ENGL 1020

Never Judge a Book by its Cover:

For many years the public would say that when asked to visualize a person with tattoos their first thoughts would be of criminals, sailors, bikers, or gangsters. Not anymore! Tattoos have become culturally acceptable in today’s society. They have a rich history that dates back to 2000 B.C. before any kind of negative stigma was formed. Because of that stigma, however, tattoos and people with tattoos have developed a bad reputation. Many concerns such as the procedure, health risks and career complications are what have caused some of the negativity towards tattoos. In today’s society these are no longer the case and thus, the art has become mainstream.
The act of tattooing started in early civilizations and was most evident in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians’ wall writing showed evidence of the body being used as a canvas around 2000 B.C. (“All About the”). Throughout many different cultures tattoos are used as a part of their religious practices. A tattoo can represent ones authority or a particular responsibility within the practice. However, during biblical times, tattoos were considered an act of mythological worship. Some experts believe that Moses viewed tattoos a little differently, viewing them as a way to commemorate devotion rather than paganism worship. Years later, during the Roman Empire, slaves and criminals began to bare tattoos causing them to develop a negative connotation. They were also used negatively to brand Jews during the Holocaust. Nowadays the process of tattooing is used for aesthetics, symbolism, and other reasons. The creation of tattoos and tattooing has also changed over many years. In the beginning, some tribal cultures would cut a design into the skin and then rub ashes or ink into the cut. Others would use a sharp object to tap ink into the skin (“All About the”). Today, the most common method is to use an electronic machine.
This electronic machine used to create tattoos injects a drop of ink into each puncture wound that it swiftly makes. The creation of the tattoo itself is a detailed process. When a client first walks into a tattoo shop they must work with an artist to decide on a design. The client can bring in pictures, objects, their own designs or they can also choose from several albums in the shop. After the artist has perfected the chosen design onto a stencil it is time to apply it to the client’s skin. At the beginning a single-tipped needle is used to trace the stencil onto the skin (Wilson). After the outline is in place and the area is cleaned the artist moves onto shading. “Shading involves thicker ink and the use of various needles so that the lines come out solid and even”. If the client requests color to be included into the design the shaded area is cleaned again by the artist to allow color ink to be overlapped. This over lapping technique is used to prevent holidays. “Holidays are uneven areas where color has lifted out during the healing or where the artist missed a section of skin” (Wilson). Finally the tattoo is complete and must be cleaned and bandaged to prevent the possibility of infection while it heals.
Tattoos are created by a machine swiftly injecting ink into skin by several small puncture wounds. Wounds of any kind are susceptible to infection. Because of this, health risks such as the transmission of diseases like hepatitis or HIV are a concern to those for and against tattoos. However, as long as the tattoo artist follows all strict sanitation procedures the risks for these complications are low (Wilson). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there has not been a documented case of HIV transmission from a tattoo”. There are rules, known as Universal Precautions, which professional tattoo artists should abide by. “These rules help to prevent the spread of illnesses when tattooing and are issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”. There are many procedures a tattoo artist must go through to insure the safety of their clients. Just like doctors they must wash their hands thoroughly and wear gloves. The most important safety precaution is to have the equipment sterilized. According to an article from Discovery Health’s website, the only acceptable sterilization method is to use an autoclave. “An Autoclave is a heat/steam/pressure unit often used in hospitals” (Wilson). Also, each piece of equipment that touches the client’s skin is single use such as needles, gloves, and ink cups.
As well as upgraded safety standards and technology, the recession has played a major role in the mainstreaming of tattoos in today’s society. Tattoo artist and owner of Phat Kat Tattoo and Piercing, Jeff Rahenkamp, was interviewed on the subject. Rahenkamp makes a good point that “when people are losing their homes, their cars and everything, you can’t take tattoos away…they’re mine” (Achen). Tattoos are no longer just for bikers, drifters, and outcasts of society. One prime example is 60 year old attorney Angie LaNier. About 20 years ago LaNier bribed her daughter with 1,000 dollars to wait to get the tattoo she wanted hoping she would change her mind. Years later for her 59th birthday LaNier surprised her family with her very own tattoo of a symbol in Chinese meaning motherhood (Achen). “LaNier says her feelings about tattoos changed after she saw more and more people she knew acquiring one.”
