...Tattoos and Piercings throughout Different World Cultures COM/150 Effective Essay Writing Tattoos and Piercings throughout Different World Cultures Did you know that almost a fourth of men and women between 18 and 50 years of age have at least one tattoo? How about that 15% of those people have at least one body piercing ("Northwestern University News Center," n.d.)? These statistics may be surprising, but the fact is that tattoos and piercings are growing increasingly more popular in today’s society. Although we can see that people of all ages have tattoos and piercings, they seem to be the most popular among teenagers and young adults. The popularity of these sometimes taboo actions have not always been so popular though, and while some people may perceive tattoos and piercings negatively; the fact is that they have many different meanings in cultures throughout the world. This essay will discuss a few of the different cultures in which tattoos and piercings can be seen. Both tattoos and piercings have been around for some time now. Tattoos are thought to have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Some scientists believe that the marks which were found on the mummified body of an iceman from 3300 B.C. could possibly be tattoos ("History Of Tattooing", 2003). Most piercings have been around for thousands of years as well. Piercings such as the nostril and the ear lobe date back to nearly 5000 years ago ("Body Piercing History", 1998). Among some people...
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...Arises - But are Tattoos and Piercings Wrong for the Workplace? COM/150 August 14, 2011 Timothy Mcknight Abstract Many people from the age of 40 down have begun a new trend, one that seemed to catch on and run wild with many, including the youth. Take a good look around regardless of the time zone or area code you live in, and you will notice something that I would call a phenomenon among ages. A large number of men, women, boys, and girls will display their meaning of art. A piece of art that symbolizes different meanings to different people. Regardless of the meaning that an individual may have for their body art, there are some employers who do not agree with this type of display of individuality. Are they wrong, or are they right? No matter what anyone may feel about tattoos or body piercings, it is prevalent that they exist among us, and each of us will come face to face with a dilemma that is widespread one day. A team concept should be strongly considered prior to making any drastic decision and placing a tattoo or body piercing in a visible location. Individuality may be preferred but that will only work if you happen to own the company you work for. Otherwise be mindful of this and place your tattoo or body piercing in a discreet location. A New Era Arises - But are Tattoos and Piercings Wrong for the Workplace? Living in an ever-changing era, times are difficult for many to grasp today, especially concerning permanent markings on one’s body. And making...
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...the Beauty Underneath the Ink and Metal There are many people in today’s society who have had some form of body modification done. Body modification, simply put is the deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons. The most popular forms of body modification are tattoos and body piercings (Gay & Whittington, 2002. p. 8). There are many reasons behind why someone would decide to tattoo or pierce their body, along with those reasons there are some regrets, and due to those regrets, there are a few different removal techniques. One of the most common reasons for getting a tattoo is for group identity (Horne, Knox, Zusman, Zusman, 2007 p. 3). There are men and women who have served or are currently serving in our nation’s military that have tattoos that stand for courage, patriotism, defiance of death, and longing for family and loved ones left behind (“Tattoos in the USA,” 2011). It is stated that our current culture can credit the Navy sailors for introducing the art of tattooing to the military due to their coming home from faraway lands with permanent reminders of the places they had been (Van Geete, 2009, para. 1). According to Staff Sgt. Stephanie van Geete, “You could not throw a rock into a military formation without hitting a soldier with at least one tattoo.” Many sailors in the past would get a picture of a submarine ship (“Military tattoos,” 2012). There are sailors past and present that have hula girls wearing grass skirts or pin up style girls wearing...
