In this generation, there is no arguing that tattoos are among the coolest things; it makes one more popular, more interesting, and it gives you a certain boost in confidence as you go around town sporting it, or even when nobody sees it. Although, there still are negative issues about having tattoos, they are becoming more and more mainstream and it is
showing no signs of backing off. No, I am not talking about social issues.
In getting a tattoo, safety should always be vigilantly observed to avoid medical issues. These include preventing diseases such as HIV, AIDS, hepatitis and other diseases that can be acquired through sharing of needles, use of unsterile equipments and sloppy procedures. You can do this by only going to tattoo shops and tattoo artists that are fully licensed. And you, yourself, have to make certain that everything that pierces your skin is new and sterile.
Another thing that could pose a health problem are those large tattoos such as full length dragon tattoos and elaborate Celtic designs. While they can be reproduced on skin in smaller versions, dragon tattoos are much more impressive-looking when done in large sizes, which heal much slower than smaller tattoos. Slower healing means greater risk for infection. And infection is one thing you don’t want to have with your new tattoo.
Some people who are either into the art of tattooing or into elaborate tattoos like dragon tattoos, which is a perfect example, prefer to have a full length dragon inked on their body with the tail of the dragon starting from their foot or ankle, coiling its way up ending with its head in an elaborate back piece. Dragon tattoos such as these are done in segments in different sessions to allow gradual healing. Lower foot tattoos are also prone to infections, which is why most tattoo artists are more careful when it comes to foot tattoos.
Getting a tattoo means a needle will be stuck in your skin multiple times, deep enough to make you bleed a little. Yes, it is painful. And if a person with a low pain threshold decides to get large tattoos like dragon tattoos, he could go into shock because of the pain. But pain thresholds vary for different people. Just make sure you are prepared for it mentally and physically.
Before getting a tattoo, it is better if you had your tetanus shots completed, just to be on the safe side. If you have diabetes, known allergies, skin infections, and low immune system, you might want to think twice about getting a tattoo. Also, if you are a keloid-former, it’s better not to have the tattoo at all, be it small tattoo or a large one. Either way, you’ll only be getting a chunk of scar tissue in the end.
A made up mind is not enough when deciding to get a tattoo. Your decisions must also have the blessings of your doctor. No matter how much you want one if your body’s saying no, then maybe in another lifetime if your body decides to permit it, you can have as much ink as you want.
http://museumoftattoos.com/tattoo-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=151
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Small Tattoos, Big Appeal
Small tattoos can have big appeal for a variety or reasons. They are a great way for first-timers to find out what tattooing is all about; they are ideal for masking an unattractive blemish or scar; they can usually be completed in under an hour; and, because they are easily hidden, they are perfect for those work for anti-tattoo employers.
a rebellious streak an opportunity to express their individuality. Many professional women have the smalls of their backs decorated with small tattoos which are only visible when they are out enjoying some night life. Others have small tattoos on their wrists, where they can be hidden by a watch or bracelet during the day.
Small tattoos are ideal for those women who like to feel just a bit like they could walk on the wild side and not lose their way; men may also opt for small tattoos which let them be weekend warriors, while they are confined to suits and ties for hours at a time in their offices.
But if you are considering a small tattoo, you will need to put as much thought into its design as you would that of a large one. The first thing you should do is get a ruler and look at the difference between a one inch, two inch, and three inch tattoo. While none of them sounds very large, if you draw circles with those diameters, you’ll get a good idea of how much larger a three inch tattoo is than a one inch tattoo.
You need to have a clear idea of the size you want for you small tattoo before you can decide where to place it. Small tattoos will appear larger or smaller depending on their location; the same two inch tattoo which is unobtrusive on a shoulder blade can be very noticeable on an ankle.
Whey you choose a small tattoo design you will probably have to sacrifice details for space. Small tattoos simply cannot incorporate all the intricacies of larger ones, and will quickly become so crowded that none of their details can be appreciated. The simpler a small tattoo design, the better.
Another reason you should keep a small a tattoo simple is that a tattoo is going to be a permanent addition to your skin. Because tattoo inks tend to “migrate” as the years pass, having a very elaborate small tattoo can lead to its inks blending together so that all its definition is lost.
