but the political sciences and lawyers probably will keep their lips shut tight. When you already have your sexual preference, alt-religeon, and/or alt-art on your arm/back/chest or wherever.. you are far more likely to share regarding these other ‘taboo’ subjects. Tell the grant writing folks to cut me a check so that I can work up a report on how 96% of people who don’t admit that they have done any of these things are liars. Cheers -Jim

Close minded rednecks.

well this seems a little racist don’t you think? i have many MANY tattoos…big ones and several piercings INCLUDING “hidden” ones…and i’ve never even had a speeding ticket. or do drugs EVER. i’m about as deviant as a box full of kittens.but i’ll be sure to let all the straight edge kids i know who are tattooed/pierced to consider robbing a bank…have sex with “multiple partners” in the vault……WHILE HIGH all to ensure they will have pretty impressive criminal records at the end of the day.i’m sure they will all just jump at that idea…just to prove the theory of this blog ISN’T completely ridiculous. how was my level of “deviance” in this comment..was it all you imagined it to be?

This article seems to suggest that tattoos and piercings lead to deviant behavior

Why not check for active brain cells vs. number of tats?
ok joking aside, why are some people attacked because of stats? you can’t prove OR disproove any stat by one or two cases!