The Different: A View Into The World Of Tattooing

Walking into the door of the tattoo parlor, your mind starts wondering. You hear the noise of the gun piercing the skin at over 1000 times per second. You start to wonder if it will hurt or bleed. A man dressed in all black with tattoos all over his body comes to you and says, "What do you need?" The voice is almost a demonic voice that shows no sign of carefulness. Images of torture and extreme pain run through your head. "Beep, beep, beep," the alarm sounds and you wake up. Thank goodness this is just a dream.

Before you judge something you must first know about it. As soon as this paper was assigned to us, I knew that tattooing had always sparked my interest. I went in to talk to some of the artist and get to know them a little better. At the end of all the talking, I decided to get my first tattoo. As soon as the noise from the gun was heard, I tensed up. As I relaxed he started drawling. The pain was not what I expected; the pain wasn't bad at all. I got a symbol that means "brotherhood." I and 11 of my closest friends all got them. The meaning I think is what drives all people that get tattoos. The art of tattoo one's body has been around as long as people. It is a way of showing individuality, beliefs, or in some cases, where you are from, ancestry. In today's society, I think, it is wrong for trying to classify people by their looks. Like all sub cultures, tattooing has its normal stereotypes, its rituals, and its values. I will discuss the sub culture of tattooing, how I relate to the culture, what myths and stereotypes the culture has, and what will be learned from this assignment.

The sub culture I choose is tattoo. Specifically," The Tattoo Place", here in Muncie, Indiana. The reason I thought this would be an interesting topic is because I myself, had been exposed to the culture somewhat, but had not had a tattoo done on my body. It also looked intriguing because I think a lot of people look at is a satanic or trashy thing to do. I look at it like this, if its your on your body and you like it; then do it. It shows individuality and art. The main focus will be on the artist, seeing how they have a lot of tattoos. I want to find out why they do it, how they do it, and what the meaning for each tattoo is.

As far as being classified with this sub culture; I would not be. I got my first tattoo the other day when just going in and asking some questions for this assignment.