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...Tattoos or body piercings–cultural and ethnic issues (Vero, 2014) (SweedishFeesh, 2014) In this day and age, people with tattoos are looked upon negatively. People care more about their spot in society than anything else, so if society looks down on tattoos, then so will everyone else. Today many ordinary people have tattoos and or body piercings. However, many people perceive tattoos and piercings to be only for gang members, prisoners, troublemakers, low lives, and bikers. Now, since more and more mainstream people are getting tattoos and piercings, more conservative people who are against them are now shunning those people from society. Tattoos and piercings are a particularly offensive subject when dealing with women who are getting tattoos and piercings. They are especially judged and are considered trashy, tacky, and even to the extent of being promiscuous. Why are people so negative towards people with tattoos and piercings? It is art and causes no harm. However, there are many people who still view tattoos as a sign of rebellion and refuse to accept that a well educated grown man or woman can express themselves through owning a tattoo or piercing. Even people who are not mainstream people and do fall into the stereotypes face harsher criticism and downgrading. People tend not to trust them, feel afraid of them, or look down upon them. Even though yes, some people with tattoos and piercings usually don’t want to fit in to society. They purposely desired...
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...wrists to biceps with Asian-themed tattoos, applied for a position at a conservative company, where he was given a chance for an interview. Upon this interview he decided to wear a long cuffed shirt which he usually would not wear as it ended up showing part of his tattoo on his wrist. He didn’t get the job even though he was more than qualified for the position he had applied for, it could be questioned if the tattoos had anything to do with this decision made by the interviewing company (Pyrillis, 2010). Although people have tattoos and body piercings in a workplace their performance while working should matter not their appearance. With that in mind it can be viewed that tattoos and body piercings in a workplace or during a hiring process can make speculations of unfair judgment against potential employees, since it can be argued that the interviewer bases their opinion of the candidate with the tattoos or piercings work off of their appearance versus their work history, performance, and work ethics. Many persons feel as though it is necessary to cover up any tattoos or piercings while in their workplace. One example would be a survey of two thousand twenty people was taken where sixty eight percent of men and seventy two percent of women felt it necessary to cover up their tattoos and/or piercings in the workplace (Pyrillis, 2010). While on the other side of this argument the remaining people felt that their tattoos and/or piercings should be allowed to be shown in...
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.... Harmony Shalander English 102 Research paper Body Modification There are various characteristics through which people identify themselves. Styles of dress, language, music, and dance are some of the ways that describes one’s own unique lifestyles. Others turn to modifying their bodies to symbolize their rank in society. How far is too far when it comes to body modifications, such as tattooing and body piercing. To respond to why people tattoo, one would have to look back to how the early civilization made a living and their opinions on the world around them. The people of Prehistoric times would have been the first to modify the human body for practical purposes. Thousands of years ago, mineral tinctures were used to preserve the bodies of humans and animal skins. "Human Skin, bones, teeth, and hair were the first canvases or artistic expression," wrote by Paul G. Bahn, an archaeologist and prehistoric art scholar. (Body Marks 17). For many centuries, henna has been a popular temporary alternative compared to permanent tattoo ink. Henna is a shrub mashed to form a staining ink when set on human skin. It grows in India, Pakistan, Iran, and North America. Henna tattoos have practiced all around the world. In recent years tattooing and body piercing have become increasingly habitual in popular culture. Body modification is no longer considered just a social representation used by criminals and gang member, showing their role in society. These practices are used by many...
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...Tattoos and piercings Michael Johnson 7/18/13 EN1420 While it is true that many companies forbid visible piercings and tattoos, more and more companies are beginning to broaden their views on visible body modifications. In the past, tattoos were seen as the mark of gangsters and other criminals and sailors, while body piercing was mostly unheard of except the lip plates you read about in National Geographic. Hopefully, the current attitude will change to be more accepting once the generation from the 80's and 90's enter into the power structure. As it stands, the baby boomer generation still holds most of the policy deciding positions within a company. They were brought up on conservative values, which stuck with them even after the 60's and 70's of their youth. Now that their children are coming into the power positions, the restrictions of body art are starting to loosen in the professional world. While certain "extreme" mods are still highly frowned upon, like facial and neck tattoos and large gauge earring and other facial mods, small things like a single lip piercing, tongue piercing, or nose piercing are no longer a deciding factor for HR personnel. There are certain companies that are more lenient than others, such as AT&T. While their salespeople and other face-to-face customer interaction folks, the salesmen and installers, must maintain a clean cut appearance, the call center representatives have virtually no restrictions on visible body mods. Since this...
