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What is the primary inference you can draw about people who get tattoos and piercings? My guess, they are commitment-philic, opposite of commitment phobic. Reverse is not necessarily true (commitment-philic does not mean you’ll get a tattoo or piercing).
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Commitment-Philic is an interesting theory, I’d add if that is true they are likely repressed due to living in commitment-phobic culture. Might commonly be a tribal identifier, which confirms their tribal commitment.
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I would alter that inference slightly - the common denominator in my experience seems to be people who are looking for constants and don’t like change
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Given how common piercings and, especially, tattoos are these days. And given my personal experience with an extremely wide array of people that have one of them, I'd say that whatever inference you might draw would be extremely weak.
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I have proposed the concept of the anti-tattoo, which serves to make you less distinguishable. This would express an intense rejection of commitment to any particular identity.
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Symbols of social identification. Even rebels want to belong somewhere. Inferences on specific tattoos are richer ground (but it’s become cliche to analyze them) Specific tattoos = self concept Getting a tattoo = cultural concept Owning a tattoo parlor = conceptual capitalism