Tattooing’s Shift to Acceptance

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Tattooing’s Shift to Acceptance

Now a days we see people getting a tattoo becoming much more mainstream than it has in the past. Tattoo parlors are popping up all over America. There are now television series such as, Ink Master on Spike and LA Ink on TLC, which promote and represent the tattooing culture. Numeous blogs on social networks like Tumblr, Instagram, and Pintrest are dedicated to the extensive assortment of tattoos. As someone who has spent a lot of time researching different artist and tattoo shops, watching tattoo shows, following tattoo blogs and even has a tattoo I have definitely notice a change in the popularity of tattoos in the past several years among Americans. In the article “Pew Tattoo Study” Life magazine estimated in 1936 that 10 million Americans, or approximately 6% of the population had at least one tattoo. Harris Polls, done in 2003, 2008 and 2012, shows those numbers at an estimated 16% (2003), 14% (2008) and 21% (2012) of Americans now have one or more tattoos” (Pew Tattoo Study). When looking at this change the question comes to mind why exactly has society become more interested and accepting of tattoos?

 A key factor that led to this shift can be contributed the new styles that have form in the past years.  The new style has broaden who tattoos appeal to and is starting to be seen as more normal and mainstream. Since tattoos have become much more common, people are becoming accustomed to this once taboo body art and have begun to realize and understand the significance new styles have created. This has shaped the perspective of the tattoo culture and has led to an immense growth of acceptance and a decline in discrimination, causing tattooed people to be taken more serious and respected even on a professional level.

The Stereotype against tattoos has been ongoing since they were first introduced to America in the mid-1700. It was not until the 2000s where a decrease in the negative opinion of tattoos had been evident. According to Mark Burgess and Louise Clark who have investigated the increase in tattoo rates, “Until recently, tattoos continued to be most strongly linked with masculine outsider groups, such as prisoners, the military, and motorcycle gangs” (747). Today it is not only men, criminals, and military soldiers you see sporting tattoos but a wide range of people. In the article “Tattooing: Mind Body and Spirit. The Inner Essence of Art” it states “studies over the past ten years show that people of all types of occupations, ages and social classes are getting tattooed at an increasing rate.”(Armstrong, 1991). No longer is it just males, outcast, or people with a criminal background that tattoos appeal to. Now that people can get basically anything they can imagine tattooed, even tattoos that only appear under LED light, tattoos reach a much wider range of people it appeals to.

To fully understand the changes the tattoo culture has undergone in America you must first look at when they first introduced how they were seen back then. The stereotypes that we see today can be linked back to when tattoos first started to appear in American culture in the mid-1700.  Captain James Cook, a British explore, can be credited for being the first to introduce tattoos in the West along with his tattooed sailors and heavily tattooed Pacific Island natives that he brought back from his voyage. The unusual look of the tattooed people as compared to the refined appearance of the Western population quickly created an unpleasant image for tattoos. “The subsequent lower class adoption of tattooing among Westerners ensured that tattoos became identified as primitive and were associated with the underbelly of society” (Burgess, Clark, 746). Just from first impressions a prejudice against tattoos was formed. It wasn’t until later in 1895, we see the stereotype against tattoos being seen as delinquent appear when Cesare Lombroso, an Italian criminologist, first realized the associated deviance to tattoos shared. “Lombroso’s description emphasized that criminals sometimes consciously used tattoos as a meaningful semiotic tool that provided a pictorial means of cataloguing deviant activities” (Burgess, Clark, 746). Back then and still in some cases today when people think of tattoos they automatically associate it with juvenile acts and violence. With tattoos only being related back to negative things it is easy to see where the stereotype started and how it affected the view society had on tattoos.

In the 18th century during World War II America began to be further introduced with a more positive use of tattoos, but still the stereotype against it became stronger. They used Polynesian images to represent historical events that occurred during the war. This started a huge trend especially within the Navy. The article “United States Military Service Members and Their Tattoos: A descripted Study” by COL R. Gregory Lande, Bhagwan A. Bahroo, and Atyssa Soumo, talks about tattoo’s role in the military. The author states, “members in the Navy were the greatest patrons of the art during World War II with approximately 65% of Navy personnel sporting tattoos” (921). These tattoos expressed masculinity and patriotism but still there is an association with violence. This association along with the association to prison makes it difficult for a broad proportion of society to relate or want tattoos especially among females. The Polynesian tattoo design that was used is now known as tribal. These tattoos consisted of thick dark colored lines and shapes that created a pattern. Eventually the military started using a style of tattoo which is now known as an American traditional tattoo. It displayed images like an anchor, dagger, swallows, etc., using thick lines and basic colors. Even with the addition of images and colors tattoos were still not seen as very feminist. With tattoos only appealing to a small group of people which consisted mostly of men the stereotype became even stronger, grouping the small community of people with tattoos together.

As the trend of tattoos started to pick up, people looked for a way to make tattoos more general.  “Women seriously challenged the masculine stereotype of tattooing and demanded artwork that was more feminine and higher quality” (748). This lead to a variety of different style of tattooing that allowed a wider range of people to show an expression of self-identity and beauty. Some people based on the stereotype, believe that tattoos are gotten to rebel against society. Jenn Horne, a manager of a tattoo and piercing shop in Greenville, North Carolina says, “we have our occasional anarchist who will get the “circle A” or an environmentalist that gets the “earth first fist” or a feminist who wants one of the feminist logos. It is rare that this happens”( Horne, Knox, Zusman, Zusman). Back before the new styles there was little options of tattoo styles to choose from, most of them being very masculine and war affiliated. Now a days there are numerous styles and endless options to choose from. When looking for a tattoo now you have the option to not only choose from tribal or traditional but also from; black and grey, photo-realism, Japanese, biomechanical, new school etc. All have their different aspects which makes a tattoo more unique and personal.