Jade Dragon is a Tattoo shop in Chicago, and they do all sorts of tattoos and body piercing. They are extremely professional, and have 22 world class tattoo artists (see http://jadedragontattoo.com/jade/26_Fact.html). They are just one example of the expanding tattoo market in North America. By browsing their website and other sites online I have been exploring this aspect of culture.
Tattoos have become a popular form of self expression these days, and it's actually hard to go a day without seeing someone sporting ink somewhere on their body. While being tattooed isn't a norm (generally agreed-upon standard for how people should behave, usually unwritten and learned unconsciously) yet, it seems to be going in that direction. Several decades ago this was not the case, and those with tattoos were seen as deviant and even dangerous... tattoos were the realm of sailors and gang members, forming a stereotype that still lingers today. I recently read an article written by someone who is tattooed, and they commented on how people look at them differently because of the tattoos, but how they want the tattooed community, which is more similar to a secondary group (people who identify with each other on the basis of having a tattoo, but who may never meet or interact) than anything else, to work at breaking that stereotype (link to article here http://tattoo.about.com/cs/articles/a/break_stereotyp.htm).
It has mostly been within the past few generations that tattooing has gained popular support in North American culture, and according to one article, "the market demographics for tattoo services are now skewed heavily toward mainstream customers. Tattooing today is the sixth-fastest-growing retail business in the United States. The single fastest growing demographic group seeking tattoo services is, to the surprise of many, middle-class suburban women."*
Some tattoo facts:
- The main age bracket of those with tattoos is between 18 and 40 **
- Men are slightly more likely to have tattoos (15% vs. 13%) **
- Tattoos are now more popular in the mainstream market, no longer a specialized, or "rebellious" crowd*
- In many cultures tattoos are used ritually, for rites of passage, decorations for bravery, marks of fertility, marks of status (wether slave or chief), or as a religious marker. ***
While I don't have a tattoo right now, I can definitely see myself getting one, and I think that as my generation ages that tattoos will become more and more accepted. I don't think that there will be such a stigma attached to tattoos for much longer, because at the rate that people are getting tattooed, there won't be too many people without them! In our society I don't think that tattoos have as much ritual symbolism as in some other cultures, but there is symbolic meaning for many people. I know people who say that every tattoo must have a story attached to it, and that it must mean something... but others just get tattoos for aesthetic reasons as well. Tattoo use is as diverse as the people who sport them.
i too can see myself getting a tattoo. I think that with the younger generations there is no taboo sticking to the idea of tatoos. ITs the older generation that still has that idea. I mean think about it, theres even that tv show on cable called la ink, its all about a tatoo business. That whole taboo thing is soon a thing of the past.
ReplyDelete