If you see a large tattoo design which you think you can’t live without, ask your tattoo artist if it is scaleable. There are some designs which can be successfully downsized, but again you should stay with simple ones, so that their details don’t get squashed together when the design is scaled down.
Fortunately, there are plenty of large tattoo designs which lend themselves to being downsized; sunbursts, crosses, roses, butterflies, dolphins, stars, skulls, and tribal or geometric tattoos work equally well as large or small tattoos!
http://museumoftattoos.com/tattoo-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152
a rebellious streak an opportunity to express their individuality. Many professional women have the smalls of their backs decorated with small tattoos which are only visible when they are out enjoying some night life. Others have small tattoos on their wrists, where they can be hidden by a watch or bracelet during the day.
Small tattoos are ideal for those women who like to feel just a bit like they could walk on the wild side and not lose their way; men may also opt for small tattoos which let them be weekend warriors, while they are confined to suits and ties for hours at a time in their offices.
But if you are considering a small tattoo, you will need to put as much thought into its design as you would that of a large one. The first thing you should do is get a ruler and look at the difference between a one inch, two inch, and three inch tattoo. While none of them sounds very large, if you draw circles with those diameters, you’ll get a good idea of how much larger a three inch tattoo is than a one inch tattoo.
You need to have a clear idea of the size you want for you small tattoo before you can decide where to place it. Small tattoos will appear larger or smaller depending on their location; the same two inch tattoo which is unobtrusive on a shoulder blade can be very noticeable on an ankle.
Whey you choose a small tattoo design you will probably have to sacrifice details for space. Small tattoos simply cannot incorporate all the intricacies of larger ones, and will quickly become so crowded that none of their details can be appreciated. The simpler a small tattoo design, the better.
Another reason you should keep a small a tattoo simple is that a tattoo is going to be a permanent addition to your skin. Because tattoo inks tend to “migrate” as the years pass, having a very elaborate small tattoo can lead to its inks blending together so that all its definition is lost.
If you see a large tattoo design which you think you can’t live without, ask your tattoo artist if it is scaleable. There are some designs which can be successfully downsized, but again you should stay with simple ones, so that their details don’t get squashed together when the design is scaled down.
Fortunately, there are plenty of large tattoo designs which lend themselves to being downsized; sunbursts, crosses, roses, butterflies, dolphins, stars, skulls, and tribal or geometric tattoos work equally well as large or small tattoos!
http://museumoftattoos.com/tattoo-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152
Foot Tattoo Designs
Foot tattoos themselves are quite rare, go to any tattoo parlour down your street and if you ask them for a tattoo below your ankles they will probably cringe. But why is this?
They can look stunningly beautiful done right but the truth is that
they don't look good for very long. This is because of ink blurring on the edges due to the pure punishment that your feet take in everyday life. Putting your feet in and out of shoes all day takes it's toll on the tattoo and it will probably need touching up a lot quicker than a tattoo anywhere else on your body.
There is also the question of pain. A few years ago I had to go into hospital for a test which involved them inserting a needle through my hip bone, I can honestly say it was the worst pain I had ever felt. That for the most part, is why people tend to have tattoos on their fleshy parts. The closer to the bone you get, the more its going to hurt.
After-care is an issue too. Upon leaving the parlour with your cool new tattoo the last thing that you are going to want to do is squeeze you foot into your boot. This may not be a problem if you live in a nice warm place as you can go bare foot for a while but if you live in Alaska for instance this may be a problem. Infection is also a cause for concern, as feet are the hardest place on the body to keep clean so recovery time is going to be a lot longer compared to an arm tattoo.
Women tend to go for the foot tattoo more than men because you can place beautifully intricate designs on a foot and men tend to like the bigger designs. They are also very discreet and can for instance symbolize the love that you have for someone that you don't want other people to see.
Small tattoos can have big appeal for a variety or reasons. They are a great way for first-timers to find out what tattooing is all about; they are ideal for masking an unattractive blemish or scar; they can usually be completed in under an hour; and, because they are easily hidden, they are perfect for those work for anti-tattoo employers.
Small tattoos can give those with
a rebellious streak an opportunity to express their individuality. Many professional women have the smalls of their backs decorated with small tattoos which are only visible when they are out enjoying some night life. Others have small tattoos on their wrists, where they can be hidden by a watch or bracelet during the day.
