१४ ऑक्टोबर, २०१५

Transferable tattoo company bullied into withdrawing part of its collection of designs that celebrate the body's imperfections.

An art student named Lucie Davis worked with Topshop to put out a collection that she said was supposed to "encourage a greater appreciation and personal ownership of ourselves through highlighting imperfections and celebrating difference." The gold-colored tattoos included moles, freckles, and scars.

Somebody named Lucas Shelemy started an on-line petition calling the scars "offensive" and "disgusting." Shelemy says:
"The tagline of the product, of celebrating your 'imperfections' seems distasteful in the case of scars but more worrying still is how the majority of the designs resemble self-harm scars. Topshop should not be normalising self-harm or presenting it as a fashion trend. Not only is the glamorisation of self-injury dangerous for the mainly teenage demographic but harmful for others who have struggled with self-harm and see what for them, is a painful reminder being presented as acceptable – as long as its temporary and elegant."
Somebody wrote at the Topshop website: "I can't believe Topshop are glorifying self-harm scars, whilst not advertised as self-harm scars the scars are placed on the arm in a row which is the stereotypical idea of self-harm, absolutely disgusted."

That was enough. The product was treated as if Davis had intended to celebrate deliberately cutting yourself, a self-hating (or at least self-destructive) impulse, when the idea was to feel happy about the body's imperfections. Talk about destruction: What have the haters created?

My heart goes out to young Lucie Davis. As a person of discontinuous color (freckles), I appreciate her work.

१५ टिप्पण्या:

chuck म्हणाले...

Feeding frenzy! Watching SJWs devour each other is all good fun.

Wince म्हणाले...

Didn't a bunch of mostly black basketball players wear actual raised burn scars as body art?

Either fraternity symbols and other markings.

The Scythian म्हणाले...

I think the idea is a good one, but I think presenting self-harm scars with the tagline "flaws worth fighting for" (that's the tagline) is actually really tasteless.

tim in vermont म्हणाले...

I guess that some of them are very reminiscent of self harm scars, which may indeed be where the idea hatched in the artist's mind.

Remember when we used to be a free country before the puritan SJWs took over?

Bryan C म्हणाले...

Of course there's a long historical tradition of ritual and ornamental scarification, particularly among African cultures. Why so racist, guys?

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Remember when we used to be a free country before the puritan SJWs took over?"

I think it's England.

Brian म्हणाले...

A tattoo is a self-harm scar. I get that these were fake ('transferable') tattoos, but whatever point she's trying to make about 'glorifying self-harm' stands no matter what the fake tattoo looks like.

Sigivald म्हणाले...

Brian: That assumes the point of a tattoo is to cause harm.

Self-harm means hurting oneself as the goal, not as a side effect of an aesthetic decision.

(Otherwise, "exercise" is "self-harm", since it often makes one sore or causes injuries, no?

Self-harm is definitionally about a very specific damaging intent - one not present in at least the vast majority of tattoos.)

Fred Drinkwater म्हणाले...

Ms. Davis should just put those "disturbing" tattoos in the back of the shop, in a separate room, like the video rental stores did with pornos, and the tobacco shops did with the head-shop stuff. That way only the adults will see them.

john mosby म्हणाले...

American Apparel had the right idea. Less clothing = less surface area available for self-harm.

JSM

Brian म्हणाले...

Sigivald,

Though I didn't write it out, I am aware of the assumption you identify in my thinking. I happen to think it is true in virtually all cases --- that almost every tattoo is an externalization of a feeling of alienation and pain.

And yes, I think some, perhaps even most, exercise should count as self-harm, too, and have admitted to my friends and family that a desire to externalize psychic pain underpins my own (pretty extreme) fitness regime.

I understand that mine is a minority point of view.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

What's the big deal wit certain Tattoos? Aren't all Tattoos ugly defacements of the beautiful men and women.

Jim S. म्हणाले...

I have a tattoo of a panther scratching my arm with its claws. I got it 25 years ago. It looks like those parallel scratches that are being treated as an encouragement to self harm.

The Scythian म्हणाले...

Jim S,

Your tattoo is not a line of products intended to call attention to bodily flaws that their owners are proud enough to "fight" for. It's a tattoo of a panther.

Context is everything.

stlcdr म्हणाले...

They are 'cut here' tats.