Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
tattoos as a form of self expression
the social significance of tattoos essay sample
tattoos: personal and social significance essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: tattoos as a form of self expression
Winston Churchill, President Theodore Roosevelt, and John Fetterman they all have something in common and that is tattoos. I am here to argue that tattoos can be view as freedom of expression, strong Naval tradition, and more importantly no hindrance on job performance. The Marine Corps should have no restrictions on tattoos. Over the past 50 years’ tattoos have continued to grow in popularity, yet the Marine Corps wants to place restrictions on their service members; claiming their policy is designed to help their service members to maintain a discipline appearance. It would be proven that tattoo is viewed as favorable by royalty and the elite. Freedom of expression, Before one can truly understand the stance This became clear and concise with the following statement: “The American people expect Marines to be disciplined, physically fit, and ready to accomplish any mission. They also expect Marines to possess esprit de corps and a squared away and sharp personal appearance” (Marine Corps Bulletin 1020, 2016). Today, tattooing is the sixth-fastest-growing retail business in the United States, and the single fastest growing demographic group seeking a tattoo is middle-class suburban women (Cartoon, 2016). To put it plainly, the specialty of tattooing no more just engages insubordinate "social freaks." Rather, you are general as prone to discover a Fortune 500 executive, Doctor, Governor and Attorney are wearing a tattoo as a punk rocker. Seeing how 73 percent of today youth are receiving their first tattoos at 18 years of age, the chance of coming across a wage earner with tattoos is highly probable. Many contemporary companies stress commitments to diversity and inclusion, tattoos are becoming increasingly unproblematic across the board (Hennessey, 2013). A declaration as such supports my claim and that is the Marine corps needs to revisit their restriction guidelines in regards to
The social atmosphere surrounding tattoos has changed drastically since the 1960’s when Collins was tattooing sailors and roughnecks in his backstreet tattoo shop. Tattoos in general have become more socially acceptable with the old saying of “everyone from soccer moms to doctors has tattoos.” While they still have a ways to go before being completely accepted in the public’s eye, I feel privileged to live in a time when becoming a tattoo artist doesn’t automatically make me an outsider.
Kosut, M. (2006). An Ironic Fad: The Commodification And Consumption Of Tattoos. The Journal of Popular Culture, 39(6), 1035-1048. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00333.x
As the late 90’s early 2000’s came in we were bombarded with war activity and were in high demand for troops. So as a result, the army loosened up on its requirements for enlistees. They overlooked weight standards, behavioral issues, felony charges, non- high school graduates and many more issues. While time went on they enlisted more troops than they needed, which gave them an all-time high of roughly 570,000 troops (Breaking Defense). Why is it such a big deal now that people have tattoos? Chandler states that the army wa...
...siderably. From a mark of criminality to an embraced art form, the body modification has represented various expressions of the bearer’s inner self. However, despite the efforts to normalize tattoos in the society, the social stigma of deviance perceived by the larger society still remains deeply etched in the art. It is apparent that the intended message a bearer wants to communicate through a tattoo may not be perceived correctly by others. These motivations behind tattoos are filtered through cultural and historical lenses that often result in unintended perceptions of tattooed bodies. In addition, the attempts of using tattoos to change social conditions often reinforce the very conditions they seek to counter. Though these stigmas and misinterpretations see no sign of fading, tattooing will remain as a powerful vehicle of self-expression and social commentary.
...norms is tattoos. Today, it is normal that most young adults have tattoos or body piercings. In Kang and Jones article, “Why Do People Get Tattoos?”, 15% of young adults in 2003 had tattoos (42). It is a form of self-expression and art, and a way for young people to find their independence (42). Men and women have different norms at to what tattoos they get. Men tend to get more masculine tattoos, while women tend to get more feminine ones (44). Even though it is seen as normal to get a tattoo today, most employers still have a problem with them. Most employers want their employees who are tattooed to cover them up so they are not visible on the job (46). Others view people with tattoos to be stupid and trouble makers (46). Tattoos as a social norm, proves that in some cases they are acceptable and in other cases, they still cause problems like stereotyping.
