ABSTRACT
The history of tattooing demonstrates a precarious balance between imprisoning and freedom: penal tattooing is an ancient practice, but one which can be subverted by ink or by thought. Cesare Lombroso, the Darwinist criminologist whose work is still the mainstay of detective fiction, if not criminology, argued that the “born criminal” would inevitably choose to be tattooed due to their lower place in evolution. This chapter will explore Lombroso’s work carefully and argue that the choice to have the tattoo, however limited the choice, is still a choice, and this choice sets people free from their imprisonment in facts by Lombroso. A “born criminal” does not need to have a tattoo; not all criminals do have tattoos, as not all men have facial hair. The argument must move away from facts to the less stable aspect of decision making, and the chapter concludes that the choice to be tattooed is liberating because it is more favorable and positive than Lombroso’s determinism.
