In todays generation, its hard not to walk among todays society and not spot someone with a tattoo. Since the 1970s, tattoos have become a mainstream part of Western fashion, common among both sexes, to all economic classes, and to age groups from the later teen years to middle age. In todays generation, the tattoo has taken on a noticeably different meaning than for previous older generations. The tattoo has shifted from a form of deviance to an acceptable form of expression. Neurologists to biohackers are reinventing the very idea of the tattoo. With the right technology, tattoos can do a lot more than just be coloured pigmented skin. They can become digital devices as useful and complex as the smartphone. This sounds like a fabricated futuristic idea, but this technology already exists.
Before looking into the future, its informative to know where the fad of tattoos started. One of the earliest known examples of tattooing was found on a Neolithic man named Ötzi who was mummified in the Swiss Alps and uncovered in 1991. Ötzi had well preserved skin that showed signs of tattooing in several places, including dots on his back, knee, and ankle, locations that suggests they were given as a form of healing, a more artistic form of acupuncture. Tattoos were also used as a form of medicine by the Ancient Egyptians, but the body art took on a more cultural role elsewhere.
When the British began exploring the world, tattoos took on a new meaning. In the late eighteenth century, the name "tattoo" is traced back to a series of journeys through the Pacific made by Captain James Cook. His sailors learned of the Tahitian art of tatau, a ritual involving ink and needle, resulting in returning to England with their own tattoos. Over the year...
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In conclusion, todays generation has reinvented the meaning of tattoos than previous older generations. The tattoo has shifted from a form of deviance to an acceptable form of expression. progress is being made where its possible in the 21st-century to get a tattoo made of vegetables that glows and can be removed almost painlessly. With the right technology, tattoos can do a lot more than just be coloured pigmented skin. They can become digital devices as useful and complex as the smartphone. Although the technology exits, its very specialized and very expensive. Unfortunately, local tattoo parlours may not have digital tattoos any time soon, it will take time for the demand to increase enough before the industry offers up the supply. Until then, the tattoo industry continues to innovate new ideas and expand its technology for future generations.
It is true that the young people have more tattoos than the old people. 36% of Americans between ages 18-29 have a tattoo (Brooks). The fact that society is accepting this violation means that there are more people who are yet to confirm, of which they will in the near future. It is also evident that people wear tattoos to show commitment because lovers for instance wear the images or the names of their lovers and others wear the images of their icons to show that they matter to them. This kind of permanence on someone’s body shows commitment and it is admirable to the world.
A tattoo is a mark, on a person, with an unforgotten design by inserting pigments into punctures in the skin. Many people get tattoos because they enjoy designs that mean something to them, but don’t know what type of chemicals or products they put in their skin. Also many people don’t understand how a tattoo can last forever. Pigments and carriers are in tattoo inks.
Kosut, M. (2006). An Ironic Fad: The Commodification And Consumption Of Tattoos. The Journal of Popular Culture, 39(6), 1035-1048. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00333.x
In Kosut’s article “The Artification of Tattoo: Transformations within a Cultural Field”, the author takes a look at how tattoos are a form of art and should be seen this way. It also indicates how tattoo artists have to have a technical skill in order to do this job and should be seen as actual artists and not overlooked. In addition to having steady hands like a surgeon, tattoo artists create original work for their clients. If tattoo artists and their work were seen as a legitimate career, it would be even more likely that tattoos would be accepted in society.
The decision to get a tattoo is personal and different for everyone. Tattoos are generally permanent additions to the body. Rushing into a design typically ends in regret. Taking a considerable amount of time to find the perfect design and the positioning on ones’ body may not be a bad idea. Unfortunately, there are far more tattoos that are spur-of-the-moment rather than thoroughly considered, meaningful, or commemorative tattoos. In Beth Janes’s article, “Why I Rue My Tattoo,” and Stephanie Dolgoff’s piece, “Tattoo Me Again and Again,” the authors describe the different processes that they went through when deciding to get their tattoos. Both authors discuss their reasons for getting their tattoos, the designs they chose to get, and share their different opinions about the finished tattoos that they have chosen to live with for the rest of their lives.
Tattooing is not just a recent fad. Tattooing has been around for a very long time. "The current first proven incident of a tattoo dates back 4,000 years B.C. a traveler was found in Italy near Austria, preserved in the permafrost of a glacier. Carbon dating and arte facts found near him suggest that he is over 5,300 years old" (Tattoos and Design). Tattoos have been used to identify a person with a particular group or just to decorate a person's body. "Some designs are symbolic: In Japan, carp mean bravery; peonies mean good fortune" (McNab 42).
