Skyler Melton
English 104
Ashley Mack-Jackson
3/28/14
Tattoos: Advocating Superficial Judgment What is the image that comes into mind when someone says doctor? What about nurse? Maybe even lawyer, president, or accountant. With that image in your head, what would you think when you hear mechanic, construction worker, or a factory worker? Now, imagine going into a doctor’s office. You are sitting there patiently waiting, and all of a sudden the man that walks through the door looks nothing like the doctor you just pictured in your head. Let’s say for instance that the doctor that is taking care of you comes in to the room and he has a full sleeve tattoo. Would this change your opinion of your doctor? Would you feel like you would not be
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The most noticeable record of tattoos is dated in the mid to late-1700’s by Captain James Cook. Through his travels, Cook and his crew acquired tattoos, and when they returned to England, they were viewed differently. There was one sailor who was a big figure in the English Parliament and when he came back from the trips on the sea, lost his position because of a tattoo he decided to have put on his body. This is where the idea of tattoos being for sailors originated. The word tattoo stems from the Polynesian word “tatau”. This was the word that the Polynesians used to represent putting ink into the skin. Before this word was used in Europe, the process was referred to as staining, painting, or scarring. The names that tattooing used to be referred to as are from the methods used to apply the ink. Scarring comes from a method of scarification be cutting the desired design into the skin, and then allowing it to heal resulting in an artistic scar. Staining comes from a Hindu method known as Henna which is a process of putting a dye on the skin that will stain the surface with a specific artistic design. All of the methods evolving over time leads to the most common form of tattooing today, which is with the electric tattoo gun. The gun is run off of an electric power supply which makes the needle inside the gun move. This needle is attached to an oscillating wheel which can rotate up to 150 times per second. As the artist moves his hand across the skin, the needle is going into the skin very rapidly at just the right depth, which allows the ink to stay in the skin, and have precise connected
A controversial topic today is whether or not body piercings and tattoos should be accepted by professionals working in health care. Currently, tattoos and piercings are allowed in health care as long as they are not visible. According to one of the studies, “Body piercing is defined as a piercing of the body anywhere other than the earlobes” (Westerfield). Therefore, the only visible piercings allowed are small studs in the lobes of the ears for females. The reason body piercings and tattoos are not suggested in health care is that they keep someone from looking professional as well as making them look intimidating. Not everyone sees them that way. The opposing side is that they do not affect
The term ‘tattoo’ was dubbed after James Cook’s journey to Polynesia in the 18th century (Fisher, 2002). However, it is known that the art of inking or marking one’s body dates all the way back to the Greeks. In fact, the Greek word ‘stigmata’ actually indicated the act of pricking one’s skin with ink (Caplan, 2000). Making connection to the contemporary idea of tattoos in our society, the word ‘stigmata’ was used in terms of the marking of ‘others’, such as felons and slaves. The association of the meaning behind stigmata was later spread to the Romans, who treated this act of marking as a state control mechanism (Caplan, 2000). This also touches on Michel Foucault’s outline on social control in his book Discipline and Punish:
Do you ever wonder why you never see tattoos and piercings in the medical or federal working fields? It’s because some people believe that a person with tattoos and/or piercings is linked to people with bad reputations, such as bikers, sailors, criminals, and gang members, but that is false. Piercings and tattoos have been popular for quite a long time now, but still get looked down upon and can even affect your daily life.
What is tattooing? Tattooing is a form of art that’s displayed on the human body. In fact, it is the oldest form of art known to man. Tattooing involves permanent, creative words and images. Some modern tattoos are quite simple while other tattooing is very complicated. Many different images can be a tattoo like a simple flower and cartoon characters to more ornate portraits and scenes. A professional tattoo artist is a person that applies tattoos onto individuals. Tattoo artists may also perform other body part modifications such as piercings and brandings.
Tattoos have been utilized in various ways for thousands of years, ranging from punishment, to status symbols and indications of religious beliefs. They have served as the ultimate illustration of cultural diffusion in America, and despite generally carrying a negative social stigma, perception of tattoos has continued to evolve into a more acceptable practice.
In today’s world there are several occupations one may choose from once receiving an education. Whether a person wants to be a doctor, a teacher, or a business person, one should be able to use their education to gain access to that job. Getting a job is no easy task, for there are many people who are also searching for that same job. Employers will interview many people just to find the right one and often times will have many stand-out applications to evaluate. When it comes down to making a decision, something as simple as having a tattoo could ruin every hope one has of getting the job. One may ask, “why does having a tattoo ruin ones chance of getting a job?” A tattoo would ruin one’s chances at getting a job simply because it is wrongly viewed as unprofessional.
Tattoos have been around for quite some time now, and they have always been a symbol of belonging, cultural expression or for religion. These days, individuals choose to tattoo themselves because it is part of their lifestyle or personal image. While continuing to grow in popularity and becoming a lifestyle, people are facing issues with having visible tattoos in the workforce. Although it is a form of free expression, employers have a right to enforce certain rules about tattoos in their company because they have a public image to uphold. How you present yourself to the public is solely important, which is why tattoos should not be allowed to be seen in the workplace, since it may appear offensive or unconservative.
