I was walking back to my dorm this Wednesday evening when I passed another student marching along with the words “Tuck Fexas” screened across his T-shirt. I let out a small chuckle but then quickly thought to myself about the purpose, motivation, and effectiveness of such a form of “body writing” (as I define it: Any form of writing found of the body). When dissected into its finer parts, writing on the body has many elements that influence it. However, I am most intrigued by the idea of the location of writing with respect to the person’s body parts. By analyzing the location of body writing on a person, many clues are given as to the meaning of the writing as well as whether it was intended for public or personal viewing.
A recent trend in the fashion of clothing and tattooing has to do with writing on girls’ lower backs/butt. One item that fall under this category is the line of sweatpants released by Victoria’s Secret called PINK in which the word “PINK” is written across the back of the pants.
Another example is a new fad of tattoos placed on the lower backs of women that also share the derogatory name “tramp stamps”. In each of these cases, although the writing appears on the back of women, I believe that it is still very much placed there for public viewing (partly due to the fact that the individual wouldn’t be able to read the writing anyway). Additionally, the fact that the writing appears in a somewhat intimate location gives clues as to the purpose behind the writing. Clearly, the writing is placed where it is to draw attention to the area. Therefore, these girls are trying to tell whoever is behind them that “I’m sexy and I want you to look at me.” While someone might argue that these girls are merely trying to distinguish their individuality, I would respond that “Yes, they are showing the individuality, but in a way that draws attention to their behind.”
Certainly the most common form of writing displayed on students is on the front of T-shirts. In this instance, it is obvious that this form of writing is intended for public viewing due to its “front and center” location on a person’s body. The purpose, however, of this form of writing is highly dependent on the specific T-shirt. The example mention above portrays the fact that this person did not have a very high opinion of Texas. Other examples may be of T-shirts with a band name on them which means to say “I like this band and support them”. However, the highest percentage of T-shirts around campus display Greek letters of fraternities or sororities as if to say “I am in this fraternity/sorority”.
As a result, although each T-shirt may have a different meaning, due to the location of the message on a person’s body, they all have in common the fact that they are intended for public viewing.
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