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...SICC INK’S MARKETING PLAN Products and services Sicc Ink Tattoo and body piercing studio offers a safe and professional atmosphere where customers can get quality tattoos and body piercings done by our licensed and professional staff in a clean and relaxing environment. We specialize in black and grey tattoo art and the much sought after traditional Japanese style tattoos. For those interested in body piercings and accessory jewelry we offer an extremely wide range of tongue rings, hoops, studs belly button rings, and much more. We offer one of a kind, fully custom tattoos. In our studio we pride ourselves on our professionalism, workmanship, and our ability to maintain a health standard that surpasses all mandated health department standards. We, At Sicc Ink strive to be the best in the business. We even offer an apprenticeship program for those individuals interested in learning to tattoo themselves, and assist apprentices seeking their own license once their apprenticeship is completed. Size and demographics of the market Presently the national tattoo industry is booming and according to the US Economic Census the industry expects growth at a rate of about five percent a year. Several years ago estimations concluded that roughly 15,000 to 25,000 tattoo parlors remain in business accumulatively generating anywhere from two to three billion dollars annually. It is now 2013 and tattoos are continuing to gain popularity and acceptance at an accelerated pace. The costs...
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...is important that a person knows the background of any issue. Body piercings are decorative jewelry on ones body. Body piercings are more than just poking a needle through the skin. It is for a persons self image and/or satisfaction. Defending both sides of this matter will be presented. The general arguments about body piercings are the risks, how a person can be perceived, and why people think the way they do about piercings. A person usually does not give much thought to all the factors that go into getting a piercing. A main concern in getting a piercing is infection. It is said by reports from the 16th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in 2006 that bacterial infections are hardly serious, but between 10-20% of piercings follow in some type of bacterial infection. An additional risk in getting a body piercing is the possible result of permanently scarred, damaged skin tissue either from infection or simply tearing the piercing out of its place, as stated from WebMD.com. Look at the other side of this argument; if a piercing is properly cared for and well maintained, the chance of damaged skin tissue or infection is decreased immensely. If a person is extra cautious with a piercing and let it heal without any interference, there will be no problems for the piercing to heal properly, as stated from Irene Lin, M.D, from Los Altos Center in Los Altos, California. A piercing can end well if taken care of or result in complications if not...
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...Body art has been around for many centuries and over time it has developed into a way to express oneself. From tattoos to piercings, to even more extreme fashion like cosmetic surgery, body art sure has became a creative way for people to make a new identity for themselves. In my opinion, body art should not be practiced unless their culture or beliefs are the ideal reason or if they take a course in body modification just so they acknowledge the risk and complications that come with procedures so drastic and that are unnecessary if it is just for pleasure. Before you make that appointment to get your tattoo that you have been wanting so bad for the longest time, just think about the placement first of all. Where would you be receiving this...
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...The History and Culture of Body Modification What is body modification and why has it had such a large impact on society? For centuries humans have been using their bodies as a canvas to identify themselves to the rest of society. Body modification lets a person stand out or blend in; it allows people to describe who they are and where they come from without saying a word. There are many forms of body modification such as Tattooing, Scarification, Piercings, Stretching, Plastic Surgery, and Corseting. Each form holds a story, a reason why it is done. “ In the past three decades, Western body art has not only become a practice, and in some quarters a fashion, that has crossed social boundaries of class and gender, "high" culture and "low," but also it has been greatly influenced by "tribal" practices, past and present.” (Enid Schildkrout, Inscribing the Body, Para 10 line 8) Tattooing The history of tattooing stems back thousands of years from all over the world for all different reasons. “In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old. The distribution of the tattooed dots and small crosses on his lower spine and right knee...
