Essay On Tattoos

Tattoos: A Millennia Tradition For millennia, men and woman have permanently marked their bodies by applying simple or complex designs with ink. It started as an ancient cultural tradition, then a mark of dangerous associations, or a sign of rebellion. Nowadays tattoos have become a popular and commercialized body modifications. Many are the reasons why people decided and still go through a painful and permanent procedure to mark their bodies. In ancient times, tattoos were applied for medical or religious reasons, in modern era can be considered a rebellious act, a way to proof our own individuality, or to perpetuate a moment or a person in our lives.
“Millennia after the dawn of man's awakening, we continue to etch the geography of our bodies as we have always marked the landscape of the Earth. In creating these sacred forms, we forge a critical element of human existence — our identity.” (Ancient Marks) The word Tattoo originates from the Polynesian word “tatau,” introduced to the English language by Captain James Cook in his book First Voyage. Tattooing, has been part of human history for around 5,200 years; from the Ice Age to our modern society. The most ancient tattoo ever found, belongs to Otzi
In the 1920’s undesirables were the only class to have tattoos. Those fully tattooed individuals where exposed in circuses and carnivals all over the country. Even after the depression, tattoos remained merely part of the sub-cultures; just morally dishonorable individuals, with little education worn tattoos. Bearing a tattoo represented an act of rebellion more than the expression of art. Is during the mid 1960’s, when a rebellious generation who challenged the rules of their parents and the society of those days arose, that tattooing became accepted in the country. As years passed, tattooing in the United States became a depart from the traditional, yet socially