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=Tattoos and Their Effect on Culture =



Tattoo, the marking of the skin with punctures into which pigment is rubbed. The word originates from the Tahitian tattau [to mark]. The term is sometimes extended to scarification, which consists of skin incisions into which irritants may be rubbed to produce a permanent raised scar. The modern method of tattooing employs an electric needle. Puncture tattooing reached its most elaborate and artistic development among the Maori of New Zealand and among the Japanese, who perfected the use of color. It was introduced into Europe by sailors. In modern Western cultures, it has been alternately regarded as a somewhat vulgar practice and as a sign of high fashion. It has been used by modern states as an instrument of control, as in the identification of criminals and political prisoners; it is also used to identify race horses. In medicine, it may be used to remove birthmarks by injecting a pigment of the color of the natural skin. Tattooing has been banned in some areas for health reasons; unclean needles can transmit hepatitis or HIV, the virus leading to AIDS. The Old Testament enjoins the Israelites against the practice, it was forbidden by Muhammad, and a Roman Catholic council condemned it in 787. Tattoos may be removed by a slow, difficult process.

History [[image:http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo/h5.jpg align="right" caption="Maori Chiefs "]]
"Tattoos have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts." In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old.

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Tattoos have sometimes been known as a symbol that men who go to sea get as some form of ritual. The earliest known occurrence of seamen having tattoos is on Captain Jame's Cook's first pacific expedition in 1768 to 1771. On Cook's crew the tattoos were not used as an art form but rather an easy way for Cook to identify his men that abandoned him if he ever found the mutineers again and execute them.===== Tattoos are a very old form of body art and have been practiced from a very long time in civilized human history. The history of tattoos is very ancient and seems to be of thousands of years old and even before the birth of Christ. The recorded indication of tattoos comes from the ancient Egypt where wall paintings as old as 2000 BC have been suggesting the use of tattoos in the ancient Egyptian society. The etymology of word tattoo provides few very different and interesting answers to the current day practicing of making permanent colored marks on human body or tattooing. The word “tattoo” can have many origins as words in many different languages have the same meaning and similar pronunciation. Different civilizations have been recorded to use the word tattoo or at least practicing of coloring their body parts for different reasons have been recorded. The Polynesian word “tatao”, which means “to tap”, can be the originator of this word though researchers suggest an Tahitian word “tatu” which means to mark something to be the distant ancestor of the modern word “tattoo”. Many different cavitations in the past and few in the current world have been performing the practice of coloring their body part for different reasons. In few groups or religions, tattoo is an integral part of their religion and each person following the religion is required to have that tattoo mark on their body symbolizing the person authority as a group member. Even modern day gangs are seen to have a particular mark on their shoulders signifying their group name. Tattoos nowadays tend to have varied responses from people depending on the culture. In some areas tattoos are considered art and are highly revered as "beautiful" or "spiritual". Young people especially tend to get tattoos as a result of "pop culture" influence. In June 2006 the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published the results of a telephone survey which took place in 2004. It found that 36% of Americans ages 18–29, 24% of those 30-40 and 15% of those 41-51 had a tattoo.

Symbolism
Today, primarily in the US, tattoos have become a more accepted and popular form of expression. Outside of the US tattoos are often symbolic of many rich cultural histories. Whether a form of expression, medicine, religion, or social status, tattoos have carried out a tremendous amount of significance throughout the world, dating back as far as 5000 years.  In the Maori culture of New Zealand the head is considered to be the most important part of the body. The face is decorated with intricate tattoos which serve as marks of high status. Each tattoo is unique in that it's designed specifically for the individual and indicative of ancestry, social ranks, and skills.  Men are given various tattoos at different stages of their lives which are designed to enhance their facial features, making them more attractive for their potential wives. Maori women also get tattoos on their faces, but unlike the deeper symbolism rooted behind the men's tattoos, women generally get them around the mouth and chin. This is thought to prevent the skin from looking and becoming wrinkled, and keep them looking young. The reasoning behind the men and women's tattoos is a clear example of gender roles within their society. The men assume the masculine role of protectors and hunters, and express their ranks and skills through the markings on their faces. Their tattoos are also designed to attract potential wives, which is for the purpose of procreation. Women, on the other hand, tattoo their faces purely for cosmetic purposes. They are concerned about looking old, and tattoos are given to cover up the signs of aging. Much like people in other countries do with cosmetic surgery, or make-up. Many groups throughout Africa use tattoos as symbols too. The Berber tribes of Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya tattoo fine dots on the faces of women after they give birth to their first male heir. They also tattoo their ankles and hands showing their ethnic identity. Wodaabe women dot their temples, cheeks and lips with geometrical patterns in the belief that it wards off evil spirits. Tattoo can also be a form of artistic expression. Modern Japanese tattoos are considered to be full works of art, and can cover the entire body like a mural. For the highly skilled artists of the Somoa tattooing is considered both a craft and a spiritual awakening. In North America, tattoos have evolved in the last thirty years from being a rebellious, anti-social activity in the 1960s, to a mainstream means of claiming one's identity in the 1990s. Although tattooing has become trendy to some, it is also considered to others a way of honoring cultural, religious, and ethnic heritage. Tattoos are an art form that also holds deep meaning to the individual. They represent both fashion and cultural significance, and has grown in popularity and acceptance at a tremendous rate in the US over the last 30 years.

