There's a signaling aspect to it, but I think the desire to get piercings is subjectively really simple -- "I think it looks cool and edgy and I want [like-minded] people to think I'm cool and edgy." The people who think piercings are attractive are usually the same people who think dark/grotesque heavy metal album covers look good. Which is to say, they enjoy feelings of shock and attraction to ruthlessness.
All these associated feelings are extreme and high intensity, and usually point to some thrill-shaped hole in their heart.
My view is that there are often two ways to think about people’s motivation. There is the conscious reason—the one the person is aware of and that they tell other people—and often there is another reason, driven by unconscious processes. This makes things complicated because it can be hard to distinguish between them and it can simultaneously be true that—subjectively, as you say—the “reason” is to do with being cool and at the same time the “reason” is a kind of signaling that the person is not aware of. So I don’t disagree with you; I just leave open the possibility of layers of reasons, if you see what I mean.
I have 2 tattoos. One is a 'Zipper Pull' under a very large scar (look at a zipper if you are not sure) and the Second is 'Alpha Mike Foxtrot'. For those unsure, it was a radio sign off used in Viet Nam, meaning Adios MotherFucker.
My last cardiologist saw service and we had an agreement. Should I die on his table he would place his left hand on my tat and say 'Adios MotherFucker' then leave the operating theater with a smile.
Heh. Nice. Yes, there are other reasons people might add tattoos and such to their bodies that I didn't address here, including covering up injury and, well, a bit of whimsy... Thanks for the comment!
GM, reading your post I had an interesting idea: if beauty signals fertility, what if tatoos and piercing signal bad health? Although data is the plural of anecdote, i never met a tatooed/pierced sane person, expecially a mentally sane person. What if negative body modification is a signal of (mental) bad health to scare off healty partner, like a yellow skin and the like?
There's a signaling aspect to it, but I think the desire to get piercings is subjectively really simple -- "I think it looks cool and edgy and I want [like-minded] people to think I'm cool and edgy." The people who think piercings are attractive are usually the same people who think dark/grotesque heavy metal album covers look good. Which is to say, they enjoy feelings of shock and attraction to ruthlessness.
All these associated feelings are extreme and high intensity, and usually point to some thrill-shaped hole in their heart.
My view is that there are often two ways to think about people’s motivation. There is the conscious reason—the one the person is aware of and that they tell other people—and often there is another reason, driven by unconscious processes. This makes things complicated because it can be hard to distinguish between them and it can simultaneously be true that—subjectively, as you say—the “reason” is to do with being cool and at the same time the “reason” is a kind of signaling that the person is not aware of. So I don’t disagree with you; I just leave open the possibility of layers of reasons, if you see what I mean.
I have 2 tattoos. One is a 'Zipper Pull' under a very large scar (look at a zipper if you are not sure) and the Second is 'Alpha Mike Foxtrot'. For those unsure, it was a radio sign off used in Viet Nam, meaning Adios MotherFucker.
My last cardiologist saw service and we had an agreement. Should I die on his table he would place his left hand on my tat and say 'Adios MotherFucker' then leave the operating theater with a smile.
Heh. Nice. Yes, there are other reasons people might add tattoos and such to their bodies that I didn't address here, including covering up injury and, well, a bit of whimsy... Thanks for the comment!
GM, reading your post I had an interesting idea: if beauty signals fertility, what if tatoos and piercing signal bad health? Although data is the plural of anecdote, i never met a tatooed/pierced sane person, expecially a mentally sane person. What if negative body modification is a signal of (mental) bad health to scare off healty partner, like a yellow skin and the like?