Small tattoos are ideal for those women who like to feel just a bit like they could walk on the wild side and not lose their way; men may also opt for small tattoos which let them be weekend warriors, while they are confined to suits and ties for hours at a time in their offices.
But if you are considering a small tattoo, you will need to put as much thought into its design as you would that of a large one. The first thing you should do is get a ruler and look at the difference between a one inch, two inch, and three inch tattoo. While none of them sounds very large, if you draw circles with those diameters, you’ll get a good idea of how much larger a three inch tattoo is than a one inch tattoo.
You need to have a clear idea of the size you want for you small tattoo before you can decide where to place it. Small tattoos will appear larger or smaller depending on their location; the same two inch tattoo which is unobtrusive on a shoulder blade can be very noticeable on an ankle.
Whey you choose a small tattoo design you will probably have to sacrifice details for space. Small tattoos simply cannot incorporate all the intricacies of larger ones, and will quickly become so crowded that none of their details can be appreciated. The simpler a small tattoo design, the better.
Another reason you should keep a small a tattoo simple is that a tattoo is going to be a permanent addition to your skin. Because tattoo inks tend to “migrate” as the years pass, having a very elaborate small tattoo can lead to its inks blending together so that all its definition is lost.
If you see a large tattoo design which you think you can’t live without, ask your tattoo artist if it is scaleable. There are some designs which can be successfully downsized, but again you should stay with simple ones, so that their details don’t get squashed together when the design is scaled down.
Fortunately, there are plenty of large tattoo designs which lend themselves to being downsized; sunbursts, crosses, roses, butterflies, dolphins, stars, skulls, and tribal or geometric tattoos work equally well as large or small tattoos!
http://museumoftattoos.com/tattoo-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152
Tattoo Removal
Tattoos can be wholly or partially removed by cosmetic surgical techniques, most commonly through the use of lasers. The laser reacts with the ink in the tattoo, and breaks it down. After this, the patient's body then absorbs the broken-down ink and the skin heals once more. The procedure can be expensive, and very painful (some say more so than the original tattoo) and often requires many repeated visits to remove a small tattoo. It also may not be entirely effective in leaving unblemished skin, due to the fact that tattoos also scar the skin to varying degrees, depending on how the tattoo was applied, the way the skin healed, and the area that was tattooed.
A newer method of removal is by tattooing glycolic acid into the skin with a tattoo machine: the acid pushes the ink to the surface of the skin in the scab, which is later removed. This method supposedly scars less than lasering. Glycolic acid is also used for facial peels; when used for tattoo removal, a lower percentage mix is used.
Another alternative for unwanted tattoos is to cover them up with a better tattoo. With the advent of laser tattoo removal, cover up tattoos are becoming less common. Many younger tattooists don't know how to or won't camouflage unwanted tattoos. An experienced artist can often come up with a design that incorporates and hides the existing tattoo.
More recently, many higher end shops and artists have begun using professional laser removal machines not to completely remove an unwanted tattoo, but to break down and lighten it so as to be easier to cover with a new tattoo. Usually after two or three treatments the old tattoo is eliminated enough to cover, all without the extensive damage to the skin that a complete removal would cause.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/tattoo-removal.php
Purpose of Tattoos
Human history shows that tattoos have served in many diverse cultures as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts.
Today, people choose to be tattooed for cosmetic, religious and magical reasons, as well as a symbol of belonging to or identification with particular groups. Some Ma-ori still choose to wear intricate moko on their faces. People have also been forcibly tattooed for a variety of reasons. The best known is the ka-tzetnik identification system for Jews in part of the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
European sailors were known to tattoo the crucifixion on their backs to prevent flogging as a punishment as at that time it was a crime to deface an image of Christ.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/article-tattoo-purpose.php
Tattoos are also placed on animals, though very rarely for decorative reasons. Pets, show animals, thoroughbred horses and livestock are sometimes tattooed with identification marks, and certain of their body parts (for example, noses) have also been tattooed to prevent sunburn. Such tattoos are performed by veterinarians and the animals are anaesthetized to prevent pain. (Branding would not be considered a tattoo since no ink or dye is inserted).