The first electronic tattoo machine was invented by an American tattoo artist named Samuel O’Reilly in 1890, which gave birth to the new era of tattooing in which people started to have different kind of tattoos on various parts of their body. But tattoos were not respected in its earlier days and were considered as a kind of non sense thing suitable only for drunkards or sailors and sometimes, criminals too. The popularity of tattoo gained its current weight age after many years of its existence and now, one can find tattoo as a fashion symbol rather than a simple mark. Tattoo indeed have spread across oceans and people even in the undeveloped countries have been practicing the art of tattoo on their body parts. Once what seems as a non sense thing has truly become an integral part of new generation fashion.

Today, lasers are the most common method of tattoo removal. They work by targeting the ink with pulses of highly concentrated light that break the ink into tiny fragments, which are then cleared away the your own immune system. However, this isn’t all done with just one treatment. The more treatments you have, the more the laser can penetrate to destroy the ink. But, the more treatments you have, the more damage you do to your skin, causing painful blisters and scabs that can eventually lead to scarring. Depending on your tattoo, you may need anywhere from 1-10 sessions, each costing in the range of $250-$850 per session. A large, professional tattoo in color could cost thousands of dollars to remove, and the effectiveness of the removal still isn’t guaranteed. Intense Pulsed Light Therapy, or IPL, is a dermal enhancer currently being used in some spas. Instead of laser light, it uses high intensity light in pretty much the same manner. A gel is applied to the skin and then a wand is used to emit pulses of light onto the skin area being treated. This method is said to be less painful than laser therapy, and more effective, resulting in less total treatment sessions. The bad news is that it also carries a heftier price tag – one clinic offering a price of $10 per pulse. Depending on how many pulses per session your tattoo requires, this could add up to a significant amount of money. There are other methods of tattoo removal, but most of them are so painful and ineffective that laser removal replaced them as soon as it became available. These other methods include dermabrasion, which would actually “sand” away the top layer of skin through abrasive friction. Another method is excision, where the tattoo would be cut away and the skin sewn back together. These methods have proved to cause much damage to the skin and result in severe scarring, and are only used today in extreme cases where laser surgery is not an option. However, the Tattoo Removal Institute states that they have tested a few of these products, and found a couple of them to live up to their claims. According to their research, both TatBGone and Tattoo-OFF did show significant fading of the tattoos without any pain or damage to the skin. It’s not chump change, though – a 2 month supply of Tat B Gone is $125, and it takes several months to get the desired results, according to the Tattoo Removal Institute. A 2 month supply of Tattoo-OFF is $116.95.

How Tattoos Affects Self-Esteem
Tattoos have not always been well accepted in world culture. In Japan, Yakuza, or Japanese mafia, used to wear rather large tattoos. Japanese public bathing houses and other establishments started banning anyone who had visible tattoos from entering that place due to the negative connotation. Tattoos are not only associated with Japanese mafia but others as well. The tear tattoo is one that most people can identify with gangs. During the Holocaust many Jews were forced to be tattooed so that the prisoners would be easily identified. Even now it can be hard for a person who has a large or easily visible tattoo to get a respectable job because employers tend to associate tattoos with low class, uncouth, rough or uneducated people.