Even though tattoos are becoming part of culture and socially acceptable, the negative and prejudiced attitudes towards those with body art are still present. Not all tattoos are gang related, and one must note that they have historically been a symbol of someone’s culture or religion. Other tattoos may have just a personal meaning to its owner and was not intended to be offensive. People also do not understand that a tattoo may impede them from pursuing a professional career, regardless of their qualifications. Employers realize that the need to recruit workers from different backgrounds are important in such a competitive workforce, so they provide accommodation by having reasonable dress code policies.
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.
According to tattoo acceptability in the medical setting (2015), there is revealed that millions of people, who have tattoos in today’s society increase by 13 % since 2007 and especially approximately 42% of adults have tattoos (Tattoo Acceptability in the Medical Setting, 2015).
Tattoos are a controversial subject in the world we live in. The kind of people that get tattoos is now varied to almost all humans regardless of race, religion, or age. What many people fail to understand or realize is how much of an effect a tattoo can have on the rest of your life. The original tattoo stereotypes have faded from what they were many years ago and yet tattoos still have a reputation as for what kind of people get tattoos. There are many reasons as to why people would get a tattoo but there are many reason why you should think before you ink. Our society and the social media today has a huge impact on the tattoo industry. Movie stars and pop singers with many tattoos are posing as role models for our generation and
With the expanding number of more youthful, cushy experts who decorate and change their bodies with tattoos and body piercings, managers are regularly confronted with a troublesome choice. Regardless of whether to procure these generally qualified candidates in light of these adjustments. While tattoos, body piercings, and other body adjustments is turning out to be more standard, they are still not generally acknowledged into America’s corporate culture.
Laumann, Anne E., and Amy J. Derick. "Tattoos and Body Piercings in the United States: a
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.
They want to explore the ways in which media, television, magazines, the Internet, and the highly publicized lives of celebrities influence the popularization of the tattoos today and the normalization of its practice. These authors start by venturing into the fashion industry and what has happened over recent years. They give a brief history of what fashion encompasses and end with the thought that the ways in which a person covers their body is, at the same time, a way of exhibiting it (Walzer and Sanjurjo 71). The authors then go on to show how in recent years the Internet and popular reality TV shows have influenced not only tattooed individuals but tattoo artists, too. They give examples of how tattoo studios and individual artists find it useful to have their own website and use platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, and Instagram. These websites and the Internet alone have allowed tattoo artists to show off their designs to the world, promote their business, and globalize the tattoo itself. Popularized television shows also helped with the promotion of tattoos. It all started with Miami Ink, LA Ink, and NY Ink. The authors explain that once these shows took off, so did the world. Madrid Ink popped up, London Ink, Ink Master, and shows such as America’s Worst Tattoos (Walzer and Sanjurjo
Does it not sound quite splendid to have a tattoo on some part of our bodies to display for the admiration of all who see it ? Obviously tattoos are a fashion of our generation which none of us hesitates to drill their bodies for. Not only can a tattoo decorate our flesh,but it can give us a little splash of the celebrity life- for do not all celebrities have tattoos from head to foot? Gone are the days when criminals and ancient saliors were the main market for tattoos- now they are extreamly elegant. Not only this,but tattoos have the added advantage of lasting all our lives so we will take them,albeit a little faded and wrinkly, to our graves. However, in spite of all these obvious advantages I have to tell you that half of all those who have gone under the needle are having second thoughts.
The practice of tattooing exhibits far more meaning than meets the eye. This fuels my interest in the practice of tattoos as I personally have a lot of tattoos and I have several friends who have tattoos and also practice tattooing. I am curious to understand how a person’s tattoos connect with the self and the associated perceptions of groups in society. Tattoos have a very personal nature and the meanings are widespread which motivated me to explore the intense history of body modification which was tied to my personal journey to understanding tattoos. As mentioned before, my family raised me with the idea that tattoos are unacceptable in society and linked to destructive consequences which was also a motivation into the exploration of tattoos. My awareness of tattoos kept growing as I grew up and I became more and more conscious of the complex meaning associated with tattoos. Once again, as pointed out by literature on tattoos (Atkinson 2003, Kosut 2006; Sanders and Vail 2008; Vail 1999), tattoos are acts of negotiation of identity and the management of public impressions. Our perceptions of our identity change as time go by, so does the ideas of ourselves and personal choices and orientation. Therefore, the