Tattoo Procedures
Some tribal cultures still create tattoos by cutting designs into the skin and rubbing the resulting wound with ink, ashes or other agents. This may be an adjunct to scarification. Some cultures create tattooed marks by "tapping" the ink into the skin using sharpened sticks or animal bones. Traditional Japanese tattoos (irezumi) are still "hand-poked," that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel.
The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine. Ink is inserted into the skin via a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, usually 50 to 3,000 times a minute.
Permanent Cosmetics
Permanent makeup is a cosmetic technique which employs tattoos (permanent pigmentation of the dermis) as a means of producing designs that resemble makeup, such as eyelining (eye shadows and mascara) and other permanent enhancing colors to the skin of the face, lips and eyelids. It is also used to produce artificial eyebrows, particulary in people who have lost it as a consequence of old age, disease, such as alopecia, chemotherapy or a genetic disturbance, and to disguise scars and white spots in the skin such as in vitiligo. It is also used to restore or enhance the breast's areola, such as after breast surgery.
"Natural" Tattoos
According to George Orwell, workers in coal mines would wind up with characteristic tattoos owing to coal dust getting into wounds. This can also occur with substances like gunpowder. Similarly, a traumatic tattoo occurs when a substance such as asphalt is rubbed into a wound as the result of some kind of accident or trauma. These are particularly difficult to remove as they tend to be spread across several different layers of skin, and scarring or permanent discoloration is almost unavoidable depending on the location. In addition, tattooing of the gingiva from implantation of amalgam particles during dental filling placement and removal is possible and not uncommon.
Temporary Tattoos
Temporary tattoos are a type of body sticker, like a decal. They are generally applied to the skin using water to transfer the design to the surface of the skin. Temporary tattoos are easily removed with soap and water or oil-based creams, and are intended to last a few days.
Other forms of temporary "tattoos" are henna tattoos, also known as Mehndi, and the marks made by the stains of silver nitrate on the skin when exposed to ultraviolet light. Both methods, silver nitrate and henna, can take up to two weeks to fade from the skin.
Dyes and Pigments
For the tattooing, a wide range of dyes and pigments can be used; from inorganic materials like titanium dioxide and iron oxides to carbon black, azo dyes, and acridine, quinoline, phthalocyanine and naphthol derivates.
Iron oxide pigments are used in greater extent in cosmetic tattooing.
Recently, a blacklight-reactive tattoo ink using PMMA microcapsules has surfaced. The technical name is BIOMETRIX System-1000, and is marketed under the name "Chameleon Tattoo Ink". This ink is reportedly quite safe for use, and claims to be FDA approved for use on wildlife that may enter the food supply.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/article-tattoo-procedure.php
The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine. Ink is inserted into the skin via a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, usually 50 to 3,000 times a minute.
Permanent Cosmetics
Permanent makeup is a cosmetic technique which employs tattoos (permanent pigmentation of the dermis) as a means of producing designs that resemble makeup, such as eyelining (eye shadows and mascara) and other permanent enhancing colors to the skin of the face, lips and eyelids. It is also used to produce artificial eyebrows, particulary in people who have lost it as a consequence of old age, disease, such as alopecia, chemotherapy or a genetic disturbance, and to disguise scars and white spots in the skin such as in vitiligo. It is also used to restore or enhance the breast's areola, such as after breast surgery.
"Natural" Tattoos
According to George Orwell, workers in coal mines would wind up with characteristic tattoos owing to coal dust getting into wounds. This can also occur with substances like gunpowder. Similarly, a traumatic tattoo occurs when a substance such as asphalt is rubbed into a wound as the result of some kind of accident or trauma. These are particularly difficult to remove as they tend to be spread across several different layers of skin, and scarring or permanent discoloration is almost unavoidable depending on the location. In addition, tattooing of the gingiva from implantation of amalgam particles during dental filling placement and removal is possible and not uncommon.
Temporary Tattoos
Temporary tattoos are a type of body sticker, like a decal. They are generally applied to the skin using water to transfer the design to the surface of the skin. Temporary tattoos are easily removed with soap and water or oil-based creams, and are intended to last a few days.
