TATTOOS
I
t seems like everyone has tattoo these days. And it's not just anchors, skulls, and battleships. People have found many ways to express themselves with their tattoos. Tattoos are a form of body art, and like all art, some like them and some don't. Nowadays, elderly have bad impression about people with tattoo. As we see today even women are having tattoos. The purpose I choose this topic is to explain that tattoo is an art.
THE HISTORY OF TATTOOS
History shows that tattooing has existed since 12,000 years BC. The purpose of tattooing has varies from culture to culture and its place on the time line
In Borneo, a woman’s particular skill is indicated when they tattooed their symbols on their forearm. Throughout history tattoos have signified membership in a clan or society. For an example, Hells Angels tattoo their particular group symbol. It has been believed that the wearer of an image calls the spirit of that image. The ferocity of a tiger would belong to the tattooed person. That tradition holds true today shown by the proliferation of images of tigers, snakes, and bird of prey.
Egypt is the place where earliest tattoos can be found during the time of the construction of the great pyramids. As they expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread as well. Around 2000 BC tattooing spread to China.
Tattoo was used for the communication among spies in Greek. Romans marked criminals and slaves. This practice is still carried on today. The social status is showed through tattoo by Ainu people of western Asia. In New Zealand a facial style of tattooing called Moko was developed and still being used today. There is evidence that the Mayan, Incas, and Aztecs used tattooing in the rituals.
While tattooing diminished in the west, it thrived in Japan. At first, tattoos were used to mark criminals. The Japanese body suit originated around 1700 and only royalty were allowed to wear ornate clothing whereas the middle class adorned themselves with elaborate full body tattoos. A highly tattooed person wearing only a loin cloth was considered well dressed, but only in the privacy of their own home.
William Dampher re-introduces tattooing to the west. Since 600 years tattoos had been seen in Europe and it would be another 100 years before tattooing would make it mark in the West.
In 1891, Samuel O'Rtiely patented the first electric tattooing machine. It was based on Edison's electric pen which punctured paper with a needle point.
The cultural view of tattooing was so poor for most of the century that tattooing went underground. After World War II, tattoos became further denigrated by their associations with Marlon. Tattooing had little respect in American culture. In the late 1960s, the attitude towards tattooing changed. Much credit can be given to Lyle Tuttle. He tattooed celebrities, particularly women. Magazines and television went to Lyle to get information about this ancient art form.
Latest Trend of Tattoo
Today, tattooing is more popular and accepted than it has ever been. Current artists combine the tradition of tattooing with their personal style creating unique and phenomenal body art. Now in the twenty-first century, tattoo is a popular choice for both the old and young. A recent study shows one in seven or over 39 million people in the U.S. and Canada have at least one tattoo.
SOCIOLOGIST VIEW ON TATTOOS.
One area of current research into deviance that highlights the socially constructed nature of norms is tattoos. However, tattoos are a very complicated illustration of the intricacies of deviance. Many of the individuals getting tattoos do not fit the stereotypes of individuals who get tattoos. As a result, tattoos are decreasingly seen as deviant. But tattoos also illustrate that deviance is not determined by the action but by those perceiving the action. While a tattoo may mean one thing to the person with the tattoo, it is still the case that others interpret the tattoo in a multitude of ways, and those don't always align with the intended meanings. (WIKIPEDIA, 2012)
I personally love tattoos. Tattoos are body art. It is a beautiful thing. When art is of own design and displayed properly, It just amazes everyone including me. In my opinion, many people having tattoos nowadays. There are a lot of shops too. Especially youngsters. They have tattoos like butterflies, flowers, quotations and many more. They choose very interesting zones to build marks of their youth. Almost all of them are trying to get out attention by doing it. For me it could be a kind of arts. I don’t have anything against tattoos. Many people who don’t have tattoos, have negative opinion on that.
As I know not many culture accept to have tattoos. The tattoos are sacred to the Thai culture and have religious meanings. When it became a part of western culture in the 18th century, it was largely considered by Christians to be unacceptable and taboo. The common criticism against tattoo artwork for Christians is to quote two particular scriptural passages as proof that God does not want His children to get tattoos. The first verse I’ll point to is the Pauline passage stating that “your body is a temple” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The insinuation that some Christians make concerning this passage. They claim that, if your body is a temple of the “Holy Spirit within you,” then you should not mark that temple, but keep it pure and healthy.

Indians think tattoos have absolutely become a part of today's culture. Tattoos used to be limited to certain groups. They were gotten to define a member of that group (gangster). Indian culture, they won’t practice to have tattoos on their body. They think that our body is god’s creature. Why a individual should misuse the gift that god gave. But now the people in Indian culture are different. They tell that having tattoo is a cool feeling. People with tattoos claim that drawing tattoos are like taking risk. They love taking risk it seems.
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Chinese people often get a tattoo for the purpose of displaying it to the world. There are difference between Chinese and Western thinking about tattoos. In the West, a tattoo is meant to express individuality, or strength. In China, there is usually little or no meaning behind the actual design. What is important is the size, placement, and the fact that this person actually has a tattoo. Most Chinese people never consider getting a tattoo, because of the pain, the expense, and the social perceptions.
And also the belief that one's body is a gift from one's parents, and shouldn't be altered or abused. If a Chinese person chooses to get a tattoo, it's usually to express that they are open-minded and progressive.

CONCLUSION

In general everyone has different perspective about tattoos. Tattoos can be something that is accepted or rejected by a society. In average, even some people nowadays view tattoos as deviance, tattoos are still accepted and respected as an art and also culture. In present generation many having tattoo for the purpose of attracting society and to express the love on arts. So it cannot be define as a bad culture.

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REFERENCES

1) Kuhn, A. (2012). Thailand to Tattoo Tourists. Think Before You Ink. Related NPR stories

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137228187/thailand-to-tattoo- tourist -think- before-you-

2) Shen, L.W.W. (2010). What Does Tattoos Mean In Modern Society? Retrieved from:

http://laowaiink.weebly.com/1/post/2010/4/what-do-tattoos-mean-in-modern-chinese-society.html

3) Lineberry, C. (2007). Tattoos. History & Archeology, Retrieved from:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/tattoo.html

4) Title: Tattoo You. Brief History of Tattoos, Retrieved from:

http://www.powerverbs.com/tattooyou/history.htm