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...“A tattoo is a true poetic creation, and is always more than meets the eye.” ~V. Vale and Andrea Juno I. INTRODUCTION A Tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos have been used by most cultures for centuries and recently have become very popular with both men, women and youth. But why are tattoos so popular in today’s society? Most people who have tattoos will say that they got it for a specific time or person in their lives that they will never forget. Others say that they feel more adventurous and don’t really have a specific reason for getting their tattoo. For some people, tattoos make them feel different from other people. Some people say it is art. In an NBC News article a young man said, “Your body’s an empty canvas, so you almost want to continue to add to it.” Some don’t personally like tattoos and don’t understand them. Some understand are representation of a special someone or a specific time in ones life more than the ones that are there to show rebellness. Fads and styles come and go and we are not sure if tattoos will ever die down, but if they do, some people may regret getting tattoos. Tattooing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures and spread throughout the world. Tattooing was popular among certain ethnic groups in Southern China, Polynesia, Africa, Borneo, Cambodia, Europe, Japan, the Mentawai Islands, MesoAmerica, New Zealand, North America...
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...Lip stretching is a body modification that goes back 10,000 years and had been practiced all over the world, from Siberia to South America, from the Middle East to Europe, although there is no evidence that the custom traveled from one area to another. The procedure survives only in Africa and among some Amazonian tribes in South America. The practice is seen among women in the Mursi and Surma tribes of Ethiopia. The lower lip is pierced and a peg is inserted, to be replaced with a larger peg as the skin stretches. A plate or labret is inserted when the piercing is large enough. Traditionally, this is done as a young woman prepares to marry, but is now a personal decision rather than an obligation. Skull binding has been practiced at various points in history in widespread parts of the world, with some evidence of Neanderthal skulls that had been shaped around 45,000 BCE in Iraq. The custom of head shaping has been most notable among skulls excavated in Peru, where the practice dates back 9,000 years. The skull can only be shaped during infancy. The bones eventually harden to the point that skull modification would only break the cranial bones. An infant's skull would be wrapped with cloth (sometimes with wooden boards added) to restrict its expansion sideways, causing the head to grow long and tall instead. This practice was usually restricted to the wealthier classes. Reproductions of such skulls can be purchased online. Scarification is a traditional alternative...
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...April 1, 2014 Body Modifications To me body modifications are a way to show and express a certain creativity or to show an individualism for everyone to see that you want to be unique and stand out above everyone else. There are many different ways to change your image. Using make-up, dying your hair, cutting your hair, working out, gaining weight, and tattoos and piercings are all different ways to change the way you look. Most of the people who do any of those things don’t change their look because other people told them too, they do it so that they can feel better about themselves in any way you can. I interviewed five people I know and found out their opinions on their body modifications if they had any and what they think about it if they do not. My boyfriend who has gauges and piercings told me that he had to hide his piercings in fear that his father would not approve of them since he works with the military. So for a long time he had to always be self-aware of what his dad would day to him if he found out. Then one day he decided to just show him and he said “I don’t understand why you would want to have those in your ears but if that’s what you want then I cannot tell you that you cannot have them.” In my own opinion I think that’s the best way to handle a situation with a child wanting to change their appearance. I then interviewed my own mother because I know she has a hard time coming to terms with people who want to put something on their body to change what...
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...Discrimination in the workplace is often very common. Even though workplaces say that race, gender and religious beliefs and appearance do not contribute into getting hired, they do. Many employers don’t admit it, but they do judge people by their looks, beliefs(religious or not), and habits. If the employer is racist, he will very easily overlook a person of another ethnicity. When it comes to a job like construction they might not hire a woman because they believe that they cannot work as well as a man can. I have witnessed workplace discrimination in my own job when it comes to gender.. My boss would not hire men , because she believes women know how to “ clean and get things done better. “ Religion is a major factor in a lot of workplace...
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