Other forms of temporary "tattoos" are henna tattoos, also known as Mehndi, and the marks made by the stains of silver nitrate on the skin when exposed to ultraviolet light. Both methods, silver nitrate and henna, can take up to two weeks to fade from the skin.
Dyes and Pigments
For the tattooing, a wide range of dyes and pigments can be used; from inorganic materials like titanium dioxide and iron oxides to carbon black, azo dyes, and acridine, quinoline, phthalocyanine and naphthol derivates.
Iron oxide pigments are used in greater extent in cosmetic tattooing.
Recently, a blacklight-reactive tattoo ink using PMMA microcapsules has surfaced. The technical name is BIOMETRIX System-1000, and is marketed under the name "Chameleon Tattoo Ink". This ink is reportedly quite safe for use, and claims to be FDA approved for use on wildlife that may enter the food supply.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/article-tattoo-procedure.php
The History of Tattoos
Diversity
Tattooing has been a nearly ubiquitous human practice. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, wore facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples, and in the Philippines, Borneo, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Japan, and China.
According to Robert Graves in his book The Greek Myths, tattooing was common amongst certain religious groups in the ancient Mediterranean world, which probably contributed to the prohibition of tattooing in Leviticus 19:28 in the Old Testament.
Tattooing in prehistoric times
Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times. "Ötzi the Iceman", dated circa 3300 BC, exhibits therapeutic tattoos (small parallel dashes along lumbar and on the legs). Tarim Basin (West China, Xinjiang) revealed several tattooed mummies of a European physical type. Still relatively unknown (the only current publications in Western languages are those of J P. Mallory and V H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, London, 2000), some of them could date from the end of the 2nd millennium before our era. Three tattooed mummies (c. 300 BC) were extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in second half of the 20th century (the Man of Payzyrk, during the 1940s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the 1990s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a curvilinear style. The Man of Pazyryk was also tattooed with dots lined up along the spinal column (lumbar region) and around the right ankle.
Tattooing in ancient Judaism
Some Christians, Jews and Muslims believe Leviticus 19:28 prohibits believers from getting tattoos: Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. A more literal translation of Leviticus is: Do not cut your bodies for the dead nor put marks upon you. The practice proscribed by Leviticus may or may not be tattooing directly (though it is certainly some form of bodily modification).
An ancient practice in the Middle East involved people cutting themselves and rubbing in ash during a period of mourning after an individual had died. It was a sign of respect for the dead and a symbol of reverence and a sense of the profound loss for the newly departed; and it is surmised that the ash that was rubbed into the self-inflicted wounds came from the actual funeral pyres that were used to cremate bodies. In essence, people were literally carrying with them a reminder of the recently deceased in the form of tattoos created by ash being rubbed into shallow wounds cut or slashed into the body, usually the forearms. One reading of Leviticus is to apply it only narrowly to this specific practice contemporary with the book's writing.
Tattooing in Chinese literature
Tattooing is also been featured prominently in one of the Four Classic Novels in Chinese literature, Water Margin, in which at least two of the 108 characters, Shi Jun and Yan Qing, are described as having tattoos covering nearly the whole of their bodies. In addition, Chinese legend has it that the mother of Yue Fei, the most famous general of the Song Dynasty, tattooed the words (pinyin: jin zhong bao guo) on his back with her sewing needle before he left to join the army, reminding him to "repay his country with pure loyalty".
The Water Margin had a major influence on tattooing in Japan.
Reintroduction in Europe
Between 1766 and 1779, Captain James Cook made three voyages to the South Pacific, the last trip ending with Cook's death in Hawaii in February, 1779. When Cook and his men returned home to Europe from their voyages to Polynesia, the salons of Paris and London were soon abuzz with tales of the 'tattooed savages' that Cook and his men had seen on their travels and discovered in previously unknown lands. Crew members of those voyages returned with more than just fabulous tales of what they had seen, many of the sailors returned with tattoos.
Cook's Science Officer and Expedition Botanist, Sir Joseph Banks returned to England with a tattoo. Banks was a highly regarded member of the English aristocracy and had acquired his position with Cook by putting up what was at the time the princely sum of some ten thousand pounds in the expedition. In turn, Cook brought back with him a tattooed Tahitian chief, whom he presented to King George and the English Court. Many of Cook's men, ordinary seamen and sailors, came back with tattoos, a tradition that would soon become associated with men of the sea in the public's mind and the press of the day. In the process sailors and seamen re-introduced the practice of tattooing in Europe and it spread rapidly to seaports around the globe.
