This week we read two texts. The first was “Unwanted” from My Sisters’ Voices. In this text a fourteen year old girl, called Precious, describes her battles with depression and cutting. She talked about how unloved she felt by everyone and how her only comforting thought “was to cut on my arms when I returned home” (Angel 201). The young girl uses cutting as her form of escape from all the negativity she is feeling around her. In our second text “Marked for Life” from Body Outlaws we read about a woman and her experience and views of tattoos. She talks about how she used tattoos to help her cope with hard situations and how they served as a “reminder of my belief that I was going to make it through a difficult and painful time” (Talvi 212).

These two stories are connected in strange but meaningful ways. Both of these women have used some sort of body altering methods that cause physical pain to deal with their emotional pain, whether positively or negatively. It ties into this major theme that altering the body can alter one’s emotional state or that if you change this thing then you will be happy. These stories don’t necessarily confirm or negate that theme; they just relate to it. In “Unwanted” she harms her body to try to escape the pain of real life, but clearly this isn’t the answer to finding emotional healing. However, in “Marked for Life” the tattooing of her body serves to help her overcome her challenges and find this positive self-identity.

I’m not really sure what this says about the ideas that we are separate from our bodies or that we are our bodies. There has been a lot of talk about this idea lately and I personally am not completely sure which is the right idea. It is definitely something I would love to discuss more in class.

Works Cited

 

Talvi, Silja J.A.. "Marked for Life: Tattoos and the Redefinition of Self." Body Outlaws. Ed. Ophira Edut. 2nd ed., Expanded and Updated. Emeryville, California: Seal Press, 2003. 211-218. Print.

Angel, Precious. "Unwanted." My Sisters' Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out. Ed. Iris Jacob. New York, New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2002. 201-203. Print.