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!SKIN

If you could take off your skin and lay it flat,  

it would cover an area of about 1.9 square  

meters. Skin is, by far, the body’s largest  

organ. Covering almost the entire body, skin  

protects us from a variety of external forces.  

For example, it protects us from extremes of  

temperature, damaging sunlight, harmful  

chemicals, and dangerous infections. Skin  

is also packed with nerves, which keeps the  

brain in touch with the outside world. The  

health of our skin and its ability to perform its  

protective functions are crucial to our wellbeing. However, the appearance of our skin  

is equally—if not more—important to many  

people on this planet. 

Take skin color, for example. Your genes  

determine your skin’s color, but for centuries,  

humans have tried to lighten or darken their  

skin in an attempt to be more attractive. In the  

A 

B 

1800s, white skin was desirable for many  

Europeans. Skin this color meant that its owner  

was a member of the upper class and did  

not have to work in the sun. Among darkerskinned people in some parts of the world,  

products used to lighten skin are still popular  

today. During the 20th century, attitudes  

toward light skin shifted in the opposite  

direction in other cultures, as cities grew and  

work moved indoors. Tanned skin began to  

indicate leisure time and health. In many  

places today, tanning on the beach or in a salon  

remains popular, even though people are more  

aware of the dangers of UV rays.1 

Identity and Status 

Just as people have altered their skin’s color to  

denote wealth and beauty, so too have cultures  

around the globe marked their skin to indicate

cultural identity or community status. Tattooing,  

for example, has been carried out for thousands  

of years. Leaders in places including ancient  

Egypt, Britain, and Peru wore tattoos to mark  

their status, or their bravery. Today, among the  

Maori people of New Zealand as well as in  

cultures in Samoa, Tahiti, and Borneo, full-facial  

tattoos are still used to identify the wearer as a  

member of a certain family. These tattoos can  

also symbolize the person’s achievements in life. 

In Japan, tattooing has been practiced for  

thousands of years, but was outlawed in the  

19th century. Although there are no laws  

against it today, tattoos are still strongly  

associated with criminals—particularly the  

yakuza, or the Japanese mafia,2 

 who are known  

for their full-body tattoos. The complex design  

of a yakuza member’s tattoo usually includes  

symbols of character traits that the wearer 

wants to have. The process of getting a fullbody tattoo is both slow and painful and can  

take two years or more to complete. 

In some cultures, scarring—a marking caused  

by cutting or burning the skin—is practiced,  

usually among people who have darker skin  

on which a tattoo would be difficult to see. For  

many men in West Africa, for instance, scarring  

is a rite of passage—an act that symbolizes that  

a male has matured from a child into an adult.  

In Australia, among some native peoples, cuts  

are made on the skin of both men and women  

when they reach age 16 or 17. Without these,  

they were traditionally not permitted to trade,  

sing ceremonial songs, or participate in other  

activities. 

Not all skin markings are permanent, though.  

In countries such as Morocco and India,  

women decorate their skin with colorful henna  

designs for celebrations such as weddings  

and important religious holidays. The henna  

coloring, which comes from a plant, fades and  

disappears over time. 

In recent years in many industrialized  

nations, tattooing, henna body art, and, to  

a lesser degree, scarring have been gaining  

in popularity. What makes these practices  

appealing to those living in modern cities?

According to photographer Chris Rainier,  

whose book Ancient Marks examines body  

markings around the globe, people are looking  

for a connection with the traditional world.  

“There is a whole sector of modern society— 

people in search of identity, people in search of  

meaning . . .,” says Rainier. “Hence, [there has  

been] a huge explosion of tattooing and body  

marking.” Rainier reasons that it’s “mankind  

wanting identity, wanting a sense of place . . .  

and a sense of culture within their community.”