It was in Tahiti aboard the Endeavour in July of 1769, that Cook first noted his observations about the indigenous body modification and is the first recorded use of the word tattoo. In the Ship's Log Cook recorded this entry : "Both sexes paint their Bodys, Tattow, as it is called in their Language. This is done by inlaying the Colour of Black under their skins, in such a manner as to be indelible."
Cook went on to write, "This method of Tattowing I shall now describe...As this is a painful operation, especially the Tattowing of their Buttocks, it is performed but once in their Lifetimes."
The English Royal Court must have been fascinated with the Tahitian chief's tattoos because King George V himself got inked with the 'Cross of Jerusalem' when he traveled to the Middle East in 1862. On a trip to Japan he also received a dragon on the forearm, from the needles of an acclaimed Japanese tattoo master. George's sons, The Duke of Clarence and The Duke of York were also tattooed in Japan while serving in the British Admiralty, solidifying what would become a family tradition.
Taking their sartorial lead from the British Court, where King Edward VII followed King George V's lead in getting tattooed; King Frederik IX of Denmark, the King of Romania, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Alexandar of Yugoslavia and even Czar Nicholas of Russia, all sported tattoos, many of them elaborate and ornate renditions of the Royal Coat of Arms or the Royal Family Crest. King Alfonso of modern Spain also has a tattoo.
The tattooing craze spread to upper classes all over Europe in the nineteenth century, but particularly in England where it was estimated in Harmsworth Magazine in 1898 that as many as one in five members of the gentry were tattooed. There, it was not uncommon for members of the social elite to gather in the drawing rooms and libraries of the great country estate homes after dinner and partially disrobe in order to show off their tattoos. Aside from Prince Albert's Prince Albert, there are persistent rumours that Queen Victoria had a small tattoo in an undisclosed 'intimate' location. Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, not only had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist, which she covered when the need arose with a specially crafted diamond bracelet, but had her nipples pierced as well. Carrying on the family tradition, Winston Churchill was himself tattooed.
The electric tattoo machine
The modern electric tattoo machine is fundamentally the same machine invented by Samuel O'Reilly in 1891, which was based on an electric engraving pen invented by Thomas Edison.
Negative associations
Some employers, especially in professional fields, still look down on tattoos or regard them as contributing to an unprofessional appearance. Tattoos can therefore impair a wearer's career prospects, particularly when inked on places not typically covered by clothing, such as hands or neck.
In some cultures, tattoos still have negative associations, despite their increasing popularity and are generally associated with criminality in the public's mind; therefore those who choose to be tattooed in such countries usually keep their tattoos covered for fear of reprisal. For example, many businesses such as gyms, hot springs and recreational facilities in Japan still ban people with visible tattoos. Tattoos, particularly full traditional body suits, are still popularly associated with the yakuza (mafia) in Japan.
At least according to popular belief, most triad members in Hong Kong have a tattoo of a black dragon on the left bicep and one of a white tiger on the right; in fact, many people in Hong Kong use "left a black dragon, right a white tiger" as a euphemism for a triad member. It is widely believed that one of the initiation rites in becoming a triad member is silently withstanding the pain of receiving a large tattoo in one sitting, usually performed in the traditional "hand-poked" style.
In the USA many prisoners and criminal gangs use distinctive tattoos to indicate facts about their criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation. This cultural use of tattoos predates the widespread popularity of tattoos in the general population, so older people may still make a criminal association in their minds. At the same time, members of the US military have an equally established and longstanding history of tattooing to indicate military units, battles, etc., and this association is also widespread among older Americans.
Popular and youth culture
Tattoos are more popular now than at any time. Current estimates suggest one in seven or over 39 million people in North America have at least one tattoo.
A recent Harris Poll finds that 16% of all adults in the United States have at least one tattoo. The highest incidence of tattoos was found among the gay, lesbian and bisexual population (31%) and among Americans ages 25 to 29 years (36%) and 30 to 39 years (28%). Regionally, people living in the West (20%) are more likely to have tattoos.
