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Pamela KucinskyEnglish 1201 OnlineMrs. Artis31 January 2013InkedImagine a young woman walking past on the street, her exposed skin displaying loud, colorful markings for the public to see. Passersby do not note her hair color, the expression on her face, or what shoes she may be wearing; their eyes are instantly drawn to the tattoos she has had permanently scribed on her body. Perhaps younger generations see her as edgy and modern, while her elders could possibly assume the young woman to be unprofessional, slovenly, or even obscene. Although tattoos are becoming more mainstream and thus, more universally accepted, most who opt for ink choose more discrete locations that can be easily hidden. If a young woman has a large piece of tattooed artistry on her chest, spanning to her back and over her shoulders, it will be hard to hide in the summer months when short sleeves and tank tops are wardrobe staples. Even if this particular young lady has a specific reason to get a tattoo, linked to her health and vitality, strangers won’t take the time to understand those reasons before casting judgment one way or another. The photo of the woman’s chest tattoo seemingly forces her femininity aside by replacing her breasts for tattoos, a typically masculine practice; a closer look into this female’s life reveals she is capturing and maintaining her “womanhood” in delicate colors and designs over the site of her double mastectomy.A fair-skinned woman who appears to be neither old nor young, stands exposed from the waste up. Her face is not shown, and her chest is the focal point of the photograph. Covering her chest is an elaborately colored tattoo filled with Celtic knots, flowers, insects, and other whimsical artwork. The Celtic knots form “straps” that extend up over her shoulders; in essence she is wearing a bra composed of inked images. Her right arm also bears a smaller, more nondescript tribal band encircling her bicep. Upon closer inspection, one may notice she bears no signs of breasts even though she is totally exposed for the camera lens. Without her face, the form of the woman is still easily recognizable by the curvature of her waist. Her tattoos also suggest the figure belongs to that of a female by the bright shades of blue and aqua mixed with purples and reds. The lighting is bright and creates an overexposed effect, causing the vibrant designs to appear illuminated against her very white, delicate skin. The picture itself battles for the observer’s focus to be drawn to the very loud tattoo. Though no breasts are noticed at first, the absence of breasts isn’t necessarily discernible through the elaborate imagery on her upper chest. Is this woman trying to make some sort of statement by tattooing a brassiere-like graphic across her body like a crest on a shield? It seems obvious it is some sort of visual suggestion on her part considering the magnitude of the picture, but what she is trying to convey is not as easy to see as her choice of tattoos. Regardless, the photo leads the viewer to conclude her message is bold and loud.Though someone with a keen eye for detail can pick out the faint dimple of a scar within her tattoo, and the remainder of the breasts that were formerly housed within the tissue underneath, the whole story isn’t as obvious as the Celtic creation on her chest. The woman, Inga, is a breast cancer survivor who received a double mastectomy as a result of her illness. This tiny bit of insight to the graphic unleashes an entirely different perspective. Superficially, Inga has chosen to cover her scars and lack of breasts with a very busy and distracting tattoo. However, tattoos are traditionally a more manly form of expression, stemming from the prison system and spreading into cultures like the military and the music industry. Breasts are such a huge part of a female’s identity, so why would one woman choose to replace hers with something so manly? Is she rejecting her disease and her newfound identity? Or is she simply embracing it?Although all the answers to these questions can be found within Inga’s blog and her personal encounter of her story of cancer and major surgeries, the audience can capture the same information and come to the correct conclusion simply by looking close enough into the picture. Inga has selected an array of Celtic knots to adorn her fair skin, cluing the viewer in to the fact she has some connection to her heritage and proudly displays it on the broadest part of her body. The pictures enclosed in the knots are filled with brightly colored flowers, carefully placed insects, and delicately curling lines and colors. It is not a morbid look by any means. In fact, it is a bright upbeat scene, which isn’t the direction most would view something as serious as breast cancer. The tattoo creates a shape that frames her chest, the source of her hardships and suffering; in a sense, Inga has showcased her scars. The more standard procedure in response to a mastectomy is reconstructive surgery. Women can camouflage and rebuild everything the cancer took away from them. But Inga does neither. Instead of camouflage, she grabbed a theoretical highlighter and put the spotlight on her battle with cancer. But why would someone want to do that? Quite simply, it is because she survived. By elaborating her scars, she is both accepting her condition and simultaneously embracing it. Inga is clearly unashamed of her lack of breasts, and obviously has found another way to feel just as feminine as she did prior to losing these rudimentary figures of womanhood. Inga has rejected society’s demand that women need bust lines to portray their femininity and taken her view of her identity leaps and bounds further. Whether the viewer approves of Inga’s selection of “reconstruction” and recovery, the photo has done what it was intended to do. It is loud, brazen, and totally unconventional. But the photograph of Inga’s tattoo instantly and effortlessly draws attention and evokes a reaction. Inga rejects the definitions of gender, as well as the stigma of a tattooed female, through her actions that are ultimately captured on film. She has proudly displayed her take on both her disease, and her resultant identity as a woman post-surgery. Clearly she is unshaken and although not unchanged, she has evolved into a greater version of herself. Love them, hate them, or merely just tolerate them, tattoos aren’t for everybody. But Inga has successfully utilized tattooing as an outlet to speak volumes for her and what she sees of her own body. Inga is clearly a woman comfortable in her own skin.Works CitedThornell, Inga Duncan. “My Masectomy Tattoo.” Personal and Planetary Transformation. . 31 July 2012. Blog. 30 January 2013. ................
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