Are piercings and tatoos a type of self expression?

Question:

Are piercings and tatoos a type of self expression?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

it depends... if you are tatting or piercing because of what others think, then no, not a form of self expression.
I have a nice size tat on my lower back that I designed myself based on the oldest and probably the nicest Celtic cross in Wales... (cross of Nevern if ya want to look at it) around it I have a OT bible verse in Latin that means a lot to me (yes, I translated it myself). So for me, my tat is def. a form of self expression. Some of my piercings were done when I was a baby and others when I was a teen (two on my ears and one in my nose) and those are traditional, so I think those were conformist and an expression of who I am as a member of a "culture".