Democrats are more likely to have tattoos (18%) than Republicans (14%) and Independents (12%) while equal percentages of males (16%) and females (15%) have tattoos.
This survey was conducted online between July 14 and 20, 2003 by Harris Interactive(R) among a nationwide sample of 2,215 adults.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/article-history-tattoos.php
Tattooing has been a nearly ubiquitous human practice. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, wore facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples, and in the Philippines, Borneo, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Japan, and China.
According to Robert Graves in his book The Greek Myths, tattooing was common amongst certain religious groups in the ancient Mediterranean world, which probably contributed to the prohibition of tattooing in Leviticus 19:28 in the Old Testament.
Tattooing in prehistoric times
Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times. "Ötzi the Iceman", dated circa 3300 BC, exhibits therapeutic tattoos (small parallel dashes along lumbar and on the legs). Tarim Basin (West China, Xinjiang) revealed several tattooed mummies of a European physical type. Still relatively unknown (the only current publications in Western languages are those of J P. Mallory and V H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, London, 2000), some of them could date from the end of the 2nd millennium before our era. Three tattooed mummies (c. 300 BC) were extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in second half of the 20th century (the Man of Payzyrk, during the 1940s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the 1990s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a curvilinear style. The Man of Pazyryk was also tattooed with dots lined up along the spinal column (lumbar region) and around the right ankle.
Tattooing in ancient Judaism
Some Christians, Jews and Muslims believe Leviticus 19:28 prohibits believers from getting tattoos: Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. A more literal translation of Leviticus is: Do not cut your bodies for the dead nor put marks upon you. The practice proscribed by Leviticus may or may not be tattooing directly (though it is certainly some form of bodily modification).
An ancient practice in the Middle East involved people cutting themselves and rubbing in ash during a period of mourning after an individual had died. It was a sign of respect for the dead and a symbol of reverence and a sense of the profound loss for the newly departed; and it is surmised that the ash that was rubbed into the self-inflicted wounds came from the actual funeral pyres that were used to cremate bodies. In essence, people were literally carrying with them a reminder of the recently deceased in the form of tattoos created by ash being rubbed into shallow wounds cut or slashed into the body, usually the forearms. One reading of Leviticus is to apply it only narrowly to this specific practice contemporary with the book's writing.
Tattooing in Chinese literature
Tattooing is also been featured prominently in one of the Four Classic Novels in Chinese literature, Water Margin, in which at least two of the 108 characters, Shi Jun and Yan Qing, are described as having tattoos covering nearly the whole of their bodies. In addition, Chinese legend has it that the mother of Yue Fei, the most famous general of the Song Dynasty, tattooed the words (pinyin: jin zhong bao guo) on his back with her sewing needle before he left to join the army, reminding him to "repay his country with pure loyalty".
The Water Margin had a major influence on tattooing in Japan.
Reintroduction in Europe
Between 1766 and 1779, Captain James Cook made three voyages to the South Pacific, the last trip ending with Cook's death in Hawaii in February, 1779. When Cook and his men returned home to Europe from their voyages to Polynesia, the salons of Paris and London were soon abuzz with tales of the 'tattooed savages' that Cook and his men had seen on their travels and discovered in previously unknown lands. Crew members of those voyages returned with more than just fabulous tales of what they had seen, many of the sailors returned with tattoos.
Cook's Science Officer and Expedition Botanist, Sir Joseph Banks returned to England with a tattoo. Banks was a highly regarded member of the English aristocracy and had acquired his position with Cook by putting up what was at the time the princely sum of some ten thousand pounds in the expedition. In turn, Cook brought back with him a tattooed Tahitian chief, whom he presented to King George and the English Court. Many of Cook's men, ordinary seamen and sailors, came back with tattoos, a tradition that would soon become associated with men of the sea in the public's mind and the press of the day. In the process sailors and seamen re-introduced the practice of tattooing in Europe and it spread rapidly to seaports around the globe.
It was in Tahiti aboard the Endeavour in July of 1769, that Cook first noted his observations about the indigenous body modification and is the first recorded use of the word tattoo. In the Ship's Log Cook recorded this entry : "Both sexes paint their Bodys, Tattow, as it is called in their Language. This is done by inlaying the Colour of Black under their skins, in such a manner as to be indelible."
