Oh, the Pain of it All
Everyone has heard the dusty adage: beauty is pain. It often comes up when the cosmetic habits of women, such as waxing and tweezing, are discussed.
A stronger instance of suffering for an aesthetic sake is the ancient Chinese practice of binding women’s feet. Little, dainty feet were considered a sign of wealth and beauty, and so, from the 10th to the early 20th century, the feet of little Chinese girls were bound. Their normal foot growth was impeded. Their toes and feet would break, become disformed and later become a source of pain and infection. Yet the practice was carried out for over 1000 years.
And while the field of orthodontics does have justification in aligning bites and jaws, the process is painful, and braces are often used for purely cosmetic reasons. I, along with 2/3 of the teenage population, have firsthand experience with the woes of braces. I often cried myself to sleep, with terrible, horrible, throbbing pains in teeth and gums. I hated every second of having that metal in my mouth. I did not think I would survive the multiple-year long process of orthodontification. But I did. And my teeth are perfect. It was, doubtless, worth the pain. In fact, due to what I endured, I appreciate my correctly aligned teeth even more.
In that way, I can understand the allure of the tattoo. Though choosing to permanently ink something into one’s skin is far from my comprehension, given that the decision is made, I can relate to the idea of pleasure through pain. Once you feel strongly enough about something, you are willing, or even hoping to earn it with pain. You feel that you need to give in order to get. An interesting point made by one of the artists we interviewed is that often, things that you remember from childhood were traumatic or painful; they scarred you in a way and earned their keep in your mind.
The pain of getting a tattoo is an essential part of the process, according to most patrons. It weeds out many, though certainly not all, of the capricious tattoo decisions. People still get silly, vapid “trinket” tattoos, but those who want the real ink, the real art, know what they are in for, hold their breath and bear the pain.
And so, we can once again invoke the time-worn phrase: beauty is pain.
–Jaimie