Tattoos and Piercings Essay Example

Is it right for people to judge individuals with tattoos and piercings? Tattoos and piercings have been around for thousands of years. Tattoos and piercings are considered a small medical procedure, and tattoo shops have become more sterile to prevent disease and/or infection. Tattoos and piercings are all right to have they are not forever anymore. People pass judgment on a person having any type of tattoos and/or body piercings before they know who that person is. People should understand tattoos and piercings before they judge a person, because there is history in tattoos and piercings, tattoos can be symbolic and are removable. Tattoos and body piercings have been around for a long time. “The first tattoo known to man was found on Otzi, also known as the Iceman, in 1991. However Otzi himself dates back to over 4,000 B.C. Fifty-eight total tattoos were found on Otzi”. (east-buc.k12.ia.us). There are many various forms, and techniques of tattoos. Henna tattooing is one of the oldest forms of tattooing. Henna is not a permanent tattoo and does come off in time. Tribal tattoos are the second form of tattooing.
There are several reasons for the tribal tattoo. Depending on the tribe, tattoos are shown for bravery, strength and making their way into manhood. “Tattoos have meaning depending on the individual, status, lineage, tribal affiliations and even their achievements in war”. (EBSCOhost April 2007 vol. 79, issue 4 p82-87). In New Guinea there is a man know as Mount Hagen, “Indigenous Tribesman Mount Hagen, Western Highland Province, Papua New Guinea c. 1930, practice ritual dances in full headdress, this man adorns a boar’s tusk through his septum-it is said to enhance the wearer’s fighting ability”. (EBSCOhost April 2007). Native Americans have a ritual known as O-Kee-Pa, this ritual is also known as the Sundance. The Native Americans have piercings behind each nipple where hooks are inserted into them. They take a rope and attach it to the hooks, from