Cienna Jennings visits Oxford’s renowned tattoo and piercings studio, Tigerlily, to speak with the owner, Mick Durham about tattoos, piercings and the changing attitudes surrounding body modifications.
Surrounded by black-tie and Subfusc, body modifications are not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Oxford University. However, as someone who attends Oxford Uni and has 14 piercings, five of which are on my face and very visible, I have not had many negative experiences because of them. As to be expected, the standard piercings, such as earlobes and nose, are quite popular among the student population,but I have also met many other individuals with visible piercings.
The reasons for getting body modifications vary from cultural or aesthetic, to a form of self-expression. Speaking from my own experience, my decision to get most of my piercings was simply because I thought they “looked cool” and would help emphasise my individuality and represent my own personal style.
The history of body modifications is long and varied. From the culture of ear stretching in pre-Roman Britain to nose rings that originated in the middle east, body modifications have a culturally rich history. Body modifications were relatively acceptable before Christianity spread in Britain. However, they later became associated with paganism and were therefore deemed unacceptable. Later, during the Elizabethan period, piecing’s, specifically lobes, became a symbol of wealth among the upper-class, with Queen Elizabeth II often wearing them herself.
In the 1970’s the Punk subculture made body modifications loud again. From spiked hair to visible tattoos and piercings, these acted as symbols of protest against the political system and social norms. Now, these same visible body modifications are almost everywhere, from mainstream television to your local barista, they have become more of a symbol of fashion and self-expression than one of rebellion.
Wanting to find out more about the culture of body modifications in Oxford, I took a trip down to Oxford’s most well-known tattoo and piercing studio, Tigerlily. Here I interviewed the owner, Mick Durham, about his experiences’. He told Cherwell how he has been working in Oxford since 1991 after he and his wife moved here. Mick stated how he travelled around selling things he got on holiday to different student unions, one being Oxford Brookes. Oxford University, however, did not have a market for it in the student union.
When asked what inspired him to enter this line of work, he responded: “I always say that I did not choose tattoo and piercings, it chose me and it has been very kind to me.” Mick explained that he originally began by selling clothes and gifts from Guatemala. As customers started asking for jewellery, he began selling that too, eventually expanding to body jewellery. When people asked if he could fit the jewellery himself, he decided to learn how and later even taught his son – Brendan – to pierce.
I asked Mick whether he felt as if the culture of body modifications had changed over time in Oxford. He believes it has become more popular, and credits much of this increase to David Beckham, stating how “As soon as we had a gorgeous, respected man who had tattoos, it became more acceptable to get them. David Beckham is a working-class hero who made tattoos and piercings more respectable.”
When asked whether there was a favourite tattoo or piercing, Mick responded with: “there is no most popular tattoo or piercing as people want a variety of things. For piercings it is probably nostrils or lobes, but for tattoos there is no favourite one, as for a tattoo to be good it has to have some kind of meaning.”
It was clear from this interaction and my own research that there has been an upsurge in body modifications, especially in young people as they are becoming increasingly visible. However, there is still a stigma surrounding body modifications. Visible tattoos and piercings are sometimes banned in professional workplaces, which may consciously or subconsciously stereotype those who have them, believing it may affect their ability to perform a job or get clients. But hopefully one day, as we continue to move towards being a progressive society, the judgement of people based on their appearances and how they choose to express themselves, body modifications and all, will no longer be an issue.
