Tattoos In Modern Society Essay

Dare to Be Different: The View of Tattoos in Modern America “If people are honest with themselves when they choose a tattoo, the art will represent them better than anything that will ever come out of their mouth. The things that are most important to me are represented in the art that covers my body.” Quoted from a man named Troy Holloway, he is one of many in today’s world that looks at tattoos as an expression of self. This view, however, is not the only view in our modern society. Though tattoos are becoming more popularized, they are still viewed as deviant by many today. Tattoos are more than just ink in your skin, they are words, they are feelings, they are a commitment; viewed once as a way of expressing these things, they are now

Tattoos are known for making people individuals, but also for association to a group, religion, or other lifestyle. It is this association that scares parts of society, for many gang members use tattoos to show their affiliation with a gang. They use tattoos because of the sole reason of their permanence. Wearing a type or color of clothing is easy to change, but when you are in a gang it is expected of you to be loyal for life. The idea of getting a tattoo to gang members, represents that life-long loyalty. Prison tattoos are very popular, because once an individual enters prison, unfortunately to stay safe many join gangs for protection, the act of getting a prison tattoo again shows that. Prison tattoos look much different from professionally done tattoos because of the fact they are done using a sharpened piece of guitar string and a melted checker piece for ink (Johnson

Many of them agreed that there is no one type individual who gets a tattoo. Most had given people tattoos ranging in ages from 18 all the way to 70’s. Three of the artist say that they have had cops to criminals, from doctors, lawyers, and surgeons, and bikers get tattoos from them. One artist gave a specific quote saying that she believes the most popular is “the stereotypical 20 year-old guy with a bit of a chip on his shoulder- the James Dean type.” Though she later goes on to elaborate and say that the women clients are growing larger than ever before. One client of hers said that she had waited six years to pick out the perfect design because she believed tattoos only accentuated an already beautiful form—the human body. Followed by her statement about her own tattoos that says “it is not adding or subtracting from me, it’s simply bringing an element of myself to the surface.” Johnson summarizes his article by stating that tattoos are just a reminder of one’s past and one’s life; and being tattooed in today’s society makes you a unique individual (Johnson