Every day, tattoos have become apart of almost everyones daily life. Wether it be simply seeing someone with some on the street, to giving hundreds of them a day. While admiring their beauty, however, many people don’t think about the history behind the practice and how they have developed over the centuries. Tattoos have been around for thousands of years. One of the earliest evidence of tattoos being practiced was from the Iceman found with tattoos from the area of the Italian and Austrian border and was carbon dated to be around 5200 years old. Matching it's time, they use long one stakes dipped in soot.
Tattoos and body modifications have been around for many generations. They first began in 3370 BC and were used by Europeans and Egyptians. Both tattoos and body modifications are defined as a cultural representation of self-expression and sometimes even religion. In the article “Tattoos and Piercing: Issues of Body Modification and the Workplace,” Dr. Elzweig states, “Although tattooing is not a new phenomenon, the number of people who have tattoos has increased significantly and continues to rise. Life magazine estimated in 1936 that only 10% of me American population was tattooed in whole or in part (One out of ten Americans is tattooed, 1936)” (Elweig, Peeples).
Starting off as juices and markings, tattoos were nothing more than ways of identification and personalization. Rubbing juices extracted from plants onto your face and arms is the most notable to people. Also using bone needles and pigments to tattoo in a more modern fashion was common. Ancient descendants used what they had and although it wasn’t painless and easy, it worked.
Many people have been getting tattoos lately. People of all ages have been getting them and from all different backgrounds. On a nice day in just about any public place one can spot a tattoo about every five minutes, from the business man who had a portrait of his daughter put on him to a young girl with a butterfly on her ankle and even people with extensive tattoo coverage. What is even more interesting is the rise in the number of people who are heavily tattooed and that they come from all different backgrounds. Not too long ago tattooing did not experience the popularity in mainstream culture that it does now. The question that must be asked in order to understand this fascination that popular culture has had with tattoos is why people get tattoos.
A persons’ image is vital when meeting someone for the first time. Our peers, employers, family, superiors, even strangers that you walk past can automatically judge someone, and imagine how they present themselves to the world. Tattoos have been predominantly linked with a rebellious attitude and pictured on out of control stereotypes such as rock starts, bikers, sailors, and disobedient teenagers who want nothing more than to hack off their parents. With a new coming of age generation and a step into a more lenient and liberal society these types of patrons still participate in body art but so do doctors, lawyers, or just the run of the mill house mom. Tattoos signify religious beliefs, cultural influence, or each individual’s sole style. Body art is no longer socially offensive, employers are more apt to hiring tatted hopeful applicants, parents are warming up to the idea of their children inking their body and no longer a stranger on the street with a tattoo is necessarily prejudged as a criminal or safety hazard. Tattoos have become more evolved over the years because they have become more of a socially accepted element of the general public.
Symbolism and meaning is by far one of the most important aspects of the tattoo industry. “The abstract emotions and human awareness of emotions show what really is going on in ones life (Johnson)”. For that reason tattooing is a form of self-expression, and can stand for literal interpretations. For the most part these interpretations are the conveying of spiritual meaning, or marking milestones such as life or death” (Johnson). For those who think tattooing is just for looks or put a bad judgment on it, should also realize that ones personal interest reflects upon their lives. “Many individuals get their first tattoos during adolescence or young adulthood.”(Bravermark) Due to the mainstream culture, these traditions traditionally associate with stereotypes. Stereotypes defiantly have a huge impact on life. Which leads to the next point? Whether flaunted or hidden, sought as art or brought out on a whim, the tattoo has left a huge impact on generation after generation.
Tattoos are a controversial subject in the world we live in. The kind of people that get tattoos is now varied to almost all humans regardless of race, religion, or age. What many people fail to understand or realize is how much of an effect a tattoo can have on the rest of your life. The original tattoo stereotypes have faded from what they were many years ago and yet tattoos still have a reputation as for what kind of people get tattoos. There are many reasons as to why people would get a tattoo but there are many reason why you should think before you ink. Our society and the social media today has a huge impact on the tattoo industry. Movie stars and pop singers with many tattoos are posing as role models for our generation and
According to tattoo acceptability in the medical setting (2015), there is revealed that millions of people, who have tattoos in today’s society increase by 13 % since 2007 and especially approximately 42% of adults have tattoos (Tattoo Acceptability in the Medical Setting, 2015).
Tattoos have become more prevalent in our society over the last few decades. What used to be a social faux pa or a negative brand has come to be a more acceptable life choice in our culture. However, only those who have joined the inked-up club can describe the sensation of modifying one’s body with art. From the pain and tantric feeling from the stinging that is released as a person allows themselves to be marked for the rest of their life, and the hot pierce of the needle that gives a sensation of feeling alive and the desire to do this again. Tattoos have become a major social focus today, so the psychology behind their popularity warrants discussion. Ultimately, people who get tattoos yearn for individual expression through artwork, acceptance or adherence to some rite of passage, and the physical satisfaction that only the experience of tattooing can provide.