Researchers need pictures of your tattoos/body modifications

[Dr. V]

A UNIVERSITY has asked for pictures of tattoos and body piercings - to help identify bodies and trace missing people.

http://www.bodymodresearch.com/

The University of Dundee wants to build up an international database of images that will help find out how common certain designs are, and whether there are any particular trends in certain areas.

The research, at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID), is part of a wider Interpol project - the Fast and efficient international disaster victim Identification (FASTID) project.

Professor Sue Black, who is leading the research, said: "What we are trying to do is create a classification system of body modifications which may aid in describing in the wide variety of modifications seen.

"This will help us to establish how common certain body mods - tattoo designs, piercings etc - are in different populations.

"Perhaps national or regional 'signature' tattoos may be found. If we can do that then identifying such body mods can become a key part in important work such as Disaster Victim Identification.

"If you look at major incidents such as the Asian tsunami where there are thousands of bodies needing to be identified, investigators are working to narrow down the parameters which can lead to successful identification.

"This includes race, distinctive marks on the body, what clothing and jewellery may be on the body, and so on.

"If we can add body modifications to that list of parameters that allow us to successfully complete this hugely important process of identification then we will have added another major tool to the investigative process.

"Tattoos and piercings are common all over the world so we want as many people as possible to send us images of their own body modifications."

[el3so]

Here's hoping their inbox gets flooded with Puff the Magic Dragon jpg's.

[Bobby Sands]

I can't wait for these databases to be available... when you date a new chick, you can enter her tattoos into the database, and see if there are any nudie pix or homemade sex videos of her circulating around the Internet. It will like: "Cathy, you told me you were a virgin when we met, but when I searched for the tweety bird tattoo on your shoulder-blade in the global tattoo tracking database, I found this video of you bent over doggy-style getting banged by an ex-boyfriende. Care to explain that, babe?"

[Dr. V]

I can't wait for these databases to be available... when you date a new chick, you can enter her tattoos into the database, and see if there are any nudie pix or homemade sex videos of her circulating around the Internet. It will like: "Cathy, you told me you were a virgin when we met, but when I searched for the tweety bird tattoo on your shoulder-blade in the global tattoo tracking database, I found this video of you bent over doggy-style getting banged by an ex-boyfriende. Care to explain that, babe?"

Sorry to nix that idea but - their consent form.......

'All responses are treated as confidential, and in no case will responses from individual participants be identified. Identification might be possible if part of your face is shown in the uploaded image, however this may only be possible if you give your specific consent for publication.'

[Kurt]

I always wondered (well, just since this post actually) what percentage of murder victims have body modifications (meaning intentional, before the fact). If a city has 20% of those between the ages of 20-45 with tattoos and less traditional piercings I wonder what the percentage of victims in that same age group has body modifications?

[Texas Carnie Roadshow]

It's only worthwhile if they put up a searchable database so everyone can find gems such as these...

[nanuq]

Anyone ever heard of Cesare Lombroso? He's considered to be the father of the Italian school of criminology and had some, um, unusual theories about criminals and hw they were genetic and intellectual degenerates. One of the things that he focused on was the tendency for criminals and other lowlifes to have tattoos and he viewed al tattoos as signs of moral degradation. He wrote that "Tattooing is, in fact, one of the essential characteristics of primitive man," he said, "and of men who still live in the savage state."

Nice to know that academics are still interested in tattoos.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/crime_motivation/4.html

[Kurt]

Anyone ever heard of Cesare Lombroso? He's considered to be the father of the Italian school of criminology and had some, um, unusual theories about criminals and hw they were genetic and intellectual degenerates. One of the things that he focused on was the tendency for criminals and other lowlifes to have tattoos and he viewed al tattoos as signs of moral degradation. He wrote that "Tattooing is, in fact, one of the essential characteristics of primitive man," he said, "and of men who still live in the savage state."

Nice to know that academics are still interested in tattoos.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/crime_motivation/4.html

That is how modern society...very modern (like 1950s onward) differs from our past. In our past the rich or royals used to set trends and they were followed by the lower classes. Now the trend is reversed with the rich in the south of France wearing printed T-shirts and jeans (but expensive ones). Many of the people I know with tattoos (which seems like almost everyone I know) are much more sophisticated than I am.

[gnaruki]

Tattooed people correlating with degenerate behavior seems to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of tattoo wearers are degenerates. fact.

[vagabond]

Anyone ever heard of Cesare Lombroso? He's considered to be the father of the Italian school of criminology and had some, um, unusual theories about criminals and hw they were genetic and intellectual degenerates. One of the things that he focused on was the tendency for criminals and other lowlifes to have tattoos and he viewed al tattoos as signs of moral degradation. He wrote that "Tattooing is, in fact, one of the essential characteristics of primitive man," he said, "and of men who still live in the savage state."

Nice to know that academics are still interested in tattoos.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/crime_motivation/4.html

And then there's the Russian criminal tattoo tradition w/ an elaborate code of meaning behind the symbols:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2010/04/21/russian-criminal-tattoo-encyclopedia/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/oct/26/russian-criminal-tattoos

The encyclopedias are pretty cool.

[flipflop]

Cheers

[friendlyskies]

Heh = the way gnaruki is using the word "degenerate" is probably closer to a synonym for "born into the working class" than the classic definition, people who have fallen from the upper classes into the poorer classes. Sure, some rich people probably do get working-class jobs and tattoos at about the same time, but are 80% of tattooed people former elites who now drive trucks or work as prostitutes? No. Probably 95% of tattooed people were born in the middle, working, or lower classes, since only about 5% of all people were born into the upper classes.

As for the tertiary definition of degenerate, almost a synonym for sociopath - someone who does not follow his or her society's moral conventions and instead commits criminal acts or engages in vulgar behavior - it's still pretty misleading. People like, say, Newt Gingrich or Bernie Madoff probably don't have tattoos, but we wouldn't call them "degenerates" despite exemplifying that definition, just because they are perceived as being in the upper classes.

[Bobby Sands]

Eh, tattoos are for idiots and the tasteless. No one with any sense of aesthetics will opt for permanent art in their homes, so why would anyone put permanent art on their bodies? Even if you've got million dollar Picassos and Monets in your collection, you will rotate the art since the art will take on the character of wallpaper if it stays in the same spot permanently. Plus, if you have dinner parties, you don't want your guests seeing the same Warhol every time they come over. Even museums rotate their art so things don't become stale and static.

Yeah, so if you're some kind a aboriginal or Pacific Islander and tattoos are some kind of cultural/spiritual connection to you culture, that's one thing. But if you're an average dweeb from Milwaukee, and you gots a dolphin riding a surf board over a rainbow next to your tribal/barbed-wire armband tattoo, then you're just a tasteless idiot with poor long-term planning skills.

[seektravelinfo]

I agree with that.

[Oceansmine]

I would be interested to see the opposite - not how classify and identify victims, but to see the tatoo classifications of the murderers.

A great place to research tatoos and degenerates - the Kentucky State Fair. Just sayin.