Tattoos In Today's Society

- In Borneo, as a cultural tradition women were actually tattooists. They used tattooing to identify what tribe or religion a man belonged to.

The history of tattooing date back to the first man, Otzi, in 3300 B.C. who was found frozen in the Alps (Nat-A-Tat2) and the history piercing date back to different primitive tribes for their beliefs (Tribu). Scientists say that the tattoos he had were for medical reasons. When they found his body, they took X-rays and where there were tattoos was where his bones had started to decay. His tattoos were on his back, knees, ankles, and feet. The ink used on his tattoos was made of powdered charcoal and rubbing it into his cut skin. Many ancient civilizations did tattoos and piercings for example the Egyptians, Greeks, Japanese, Arabian and Siberians. Many mummies have been found with tattoos and are the oldest bodies to be found with gauged or stretched earlobes (Tibu). The Egyptians were also the ones who brought tattooing to Greece and to Arabia (Nat-A-Tat2). In Japan, tattoos were used for beauty, beliefs “and to mark criminals” (Nat-A-Tat2).

Tattoos are a great way to self-express. Most people get them for decorative, symbolic, or pictorial purposes. However, the tattoos, or tattooing process, kakau, of olden Hawaiian and Polynesian times were always intricate and symbolic. Tattoos were also placed on certain areas of the body for good reasons. Olden Hawaiians worshipped many different gods and their physical environment was very important to them.

My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.

At the beginning of this article he makes references to Lil Wayne and Russian mob members catching the attention of readers. Later on he mentions David Beckham and his tattoos to how they are an example of mainstream. Throughout his article, Trebay uses doctors, fashion models, and others as examples to convey his idea that having tattoos is becoming more common in society. He writes about how even though they are becoming more mainstream, that they still have yet to be accepted in certain careers due to policies on appearance.

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

The Oceanic tribes viewed a person as a blend of “life forces, physical substances, and ritual knowledge” that came from multiple sources and were constantly changing. Since they viewed a person as such, they would do ritual tattooing. This was meant to harden the body and be part of the admittance into adulthood. Then one would go through severe pain to have extensive tattooing done to have a rite of passage into ritual empowerment. Some Oceanic tribes would tattoo the whole body, such as the Marquesas, while others would only tattoo the buttocks and thighs. In Figure 11.24, Tomika Te Mutu of Coromandel, shows the nineteenth century Maori Chief covered in facial tattoos. The Maori’s would use a chisel to create such tattoos. Facial tattoos

Tattooing is not a fantastic thing in America, but in China, tattoos always can arouse people’s curiosity. As a Chinese, tattooees are rare, because people always have prejudice for those body art because of traditional view. Differently, in America, most people have one at least. It seems like a fashion. Unexpectedly, I found the fact is not all American love it. So I wonder how different is the cultures between the USA and China. There is a summary about tattoos’ history, reason, and influence.

Tattoos were once and still are in some places considered heathen (uncultured, unsophisticated) behavior. As far back as ancient China tattoos were used as a symbol of protection or as an identifier, but they were not for the common working class. In traditional tribes of the native americans they signified an outsider that had earned the respect and trust of the tribe. Native Hawaiians and in extension the traditional Polynesians, used tattoos on their warriors to demonstrate power and skill; one of the most accomplished warriors in their history, half of his face and most his body was tattooed black as a form of war paint and high warrior status. Throughout history, dependent on the type of tattoo, it would either serve as an identifier of madhood, slavehood, or ranking.

Evidence of tattoos is found not only on mummies or in text, but on the objects left behind by ancient civilizations.

The word “tattoo” is actually the combination of words from two different cultures. The Polynesian word to strike something, “ta”, and the Tahitian word meaning to mark something, “tatau” (Designboom, 2010). The form of body art known as tattooing has developed artistically, improved technically, and changed stylistically throughout the past two centuries. Not only has the public perception changed over the years, but the methods and machinery used to create these wonderful pieces of art has also changed drastically. Once viewed as only acceptable for sailors, criminals, and circus performers; tattoos, have taken a giant leap from their humble roots. However, they couldn’t have become as popular as they have without the inspirational

On the most basic level, tattoos acted as a badge of social and cultural differentiation that separated the tattooed from the non-tattooed. On a deeper level, however, social and cultural homogeneity did not unite the tattooed, for the subject matter and aesthetic style of the tattoos created a fault-line that divided the classes. (Caplan, 2000, 148)

In different modern culture people often express themselves with tattoos. People express their beliefs and, in some cases, prove themselves, like fight to prove that they are worthy to be in that culture. Some cultural tattoos, like ones from Japan, can tell a story or indicate one’s social status. People have to prove to themselves and the other members of their culture that they belong. Cultural tattooing has many different meanings to many different cultures.

The tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about this corporal modification that could be one of the reasons why it can not be appreciated as for how it should be. However, modern society reflects the current popularity of tattooing because it has acquired an entirely artistic meaning to a social expression and a way of identity.

Tattoos have been around throughout our history, from Egyptian times to the present day. Many people may say they know the history of tattoos, and where they originate from, but do they really? Does one know that there were reasons that some people had tattoos? There may be people who know the actual history of tattoos and body art and why one would decide to get one; however there are people who do not. To be able to understand the idea of tattoos, one should educate themselves to the history of tattoos. Although tattoos have been considered taboo and a stereotype, history reveals that this particular form of body art has been used for self expression, status and