Tattooing in The 21st Century
During the latter decades of the 20th century tattooing became a popular social practice worldwide. Many younger (and some older) people today either have aspirations to have a tattoo somewhere on their body, or already have one or more. Some elect for one or several small tattoos such as butterflies, flowers, or other designs, while others may have significant portions of their skin covered. Popular along these lines are the 'half-sleeve', having the upper arm covered in tattoos, or 'full-sleeve', which includes the upper and lower arms. Whether or not to get a tattoo which is visible while wearing clothing is a matter of taste, but also involves consideration of future employment opportunities, and societal and family pressures.
It is assumed that the majority of tattoo recipients patronize tattoo parlors, which- according to varying state laws- have been registered and observe accepted standards of hygiene. However, some individuals do not, and some even use home tattooing equipment.
Over the past 50–100 years, it has become more acceptable for ordinary people to have tattoos and less so for the aristocracy - a reversal of the situation in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Tattoos are used today as a sign of affiliation to certain street gangs and many are tattooed in prison as 'badge of honor' so that 'ex-cons' can recognize each other.
Tattooing remains as the archetypal means of 'body painting' and decoration, and certainly the most permanent, and while the traditional popular designs appear to have been devised from 'heavy metal' and 'motorbike gang culture, these are slowly being replaced by more modern tattoo designs based upon Celtic, Indian and Asian themes in addition to floral and other natural images.
Read more about this topic: History Of Tattooing
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.”
—Anonymous. Late 19th century ballad.
The quatrain refers to the famous case of Lizzie Borden, tried for the murder of her father and stepmother on Aug. 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts. Though she was found innocent, there were many who contested the verdict, occasioning a prodigious output of articles and books, including, most recently, Frank Spiering’s Lizzie (1985)