Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

What do you think of a minor getting any type of body modification (even with parental consent)?

I was tattooed and pierced as a minor, without parental consent. While it caused the occasional social friction, beside that it was an entirely positive thing in my life, an important part of my growing up and development, and I don't regret it one bit. Who am I to tell others that they can't do something that I not only did myself, but was helped by?

Young people are going to explore their identity, the world, and their place in it. Body modification is a valid — and safe — way of doing so and it should be encouraged… And even to people who don't like it, they must agree it's definitely a lot “better” than unprotected sex, drugs, and alcohol, right?

Do you think that a minor realizes that what they are doing to their body is a commitment? And does the minor realize any risks associated with the body mod?

The minors that I talk to tend to be more aware of the issues involved than adults are most of the time. When young people get interested in something — whether it's body modification or some pop star — many go to great lengths to educate themselves on every possible facet of the subject. Few adults do that.

Since there are shops (at least in my area) that will tattoo or pierce a minor without parental consent, do you feel that the minor is being taken advantage of? From what I've heard, some of the shops aren't very clean, don't autoclave, etc.

In a case like that, unless the shop is exclusively catering to minors, I don't see that they're taking advantage of “minors” — they're screwing over all of their customers, adult and minor alike… But I think you have to look at the bigger picture — the fact that young people are “forced” to go to crappy studios is because of unjust laws that ban them from reasonable activities that they are interested in. So it's not so much disreputable studios taking advantage of minors, but — once again — the government abusing young people who have little to no say in the laws.

Are minors mature enough to get a tattoo or piercing?

It depends on the minor — I've seen plenty of adults who are not mature enough to handle body modification!

Do you think that most teen think of piercings and tattoos as a fad (ex:navel or nose piercings), or as a way of actually expressing themselves?

I suspect you could answer this one better than me… I almost only come in contact with people who take piercings and tattoos pretty seriously.

Should there be a legal age for body modifications (or as a lowered age without parental consent, something like 16), or should the age requirement stay at 18, where the person is legally able to make their own decisions?

Well, I'm from Canada where it's usually sixteen (but many studios will pierce a fourteen year old without parental consent, although some do use eighteen). I've gotten photos from South America of kids as young as six getting piercings… Certainly I think 18 is ridiculous — we let people drive a car at age sixteen, and in Canada (and I think in the US as well) go hunting on their own at age twelve. To me both of those seem to require a lot more maturity than a piercing… I really don't think there should be age laws at all, although I'd strongly encourage piercers and tattoo artists to use careful judgment when deciding whether or not to work on an individual young person.