Long Form Draft 1 Caroline Nayden
Stick and Poke Tattoos at Oberlin 11/16/15
Young people have always flocked to cool trends. Exciting fads that identify a person as exotic and radical. But, does a trend go too far when the effects become permanent? Oberlin students don’t think so. Stick and poke tattoos are a popular fashion choice for a lot of students, and just like regular tattoos, the ink lasts forever.
There are a few stick and poke artists on campus including Beatrix Parola (20) and Andrea Wang (18).
Wang is a freshman at Oberlin and is just beginning her stick and poke career. She tattood a few friends at art camp over the summer and would like to continue during her time in college. She advertises her skills as a conversation starter and a way to meet new people.
Parola is a third year at Oberlin College and is very passionate about tattoos. She has been giving her friends stick and poke tattoos since her freshman year, but isn’t necessarily a fan of the trend. She disagrees with the premise of stick and pokes, but does enjoy giving them.
“It accomplishes my secret fantasy of being a tattoo artist,” she said.
A stick and poke tattoo is done with a handheld needle instead of a tattoo gun. “They’re hand poked tattoos using some kind of pointy object,” Parola said.
These tattoos are usually done by unlicensed artists, outside of parlors and are popular among young adults.
“My friend used to do them outside in the dirt,” Parola added. “And they were all drunk.”
Stick and pokes are the do-it-yourself tattoo and are appealing because of the low cost, accessibility and rebellious connotation.
“It takes a certain kind of person to get one,” said Wang. “Like, you’d let me do that to your body?”
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... are beautiful. “It’s my way of collecting art,” she said.
She does think some of the stick and pokes she did are cool. “I did someones area code on their butt,” she said. She added that many people get stick and pokes in that location because it’s easily concealed.
“you can hide a butt tattoo from anyone if you really tried,” she said.
Parola said that other common locations are upper arm and above the knee, both easily concealable.
While stick and poke tattoos may be something to be concealed in the future, they are popular for a reason. It fulfills a desire for rebellion and experimentation, and for some, results in a really meaningful tattoo.
Professional tattoos are definitely safer, but they are expensive, inconvenient and often impersonal. The Oberlin stick and poke artists are available, but recommend a cautious approach to these funky tattoos.
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.
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
Society has changed in many ways over the years; at one point tattoos were considered unprofessional and disgusting to most people, but today, they are quite common amongst young adults and people who enjoy art. Parents and people of many older generations, sometimes struggle to understand why this new interest in tattoos has been able to consume American culture so quickly. Prior to this boom of interest in tattoos, there were many horror stories that surrounded the subject due to unsanitary tools used and possible diseases a person could catch if a mistake was made. Lois Desocio is one of those adults who has struggled to understand tattoos, especially since her son Alec began to fill his body with them. As Alec’s collection of body art continues
Dickinson, L., Dukes, R. L., Smith, H., & Strapko, N. (2015). To Ink Or Not To Ink: The Meaning of Tattoos Among College Students. College Student Journal, 49(1), 106-120. Retrieved from http://www.galileo.usg.edu.
What is tattooing? Tattooing is a form of art that’s displayed on the human body. In fact, it is the oldest form of art known to man. Tattooing involves permanent, creative words and images. Some modern tattoos are quite simple while other tattooing is very complicated. Many different images can be a tattoo like a simple flower and cartoon characters to more ornate portraits and scenes. A professional tattoo artist is a person that applies tattoos onto individuals. Tattoo artists may also perform other body part modifications such as piercings and brandings.
Tattooing is the art of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, or legends by making pricks and inserting colored ink. The word itself has its origins in the South Pacific. The art had been referred to as pricking, scarring, or staining until explorer Captain James Cook encountered the indigenous peoples of Tahiti. (Wilkinson 6)
Certainly, tattoos and piercings are a lot more popular nowadays than they were thirty years ago. Now, 1 in every 10 Americans have them, while back then, 1 in every 100 had them. Your body is a blank canvas, and you’re just making it something fun to look at. Today, people get tattoos and piercings for many different reasons, such as beauty, art, and fashion, individuality, group affi...
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).
Society’s outlook on “what’s in” changes every day, from what’s hot to what’s not. Fads repeat themselves over time and grow to be something that everyone now loves. Tattoos are the main trending thing of this century. They were once only a symbolism for criminals, sailors, prostitutes, and bikers, but now tattooing is mainstream in today’s times. Tattoos are seen as works of arts and your body is the canvas for aspiring tattoo artist. Nowadays there is such a wide variety of tattoos with different meanings, such as, a hand print of a loved one to someone’s favorite quote or bible verse. Some tattoos don’t always have to have meaning behind it. Anyone can decorate their body simply because they want meaningless, but artsy and funny tattoos. Inking up is becoming a significant part of someone’s life whether there is a meaning behind the tattoo or not, it is a growing thing to do and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
In today’s society a lot of tattoos are misinterpreted or judged. Mainly by those who are against them, or teenagers who use them to rebel. They are also a good way to challenge the traditional gender norms. Such as a deep and tangible commitment to alternative gender definitions, and other women use tattoos to conform mainstream forms of feminism. A classic example would be a man dressed in a doctor’s coat, and then revealed to have full sleeves and drives a Harley. Or a U.S. Marine goes to a diner and is covered from shoulders down in tattoos and gets treated like poop because individuals assume something about this Marine that is untrue by their assumptions
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.
Ariana Marciano is adding to her collection of approximately 75 tattoos at Body Electric, a tattoo and penetrating studio on avant-garde Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. "I think they're so composed and I think they're visually really exquisite to examine at," she essay. There's a ram's head, an wapiti, a immature-and-tattle praying mantis, a love bug and a moth. Today she's getting a lady beetle.
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.
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).
Randall, Emily. "Tattooing Makes Transition From Cult to Fine Art." New York Times 08 May