KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH 129Other social emblems, including manifestations of one’s personal or
career history, can also be displayed in various ways on our arms. People
who work in construction, athletes, and soldiers will sometimes reveal
the scars of their profession. Uniforms may carry patches on the upper
arms. Like the torso, the arms can be billboards to advertise aspects of
our personality. Just look at the variety of tattoos people have embla-
zoned on their arms or the muscles that bodybuilders proudly display
with tight-fitting tank tops.
To the skilled observer, a careful scrutiny of people’s arms can some-
times reveal information about their lifestyles. The smooth, well-mani-
cured elbows of the pampered differ greatly from those who are scarred
or tanned from daily outdoor work. People who have been in the mili-
tary or in prison may have artifacts of their experiences on their arms,
including scars and tattoos. Individuals who espouse hatred toward a
certain group or subject will often script or tattoo evidence of that hatred
on their arms. Those who use intravenous drugs may have track lines
along the veins of their arms. Troubled individuals with a psychological
disorder known as borderline personality may have cuts and slashes where
they have done intentional injury to their arms (American Psychological
Association, 2000, 706–707).
With specific regard to tattoos, this style of body adornment has in-
creased in the last fifteen years, particularly in more “modernized” coun-
tries. However, this method of personal decoration has been used around
the world for at least thirteen thousand years. As part of our “body bill-
board,” the message tattoos convey in current culture should be dis-
cussed. Concurrent with the relatively recent increase in tattooing, I was
involved in surveying potential jurors, specifically with regard to how a
witness or a defendant would be perceived if he had tattoos. The surveys,
conducted multiple times with multiple groups of men and women, con-
cluded that tattoos were perceived by jurors as being low-status (low-
class) adornments and/or vestiges of youthful indiscretion, which, in
general, were not very well liked.
I tell students that if they have tattoos, they should hide them, espe-
cially when applying for a job—and particularly if going to work in the