Even though tattoos have become more commonly accepted with the public, this poses a dilemma for many businesses. Because not everyone accepts tattoos, this causes employers to face tough ethical and legal decisions when deciding on what is appropriate in the workplace. The usual approach to this dilemma is to have the tattooed employees cover their body art. The Labor Law Journal article, Tattoos and Body Piercings: New Terrain for Employers and Courts, explains that while some employees have complied with the rule they later sue to have the order over turned (Bible 109-122). Many other complaints about the order to cover up tattoos have also been claimed, for example, that it is a religious discrimination. Overall, the image of the “young American worker” has begun to change and businesses are becoming aware that dress codes may need to be updated (“Body Art and”).
What affect does a tattooed employee have on the everyday public? Interviewed by Fox News was 27 year old librarian Colleen Harris (“Body Art and”). Harris is covered in tattoos from her arms down to her feet. She has multiple master’s degrees and is employed at the University of Kentucky’s research library. Unlike employees at other workplaces she feels no pressure to hide her body art. “It's not really possible at this point, unless I wore gloves," Harris said, adding that she thinks academia has been more accepting of her body art than the corporate world would be. "I think my qualifications should speak for themselves” (Body Art and”). Harris’s statement about her qualifications provides an excellent point. An employee should be hired based on their skills and personality, not by how they look. C.E.O Woodie Neiss of Flavorx, a medication flavoring company, feels that body art can be a distraction in the workplace (“More Than Skin”). Contrary to Neiss’s opinion, tattoos have been proven to spark emotions such as creativity, motivation, and imagination. An assessment was given to 128 college students to obtain these results (Wiseman). The students were asked to view four images of a, perceived, tattooed and non-tattooed female instructor. They were then asked to rate her on nine teaching-related characteristics. Overall, the outcome was most populated with high results pertaining to the tattooed instructor (Wiseman).
As results have shown, creativity is a major component of the tattoo world. Many would consider it an art form and a way of self expression. This is yet another reason why tattoos have become culturally acceptable. An article from Tacoma Washington’s News Tribune interviewed several experts in art and tattoo fields to obtain an inside opinion on the distinction between art and tattoos. Tattoo artist and owner of House of Tattoo, Katie Williams, was asked about the status of tattoos in the art world (Ponnekanti). She explained that tattoo exhibits do not happen often but it would be a good thing if there were more because “a tattoo is really only at its best when it’s just put on”. Jason Garza, another tattoo artist from Flaming Dragon Tattoo in Tacoma, agrees with the idea of treating tattoos as fine art. Garza states “after all, it’s been an art form since before written history”. The chief curator from the Tacoma Museum of Art, Rock Huska, is also questioned. He has never currated tattoos before but does like the idea of a tattoo exhibition. Huska feels that while some tattoos can be conventional, there are many that are very astonishing. He goes on to describe the art as psychological with several components, concluding that “art is the personality of the wearer which is so much a part of the tattoo” (Ponnekanti).
Tattoos are no long for the outcasts of society. A wide variety of people have them now, ranging from mothers to preachers. All the negativity that society has placed on the art has become obsolete. The technology has improved substantially and health risks are significantly lower due to all the new safety standards. A new appreciation has been born for the fine art of tattooing and it is continuing to blossom. Today’s culture has definitely began to realize that you should never judge a book by its cover.

Works Cited
Achen, Paris. “Tattoos Have Gone Mainstream.” Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) 19 December 2010: Points of View Reference Center. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
“All About the Art of Tattoo.” The Origin Of. WordPress, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
Bible, Jon D. "Tattoos and Body Piercings: New Terrain for Employers and Courts." Labor Law Journal 61.3 (2010): 109-122. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Feb. 2011.
“Body Art and Tattoos in the Workplace.” Fox News. Associated Press, n.d. 8 Feb. 2011.
“More Than Skin Deep: Perceptions of, and Stigma Against, Tattoos. (Report).” College Student Journal 44.1 (2010): 200. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Feb. 2011.
Ponnekanti, Rosemary. “Needle Work: Are Tattoos Art? Sought-After Tacoma Tattoo Artists Weigh in With Clients and Curators on the Answer, Just in Time for the Annual Seattle Tattoo Expo.” The (Tacoma, WA) News Tribune (2008). Points of View Reference Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.
Wilson, Tracy V. “How Tattoos Work.” Discovery Health. Discovery Communications, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2011.
Wiseman, David B. “Perceptions of a Tattooed College Instructor.” Psychological Reports (2010): 845-850. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Feb. 2011.