People all over the world modify their bodies with various tattoos and/or piercings. In some cultures and societies, these people with body modification are looked down on. For other cultures, body modification may be looked at as enhancing ones beauty. Some cultures may show that they have no opinion about people who bear tattoos and piercings. Overall, people who have tattoos and/or piercings are looked at differently by different cultures.
The purpose of this paper is to give insight on the history of tattoos and piercings, why people get their bodies modified with tattoos and/or piercings, and also to find out how these people are looked at differently by various societies and cultures. .
Discussion.
"The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of the people with tattoos." ~Author Unknown (Quotegarden, 2000).
It's hard to tell just when tattooing began in the US because of all the different views people have. Many people think sailors came across tattooed natives in the Polynesian islands around 1769 (Goodman, 2003). Others think Native Americans were the first group of people to have tattoos. No matter where tattoos came from, or when they came, tattooing has become very popular among Americans of all ages.
The social aspect of tattoos is an ever changing thing. Different societies and cultural groups all over the world have their own perspectives on tattooing and the people who adorn them. In many places, it is a cultural norm to be tattooed. In other cultures, people who are tattooed are looked down upon and are perceived to be of a lower social class. .
Back in earlier times, tattoos were done manually with a needle, but ever since 1981, tattoos have been done by a gun. This gun was created by Samuel O"Reilly in 1981. The tattoo gun is just a modification to Thomas Edison's autographic printer which was invented in 1876 (Wikipedia, 2003).