Cook went on to write, "This method of Tattowing I shall now describe...As this is a painful operation, especially the Tattowing of their Buttocks, it is performed but once in their Lifetimes."
The English Royal Court must have been fascinated with the Tahitian chief's tattoos because King George V himself got inked with the 'Cross of Jerusalem' when he traveled to the Middle East in 1862. On a trip to Japan he also received a dragon on the forearm, from the needles of an acclaimed Japanese tattoo master. George's sons, The Duke of Clarence and The Duke of York were also tattooed in Japan while serving in the British Admiralty, solidifying what would become a family tradition.
Taking their sartorial lead from the British Court, where King Edward VII followed King George V's lead in getting tattooed; King Frederik IX of Denmark, the King of Romania, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Alexandar of Yugoslavia and even Czar Nicholas of Russia, all sported tattoos, many of them elaborate and ornate renditions of the Royal Coat of Arms or the Royal Family Crest. King Alfonso of modern Spain also has a tattoo.
The tattooing craze spread to upper classes all over Europe in the nineteenth century, but particularly in England where it was estimated in Harmsworth Magazine in 1898 that as many as one in five members of the gentry were tattooed. There, it was not uncommon for members of the social elite to gather in the drawing rooms and libraries of the great country estate homes after dinner and partially disrobe in order to show off their tattoos. Aside from Prince Albert's Prince Albert, there are persistent rumours that Queen Victoria had a small tattoo in an undisclosed 'intimate' location. Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, not only had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist, which she covered when the need arose with a specially crafted diamond bracelet, but had her nipples pierced as well. Carrying on the family tradition, Winston Churchill was himself tattooed.
The electric tattoo machine
The modern electric tattoo machine is fundamentally the same machine invented by Samuel O'Reilly in 1891, which was based on an electric engraving pen invented by Thomas Edison.
Negative associations
Some employers, especially in professional fields, still look down on tattoos or regard them as contributing to an unprofessional appearance. Tattoos can therefore impair a wearer's career prospects, particularly when inked on places not typically covered by clothing, such as hands or neck.
In some cultures, tattoos still have negative associations, despite their increasing popularity and are generally associated with criminality in the public's mind; therefore those who choose to be tattooed in such countries usually keep their tattoos covered for fear of reprisal. For example, many businesses such as gyms, hot springs and recreational facilities in Japan still ban people with visible tattoos. Tattoos, particularly full traditional body suits, are still popularly associated with the yakuza (mafia) in Japan.
At least according to popular belief, most triad members in Hong Kong have a tattoo of a black dragon on the left bicep and one of a white tiger on the right; in fact, many people in Hong Kong use "left a black dragon, right a white tiger" as a euphemism for a triad member. It is widely believed that one of the initiation rites in becoming a triad member is silently withstanding the pain of receiving a large tattoo in one sitting, usually performed in the traditional "hand-poked" style.
In the USA many prisoners and criminal gangs use distinctive tattoos to indicate facts about their criminal behavior, prison sentences, and organizational affiliation. This cultural use of tattoos predates the widespread popularity of tattoos in the general population, so older people may still make a criminal association in their minds. At the same time, members of the US military have an equally established and longstanding history of tattooing to indicate military units, battles, etc., and this association is also widespread among older Americans.
Popular and youth culture
Tattoos are more popular now than at any time. Current estimates suggest one in seven or over 39 million people in North America have at least one tattoo.
A recent Harris Poll finds that 16% of all adults in the United States have at least one tattoo. The highest incidence of tattoos was found among the gay, lesbian and bisexual population (31%) and among Americans ages 25 to 29 years (36%) and 30 to 39 years (28%). Regionally, people living in the West (20%) are more likely to have tattoos.
Democrats are more likely to have tattoos (18%) than Republicans (14%) and Independents (12%) while equal percentages of males (16%) and females (15%) have tattoos.
This survey was conducted online between July 14 and 20, 2003 by Harris Interactive(R) among a nationwide sample of 2,215 adults.
http://www.tribal-tattoos.co.uk/article-history-tattoos.php
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