Today I spent most of the day hacking away at a new syllabus on technology and the body for a class I am teaching next semester. I am still hoping to find a (good) reading on body modification that covers body tattoos (any suggestions welcome) to complement my readings on other forms of body modification. Later in the day, after talking about my quest to find a great article on tattoos, my friend mentioned to me that she thought the mark on my face under my left eye was a tattoo. When I got home later, I asked a number of friends on IRC what they thought the mark on my face was they first met me and most of the answers were makeup or tattoo (and people have tried to rub it off my face, which, yes, makes for a pretty uncomfortable social situation).

I guess if one thinks it is smeared eyeliner, one might think I am a total chump for being so sloppy with my makeup and if someone thinks is it is tattoo one might think I am either a bad ass for daring to tattoo my face, or bad ass for different reasons (and I have had many a conversation usually with security guys and drug dealers asking whether I once was in a gang). Or perhaps people might think I am just an old-fashioned attention-seeker.

Back in college, when I had a nose ring most everyone thought the mark was a tattoo and I would receive many comments and complements on my innovative sense of aesthetics (the nose ring did bring out the mark quite a bit). Today, after having these conversations it really hit me that, while I really don’t mind or care all that much what impression of me is formed, it is probably the case that in many instances, this tiny mark on my face, which has been with me since birth, does feed into the formation of first impressions.