Legalizing Tattooing in South Carolina Essay

Tattoo is a form of an art people use to express themselves without using words to describe who they really are. A lot of people do not recommend having a tattoo because they cannot be erased. Even though tattoos are permanent, painful, and expensive, people still get them for various reasons. One reason is to show religious beliefs, another is for personal reasons, and the third is to show their true identity to the word.

There are people who still believe that tattoos and piercings are wrong. Some religious groups still believe that markings should not be made on one’s body, as it says in the Old Testament. Such groups believe that the body should be honored and any intentional marks should be considered a sin. Ironically, many people of high religious beliefs are known to modify their bodies for their religion. For example, Pagans celebrate their religion and spirituality

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

One in every five Americans have a tattoo. It is no longer surprising to see people with markings on their bodies. Many believed it is a form of self-expression. Even though some cultures or religions view tattoos as a negative thing, that does not stop people from getting them. To have a better understanding about tattoos we must go back and trace how it all began. From the tools, they used to the ink, it is incredible how tattooing has evolved over the years.

In his thesis Trebay states “even now some tattoo artists are reluctant to cross”, aiming at the fact that even though more and more people want tattoos, some tattoo artists are still hesitant to putting permanent designs on prominent areas. Supporting evidence from Bob Baxter’s quotes back up the claim in his thesis. ‘“There

Throughout history tattooing has served many purposes. The earliest evidence of tattooing was found in 1991 in the mountains of Austria. An Iceman was found, his bones dated back to 3,300 B.C. which is over 5300 years ago. His skin had signs of blue tattoos. The scientists did not understand the reasons for his tattoos, but counted fifty-eight in total. (Wiman-Rudzinski, 2002)

The story we know goes back to the Stone Age. In 1991, one hunter man was found in a glacier from the Neolithic era; his back and knees tattooed. Before the hunter mummy, the oldest person with tattoo that was discovered was the Egyptian priestess, Amunet worshiper of Hathor, goddess of love and fertility. She lived in Thebes around 2000 BC, and her tattoos, were pretty much the same style as the mummy of the hunter, linear with simple designs of dots and dashes. In the prehistoric cave of Aurignac small pointed bones were found and were believed to be use for tattooing at that time.

Tattoos have changed all throughout the years from the history of them to modern, the jobs you can and can’t have and health risks and the licensing to do tattoos and piercings.

Without a doubt, tattoos have been around longer than that. When the Egyptians empire expanded, so did tattooing. Civilizations like Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia learned and developed the tattooing art. It eventually made its way to China. Greeks used tattooing as a way of communication for spies. Certain markings showed their ranks and identity. The Romans used tattoos to mark criminals and slaves which is still used today. As years passed, so did the use of tattoos. Heavily tattooed people were known as freaks and travelled with circuses or freak shows. They were not used as religion or cultural purposes as much anymore. In the late 1700s, “the cultural view of tattooing was so poor for most of the century that tattooing went underground.” (http://www.powerverbs.com/tattooyou/history.htm) Tattoos first came to Chatham Square in New York City. It was the turning point of the century in the 1900s. The popularity of tattoos were declining across the world. Husband 's started tattooing their wives to display their best work. After losing popularity in Chatham Square, it made its way to Coney Island. Tattoo shops began opening up in places around the world that would accept them or people who supported them. At this point, tattoos became known as ‘travel markers’. “You could tell where a person had been by their tattoos.”

Tattoos are marks with an indelible designs that is perminant to the body. Some Tattoos could have some meaning behind it, other could be because they like the way it looks. Tattoos were viewed as bad, but as time has progressed it has changed people’s attitude against them. Tattoos has define the emergin culture. It has defined our culture because it expresses how people are, it act like a tribute, and it shows diversity.

Their permanent state has the ability for them to become regrettable. Removing a tattoo also contains many risks. Although, it cannot be helped, data shows that tattoos make an employer less likely to hire a person because of the impression that it gives them. Certain religions, like Islam, do not even allow for a person to get one because of the unnecessary pain that comes with it and the alteration of God’s creation that it results in. Tattoos may look nice for a certain amount of time, but in the long run, they may not actually be worth all the

Granted tattoos have become huge part of the modern day. Tattoos have slowly become another social norm, actually becoming a common sight in the workplace. In everyday routines we can see Doctors, lawyers, police officers, or scientists with artwork adorning their skin. However, there will always be some people that do not believe in marking their skin. Whether from religion, tradition, or fear of being judged. Of course there are still stigmas surrounding ink, like being a felon or gang

In accordance to Professor David Isaacs, body art originated in Europe nearly 7,000 years ago. Nearly 5,300 years ago, in the Otztal Alps, a mummified remain of a human called Otzi had be found with over fifty-seven tattoos from his neck to his toes. Since the remain of Otzi was found, tattoos took off and started developing generation to generation. In David Isaacs article, “Tattoos,” he states that tattoos have been able to show a societal impact within our society, such as how they have changed and adapted into today’s

While the oldest known tattoo was on an iceman found on the Italian-Austrian border with carbon-dating showing the iceman to be 5,200 years old (Lineberry, 2007) for many years, here in America, tattoos were only popular with sailors, soldiers, Marines, bikers and occasionally the rebellious teenager. Why were tattoos only popular with these few? Social taboos looked down on those with tattoos. However, through tattoos a person can show self expression, be self creative, and be identified with a certain belief or interest through the art, design or message. It is for these simple reasons their popularity over the last twenty years has grown at an incredible rate, and people of all ages, sexes, ethnic groups, and social

Tattoos today are recognized as totally different than what they were pictured as in the past. “Tattooing is recognized by government agencies as both an art form and a profession and tattoo-related art work is the subject of museum, gallery and educational institution art shows across the United States.” [ (Levins,