Seeing how not accepting tattoos and piercings in the workplace can cause greater problems, employers need to start accommodating for individuals of all different backgrounds. Businesses need to start focusing on the important matters such as, education, work ethic, attitude, and the willingness to do their job successfully. Anything else is just an
Tattoo inks have come a long way from the past to the present. The history of tattoo ink stretches back to the prehistoric times. The evolution of tattoos and inks have mainly been a journey of trial and error experiences by tattoo artists, professional and amateur, daring to try new things and making tattoo ink out of different things. Scientific American Journal explains the how tattoo ink is placed,” Tattoo ink is placed via needles into the dermis layer of the skin, where it remains permanently” (Scientific American, 3rd paragraph) .Some of the first materials that were used in making tattoo ink were “colored sand, charred nuts, bricks and soot from a burnt Bible”(Hammonds,Sandi, paragraph 1). Vegan and organic tattoo inks are known to be the safest and highest quality of tattoo ink due to the concentration of the pigments.
Every day, tattoos have become apart of almost everyones daily life. Wether it be simply seeing someone with some on the street, to giving hundreds of them a day. While admiring their beauty, however, many people don’t think about the history behind the practice and how they have developed over the centuries. Tattoos have been around for thousands of years. One of the earliest evidence of tattoos being practiced was from the Iceman found with tattoos from the area of the Italian and Austrian border and was carbon dated to be around 5200 years old. Matching it's time, they use long one stakes dipped in soot.
Symbolism and meaning is by far one of the most important aspects of the tattoo industry. “The abstract emotions and human awareness of emotions show what really is going on in ones life (Johnson)”. For that reason tattooing is a form of self-expression, and can stand for literal interpretations. For the most part these interpretations are the conveying of spiritual meaning, or marking milestones such as life or death” (Johnson). For those who think tattooing is just for looks or put a bad judgment on it, should also realize that ones personal interest reflects upon their lives. “Many individuals get their first tattoos during adolescence or young adulthood.”(Bravermark) Due to the mainstream culture, these traditions traditionally associate with stereotypes. Stereotypes defiantly have a huge impact on life. Which leads to the next point? Whether flaunted or hidden, sought as art or brought out on a whim, the tattoo has left a huge impact on generation after generation.
Dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries North American tattooing originated in the island of Tahiti, and other small pacific islands including Samoa and Hawaii (DeMello). The modification by U.S tattooists was to “fit a local sensibility emphasizing patriotism rather than exoticism” (DeMello). Martin Hildebrandt, was the first known tattoo artist in the United States as a professional. Shortly after the first mechanical tattooing machine was created, up until this point tattoos had been done by hand. A tattoo machine was invented because tattoos become a fad with mili...
Tattooing has increased widespread from all ages, careers, and social classes (Westerfield, Stafford, Speroni, & Daniel, 2012). Tattoos’ usual meaning is “to stain the skin with colorings” (Goldstein, 2007). With the growing the populations, who have tattoos and/or body piercings in the work environment, there is requiring decision about what policies to establish forward associates a professional atmosphere. Thus, there assesses patients’ perceptions of health care workers with tattoos and/or body piercing (Westerfield, Stafford, Speroni, & Daniel, 2012).
Are tattoos a kiss of death at a workplace? According to Student Research Center, nearly 4 out of every 10 Americans in their 30s have been inked. ''In April 2000 15% of Americans were tattooed (which is roughly around 40 million people) (The National Geographic).'There are different types of tattoos, from color to black and white, even glow in the dark. Number of tattoo paralos in the U.S. is 21,000'' (Tattoo Statistics 1) and more is being added every single day. People spend about $1.6 billion on tattoos once a year. ''In the U.S. more women than men are tattooed, 36% of the ages is between 18-25 and 40% of those ages are 26-40 that have at least one tattoo.''(Random facts 1) People have been getting tattoos for a while now. It has been said that ''tattoos date back as far as the Neolithic era or around the fourth to fifth millennium BC.''(skinsight.com 1) Tattoos should be acceptable at a place of business because people get tattoos for significant purposes, tattoos can tell stories and build confidence, body art is a way for someone to express themselves, make up, and tattoos are reminders of life time experiences.
People with tattoos and piercings are classified as uneducated, less qualified, lazy, irresponsible, and even defined as delinquents. This is simply prejudice and biased. There are so many employees today, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, and even businessmen, who have tattoos and/or piercings, and are qualified to successfully complete the tasks they are given on a daily basis. Whether these people had tattoos or not, each individual would have the same educations and same work ethic. If someone who had tattoos and/or piercings was serving a customer, and this customer knew the employee had tattoos, the service would be no different if the customer did not know. This clearly shows that having tattoos and modifications in the workplace is not a negative thing. However, in Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s article they state that Dr. Elzweig advises, “Employees need to use discretion in the workplace. In addition, employers need to recognize that the paradigm is shifting and that body modifications are becoming more mainstream” (Texas A&M University-Corpus