Human beings have been drawing on themselves for as long as history can recount. The art of tattooing has been practiced in cultures all over the world for centuries. The specific meanings behind the body modifications vary widely from culture to culture and person to person, but they were generally used to denote one?s religious beliefs, native tribe or to commemorate certain rites of passage.
Whether it was out of ritual or tradition for distinct tribes or gangs, or as a trophy for sailors servicemen and rebels everywhere, tattoos have seen widespread adoption by people from all walks of life. And, since the 1980s, it seems they?ve exploded into the mainstream.
These days, young people especially are flocking to tattoo parlors all over the U.S. to get their ink. Each year, more and more people begin to adorn themselves with the art they believe best expresses who they are. Today?s generation certainly values individuality, self-expression and going against the grain. As such, tattoos have become less of a taboo. Part of the reason for their recent explosion in popularity is due to the fact that today, tattoos have become representations of much more than just one?s cultural or religious background. They?re an accessory, a creative commodity. As tattoos have become more common, customers have much more freedom in how they want their piece to look or why they want to get it in the first place. They can be used to remember loved ones, express a personal philosophy or ?simply to share a piece of art with the world around them. But it isn?t just tattoos that are experiencing a boom, it?s all types of body modification.
CBS News reported, ?23 percent of college students have one to three tattoos, 51 percent are pierced beyond women?s ears and 36 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds have tattoos.? The up-and-coming generation is much more likely to have a few tattoos and piercings than previous generations by the time they strap in for adulthood and enter the workforce. Half a century ago, it would have been a career killer had one?s ?higher-ups? discovered anything more than a conservative pair of earrings as a form of body modification. And that acceptance was only extended to women. Men generally didn?t get their ears pierced. Imagine how a half-sleeve tattoo or any tattoo at all would have been received.
It looks as though the stigma is crumbling, though. How could it not? As one generation succeeds another, the trend only becomes more common and more tolerated. Dress codes have become much more lenient at plenty of workplaces, especially when much of the workforce is made up of recent college grads. Tattoos and piercings have begun to peek out of their hiding places in all sorts of settings.
In an interview with a small business owner, CBS News reported, ?It has to change, otherwise [employers are] going to be out of a workforce ? [If] you don?t like it or it offends you or you?re conservative in the workplace, I think you?ll miss a whole talent pool of people who are very bright, well-educated ? and free-thinking.?
Our culture is evolving, it?s plain to see, so why try to change what?s written in permanent ink?
Reach the columnist at jwadler@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
Categories: Columns Opinion
Tags: body piercings culture dress code self-expression taboo tattoos
Source: http://www.statepress.com/2012/02/08/tattoos-finally-make-their-permanent-societal-mark/
jack white super bowl matthew broderick tax refund calculator death race internal revenue service huntington disease
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.