** Having Tattoos Could Be a Sign of Low Self-Esteem **
Note: This article is from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

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Covering your body in tattoos like David Beckham is a sign of low self-esteem, a new study has found. The body art, increasingly popular with celebrities such as Amy Winehouse and Angelina Jolie, could conceal a poor personal opinion of oneself, psychologists have found. They warn that people considering a tattoo should think extremely carefully before submitting themselves to the needle and ink. The study found that people who had three or more tattoos were likely to have low self esteem. Marie Randle, from Liverpool Hope University, who carried out the study, said: "Tattooing has become more popular in recent years, especially among young women and there is a growing fascination with the tattoos of celebrities. "The findings of this study suggest that tattoos are not just fashion accessories but driven by a wide range of motivational factors that are significantly associated with self-esteem. This strongly suggests that people consider getting tattooed should be encouraged to question their motivation before deciding to permanently change their appearance." Researchers questioned 48 people for the study, some of whom had tattoos covering much of their body. They found that there were four main reasons why people got tattoos - to be rebellious, to belong to a group, for aesthetic reasons and because of a strong emotional attachment. This last group was becoming ever more popular, Mrs Randle said. She added that not everyone who had a tattoo had poor self-esteem and that Beckham was unlikely to fit the bill. "I think that David Beckham would be the exception to the rule. We found that having tattoos was just one predictor of self-esteem and not everybody who has tattoos has low self-esteem." The findings were presented at the British Psychological Society annual conference in Brighton.======

Society's View on Tattoos[[image:http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww241/browneyes0327/tattoos.jpg width="368" height="324" align="right"]]
According to a study conducted by the Journal of Academic Academy of Dermatology in 2006, 24% of Americans between 18 and 50 are tattooed. That averages to be almost one in four Americans with tattoos. They are commonly seen on grandparents, parents, doctors, lawyers, or even priests. Yet, in today's society, individuals associate tattoos with deviance. Society’s perception of tattoos often stem from pseudo stereotyping of tattooed individuals. Being an individual with several tattoos can lead to a misinterpretation of ones character. Society associates those who bear tattoos as being aggressive and in some cases demonic. As humans, we are quick to judge one another, and this makes it difficult to assume that one who chooses to have several tattoos is a good individual with a good family background. The perception is determined by ones willingness to accept tattoos as a form of art. Those who do not look at this as a form of art will be quick to judge and assume the character of the individual with tattoos. Discrimination is something that has plagued our country for centuries. Individual’s who choose to bear several tattoos also fall into this category of discrimination. Negative perception of tattoos today seem to conflict with professional careers. Some companies have placed restrictions on individuals to cover up any body art in order to preserve the companies professional appearance. Most companies feel their overall business would be presented as more professional if they enforced a strict dress code policy for these instances. Several fortune five hundred companies’ use these policies to better their businesses. Discrimination lawsuits are one the rise regarding this issue of what is perceived as a professional appearance. In one case, a member of the Klu Klux Klan was told to cover his tattoos due to the nature of the tattoo being offensive. The individual felt he had the right to bear his tattoos due to this being his religious beliefs. The U.S. District court disagreed as this violated the company’s racial harassment policy and offended other workers. Many tattooed individuals become subject to stereotyping. They soon realize while reasons behind getting a tattoo may be symbolic to them; other peoples' views are often quite different. Several factors alter a person’s perception of tattoos. Some of these factors include childhood views, parental views, religious beliefs, and gender. However, the main factor that stimulates stereotyping is social class. The upper and middle classes are less associated with prison and deviance. The prison population represents a large group of individuals with body modification. In the past bikers, sailors, truckers and the rock-n-roll industry have all been related to the tattoo industry. The most common pseudo assumptions are that people with tattoos are criminals or social deviants.

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Subculture in the U.S.

Although tattooing in America has become more acceptable now more than ever, we also see that society still maintains a negative perception on the practice. Now tattooed individuals/artists have developed a sort of subculture here in the United States. A subculture is often defined as a 'world within a world'. People within a subculture share a common interest or activity, as well as certain views and behaviors within that subculture in addition to the larger culture. However the norms established within that subculture distinguishes it from the larger culture. It also involves a different manner of communicating, seeing that the subculture may use different nonverbal gestures and terms unknown to the rest of society.