In his monthly essay at New English Review, Dalrymple examines the modern surge in tattooing among young people and interprets it as a symptom of a deeper search for identity, recognition and freedom, ironically revealing a loss of individuality rather than its affirmation:

I find this, at heart, all very sad. It is a desperate search both for public recognition and individuality. Public notice is hardly something that ought to be desired for its own sake, while individuality is conferred existentially, as an essential condition, whether desired or not, of being human.