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Thursday, April 07, 2005

David Beckham has revealed another tattoo to the world, and you don't have to be a genius to know that it's the name of his third son.

'Cruz' lines up at number three along the back, along with Brooklyn and Romeo, and their guardian angel - a human figure with arms and wings outstretched.

The England captain also bears the name of his wife, Victoria, on one forearm and the Roman numeral VII on the other (his England number), along with the words 'Perectio in Spiritu' - 'spiritual perfection'.

Add another angel (to protect his marriage) and a cross at the top of his neck, and the footballer is beginning to look more like a Maori warrior (or former Spice Girl Mel C) than a footballer.

But why does he - and many others besides - sport tattoos? Beckham displays a number of classic reasons - expressing love for his partner, loyalty to his children, superstition over their welfare and a penchant for spirituality. There's also the aesthetics (if you like that sort of thing) and a hint of the rebel spirit.

Some foolhardy punters act on impulse, or to mark a rite of passage (especially, today, from childhood to adulthood); others to mourn and remember a loved one.

Then, there's the postmodern tribal consumers, human billboards for their brand fetishes. The Nike swoosh is the most popular corporate logo requested in the US, along with - get this - Budweiser, Adidas, Corona, Apple Computers, Ford, Chevy and Volkswagen...

While some Christians baulk at the idea of a permanent mark - citing Leviticus 19 as their proof text (or the morbid phrase, as I found on one website, 'love lasts forever, but a tattoo lasts six months longer); others proudly go under the needle to display their allegiance to a Higher Power.

Paul speaks of bearing the 'marks of Christ' in his letter to the Galatians, and while he probably received them not from a tattooist but an angry mob who disliked his hermeneutics, he infers that he is 'branded' for Christ on the outside and the in.

It certainly makes me think: if I were to have a tattoo, to express something of the 'me of me' - what would it be? What would it say about who I really am? And if I chose, in the end, to remain unblemished, then how would I show I'm branded for life in an all-together different way?