Jan
14
Tattoos have recently gotten increasingly common around various parts of the globe, especially in the Western World. This rise in the number of tattoo enthusiasts has seen an influx of new artists into the industry, and these days many of them have professional training in fine arts, body care or technology. Coupled with advancements in tattoo pigments and the ongoing refinement of the equipment used for tattooing, this has advanced the whole tattooing industry in terms of both quality and security. Modern tattoo options include lower back or wrist star tattoos. Typically female (”soft”) tatto motives could be for example flower, angel wing or butterfly tattoo designs. Men are mostly into more elaborate designs, maybe something like dragon tattoos and cross tattoos.
A survey by the American Academy of Dermatology was made in 2004, with the results published in June 2006. It found that 36% of Americans ages 18-29, 24% of those 30-40 and 15% of those 41-51 had a tattoo. These numbers were basically confirmed by another study by the Pew Research Center (September 2006) which generated the following results: 18-25 yrs - 36% with tattoos, 26-40 years - 40% and 41-64 years old 10%. Another survey from January 2008 (Harris Interactive) stated that 14% of all US adults had a tattoo, compared to 16% when they conducted a similar survey in 2003.
In the United States many prisoners and criminal gangs display tattoos as a way to show for example criminal experiences, prison sentences, and gang memberships. Tear tattoo, for example, can be symbolic of murder, with each tear representing the death of a friend. At the same time, members of the U.S. military have been using tattoos for a long time as a way to show which unit they belong to, battles they have fought and more, a practice that encompasses also older Americans. Tattooing is also common in the British Armed Forces.
Insofar as this cultural or subcultural use of tattoos predates the widespread popularity of tattoos in the general population, the use of certain tattoos is still to some extent linked to criminality. Even though the wider popularity in the general population brings with it a more of acceptance, tattoos can still be seen as carrying a stigma among some social groups.
The fact that more “regular people”, especially more women than before are getting tattoos, is transforming the previously negative connotations of tattoos. However, a study of “at-risk” (as defined by school absenteeism and truancy) adolescent girls showed a positive correlation between body-modification and negative feelings towards the body and self-esteem; however, also illustrating a strong motive for body-modification as the search for “self and attempts to attain mastery and control over the body in an age of increasing alienation.”
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