Give you some ideas on a particular topic/issue

Point out the wide areas of researchThink about structure

Site: Body ModificationTitle: Under my skin, implants,

piercings, tattoos, skin treatments Issue: The illustrated man, tattooing

as body artPersonal focus: Sailors or Solicitors –

the acceptable face of tattoos and why counter culture is cool

What's the history behind tattoos? What caused the change to make tats acceptable? Are some types seen as ok, others not? What impact does tattooing have on identity? Are people defined by their tats in groups or

‘tribes’? How are those with tats represented? Is the representation different for men than

woman? Is counter culture really counter if everyone is

doing it?

The times/guardian/sun BBC magazine online, daily mail online,

Vice magazine interview with peaches geoldof/ history of tats websites/ culture and its definitions blog, counter culture in America blog/ Article click (journal website)

Answer bag/yahoo questions/ personal survey online

Books (implants, skin treatments and tats),

Lizard man video you tube Various tattoo websites Self reflection with comments and images

Primitive tats Egyptian funeral tats, 4000-2000bc Branding – clan marking, rights of passage Love charms, and good luck Sailors Tribal reborn in 70’s – counter culture Associations with criminality Macho – gang related Celebrity – modern days

1930’s through 60’s tats seen as signifying lowlife's and scumbags

This came via the sailor trend (they got to signify where they had been)

1970’s counter culture groups, associated with hippy movement and anti-establishment

Through this they became symbol of working classes. Still frowned upon

In America (2003) 16% have tats, up from around 4% in 1950’s. 36% of ages 25-29

1980’s seen as body obsessed (HIV), people started thinking about bodies more

Rise of feminism took away from traditional male world of tats

Change happening in UK and US together Better tat artists and equipment, safer 50 parlours in UK 1960’s thousands now

Middle class people now with tats But – they hide them – the image is often

cute/sweet – is butterfly more acceptable than dragon?

Is tats on display acceptable in work? Middle class playing with identity, thumbing

nose at mainstream but playing it safe really

Feel need to express / stand out Work-a-day life not as romantic as

rebellious Playing at being rebels/ cool Cultural need to fit into group / tribal desire

What constitutes counter culture today (define)

What are the true counter culture doing – the next step?

Do the tats people have reveal true identity (wolf in sheep's clothing?)

Can income and status be defined from image?

Weekend warriors?

I know a guy with tats because he thinks they look cool and his tat is a creative drawing and he loves it. He takes illegal drugs and drinks.

I know a girl who has a tat which is small and in chinese characters reading 'one love'.It means something to her. She takes no drugs and does not drink.

My father was a biker, and most bikers I know have tats, so I would associate tats with bikers. I like tattoos! They're super cool!

it's my 40th birthday next month and I'm getting my first tattoo to mark the occasion - a fairy! Not some twee Tinkerbell but a proper gothic fairy. It's my body, always has been and if my parents and in-laws don't like it then so what!? By the way, I'm a civil servant.

As Ozzy Osborne once remarked to his daughter Kelly, 'If you want to be different, don't get a tattoo.'

1000 words discussing the history of tats, charting their rise in popularity and linking that rise to cultural trends as helped by media and celebs (representation, ideology, feminism) in later years

700 words on the identity created by middle class wearers and thinking about how they fit into definitions of counter culture – whats the meaning to them, do they get it?

200 words of personal reflection – as a person with tattoos, how am I positioned in relation to my arguement

In groups pick one title from the Body Modification site

Then pick one issueAgree upon a loose personal focusResearch – Research – ResearchPresent results on one blog by end of

next lesson Feedback to class while they make

notes