Now I'm not going to bore you with some history lesson about the origin of tattoos and body ornamentation, let's just say folks have been inking themselves for various reasons for pretty much all of recorded history.
What is fairly new is that in the USA not many people did it up until fairly recently. As a child of the "70's, I didn't know anybody with a tattoo except my Uncle Max an ex- Marine who had a Marine insignia tattooed on is bicep. Now if you had known my Uncle Max, you would understand when I tell you that he didn't need a tattoo in order to look tough. He was a giant of a man, about 6'5" I would guess with muscles on top of muscles and a Marine attitude.
But I Digress.
Now about tattoos... It seems to have started mostly among the more rebellious crowd - bikers, roughnecks, and general misfits. Then in the 1980'S with the increased presence of gangs, tattoos found a new outlet as tattoos being a symbol of gang membership (along with killing people, destroying things, using and selling drugs, abusing their girlfriends, drive-by shootings and general mayhem--- yep we owe a lot to gangs)
Disclaimer:
When I speak of "bikers" I'm not talking about you peaceful, fun- loving lighthearted, decent folks who also love to strap on a helmet and climb up on your bike...I'm talking about those other guys...You know the one's---Yeah, THOSE GUYS.
Now the biker, gang member and generally rebellious misfit connection to tattoos was fairly easy for me to understand. However as someone who never felt the need for a tattoo, I was curious to understand just how they have become so popular with the general population.
To get an idea of just how many people are now sporting tats a survey conducted in 2006 by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reveals that 24 percent of American adults between 18 and 50 - (nearly one and four) - have at least one tattoo. Even more amazing, about 36 percent ( more than one in three) of Americans between 18 to 29 are tattooed. The general consensus seems to be that since that 2006 survey, the numbers have increased. So how did tattoos become so popular?
Inked- why did you get that tattoo?
We've all heard the story of how you and three of your best girl friends got all "liquored up" one Friday night at college and dared each other to go get a "tramp stamp", and so you did. There you were driving like the getaway car in a Bonnie and Clyde movie to the nearest tattoo parlor. You were laughing and calling each other names that would get a sailor slapped. Why, YOU even called it a "tramp stamp".
It's hard to remember just how that night ended, or just why you thought it would be cool to have Snoopy tattooed on your back, but one thing is for sure...Saturday mornings will never be the same.
Oh those fun college days, don't we all miss them!
For a few people maybe that's how it happened, but for most others it seems to have been a more thoughtful, deliberate act. By interviewing several people about why they chose to get a tattoo. I quickly found that there are about as many reasons for getting inked as there are people.
One reason that came up often was "religion". Now when I say religion, I'm not talking about that "old time religion" your great grandma professed. It seems that in the tattoo world, "religion" can mean almost anything.
Certainly there are those who choose traditional symbols like a Christian cross or a picture of Jesus, a Jewish Star of David, Hindu symbols, and so on.
From there it begins to get a little stranger. Wiccan, witchcraft, Shamanism, Voodoo, Asatru (look it up, I had to) and of course your good old fashion Satan worshipers (one of the scarier groups)
Inked - Why Did You Get That Tattoo
From here it jumps right off the cliff. People who worship their deceased pets... Folks who worship fairies...and one girl who was just sure that we all take turns being god one day each year...sorta like your birthday when you were a kid.
Yep, in my opinion religious tattoos are some of the more interesting one.
A few of the more popular reasons: (according to my casual, unscientific survey)
"I got my tattoo because I thought it looked cool "
"I don't really know why, I just wanted to get one"
"It make's me look tough"
"It's an expression of my individuality"
"It's beautiful"
"It's sexy"
"I was mad at my parents"
"I hate everything"
"I just love butterflies".
You get the idea...
OTHER REASONS
rebellion, love, birth of a child, death of a friend, a special day in ones life, I even talked to one guy who got Johnny Cash tatted on his arm when Johnny died.
A few of the more unusual reasons --
Parents of triplets got the kids names tattooed on their feet so they could tell them apart (ouch! talk about a screaming baby).
The bald guy who wanted 666 on his forehead -- I'll bet when takes his cap off while standing in line at the grocery store - that ends a lot of casual conversations.
Then there was the guy who tattooed a spider's web all over his face, this is probably not a good idea if you aspire to work as a bank teller or elementary school teacher.
I've finally come to the conclusion that trying to understand why the tatted choose to be tatted is something close to trying to understand the mind of God. So I gave up and watched Football.
FINAL THOUGHTS
1) Tattoos are addictive. Once you get one, most people seem to want to get another. Some among the "super inked" have taken this to extremes that are hard to understand. I met one guy who said that he had tattooed every square inch of his body. Please understand,I didn't personally "check" every square inch of his body, I just took his word for it.
2) Being a tattoo artist sure does put you in close proximity to some unusual parts of other people's anatomy.
3) You should never tattoo your boyfriend or girlfriend's name on your body...despite what you might think at the moment, love is not always forever, but a tattoo is.
