Misconceptions about Tattooing and body Piercing

One of these generations is the generation of “tattoos and piercings”, which expresses its freedom by making body marks. Why is it that many people are tattooing themselves? Could there be any cultural reason behind this? Why would more and more people tolerate much pain when making marks or piecing their bodies? Each time we walk in the society we must see person with piercing(s) or a tattoo. The reality is that tattooing and piercing bodies have rapidly increased not just in United States of America but in the entire globe. Personally, I have three piercings and two tattoos. Like most teenagers do, I decided to have body marks after turning eighteen years for I thought and felt that it is as a decent fashion. ” Today it has spread out to many cultures in the world up to even in the remote regions and cultures.

Tattooing has become part of the society. In a research carried out on March, 2005, “The journal of American Academy of Dermatology” it was realized that 25% of the U. S’s population had at least one tattoo and 16% were planning to have a tattoo in future. It has spread out rapidly because of two reasons: tattooing process requires less time and has less pain. In addition, this was used as criteria to deter individuals from committing criminal offenses in the public. For instance, in China, the top authorities used to make tattoos on the faces of the persistent criminals before banishing them to other different lands (Klaus). This created a great misconception that all the people who have tattoos in the society are criminals or else ex-convicts until today. Today people get tattoos for decorations and increasing their beauty.

It is wrong to conclude that all tattooed people are ex-convicts. There are Asian gang groups such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, which have particular tattoos for identification. The Hong Kong gang triads have phoenixes and dragons on their arms as a symbol of their membership. eventually, many people in the United States and the entire would assume that anybody who has a tattoo must be a member of a particular gang group. There are great misconceptions about the use of tattoos and body piercings on the society. Different religious have different ideas and beliefs about how they see the “tattoo generation”. However, this may not be true; hence it is a religious misconception. I think that not all people with tattoos or body marks are non-Christians. There are many people who have no tattoos or other body piercings and are not religious.

In addition, tattooing was used for religious beliefs as acts of belief. For instance, the Euro-Asiatic Catholics on the Malabar Coast had tattooed several birds on their arms, together with crosses to represent the Holy Ghost. Therefore, we need to eliminate the numerous stereotypes and misconceptions we have in our minds. In conclusion, tattooing and body piercing are body marks which are harmless though many cultures have different stereotypes, myths and misconceptions about the practice. Everybody has a choice whether to get a tattoo or not. However, the misconceptions that tattooing and body piercing are a taboo, satanic practice, a criminal practices and that it is practiced by members of a bad gang group affect the life of the tattooed persons. Such misconceptions affect such individuals in terms of spiritual life, employability, getting a marriage partners and how they are perceived or treated in the society.

 Written on the Body: The Tattoo in European and American History (2000): 156-173. Kaplan, David E. and Alec Dubro.  Yakuza: Japan's criminal underworld. Univ of California Press, 2012. Harvard University Press, 2009.