ANGLIA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

MULTICULTURAL BRITAIN

MODULE:AEH1011

ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

SID:0012392/01

TOPIC: YOUTH CULTURE-TATTOO

 Tattoo is the art of permanent painting in one’s skin. The word tattoo has its
origins in the Tahitian word ‘tatu’, which means ‘to mark something’. The Art of
Tattoo started in about 12,000 BC. Darwin wrote, “There is no nation on earth that
does not know this phenomenon”1. And in fact all the different cultures have tried
tattoo. From the very first cultures of Maori and Eskimos, to the Americans and
Britons, tattoo has traveled through the centuries on the skins of the people who had
them and passed some sort of quick information. However, the purpose of tattoo
varied from culture to culture.

Tattoo, played always an important role in the tradition of each culture. First
of all, tattoo could mark special occasions. Occasions of everyday life, like wedding,
pregnancy, birth, death, illness, victory, defeat etc. In the case of pregnancy tattoo
protected the mother and mainly the baby from the evil spirits and secondly it was a
way to guess or try to change the sex of the baby. It was also believed that tattoos
protected, as magic filters, the bodies from illnesses and therefore they used them like
vaccinations. In the man’s life, they usually marked a good hunting or a victory in a
war and of course the phase of growing up. In woman’s life they marked together the
phase of growing up with the marriage and then the pregnancy.

Moreover, tattoo showed that you belong in a tribe or in an organization. For

example, early Britons used tattoos in ceremonies. They used to tattoo family crests to
show that they belong in a different family. But also in the old times, criminals used to
be tattooed with a number of lines on their forehead. One line used to show a first
crime, a second one used to show a second crime and so on.

A great impression gives us the fact that the religious tattoos were overused.
Those religious tattoos had different meanings. Tattoos were used to bring a person
into a relationship, with a God. It had mystical and magical significance. Additionally
many people used to tattoo crosses or the face of Jesus and Virgin Mary. In that period
people were afraid of whipping. So they put the face of Jesus on top of their heads or
on their back, in order to gain the mercy of their lord or boss and avoid whipping.
Another use of the cross was to mark the death of a favourite person. In this way the
dead person would be honoured and not forgotten. Except crosses they used to tattoo
1
Benedict Taschen Verlag, 1000 Tattoos, p. 6; quoted by Darwin.
stones with the name of the beloved or a portrait of his face. So the dead person would
be remembered forever. It has been also believed that the wearer of an image calls the
spirit of that image and maybe in this way they tried to call the dead person.

Another reason for being tattooed was the desire to bring fear and terror to
others. Some used to tattoo two eyes in the inside of their hands, in order to draw their
enemy’s attention and make them weak and lose the fight. Others, who were by nature
weak or skinny, tattooed themselves in order to raise their self esteem and of course
spread some kind of fear and respect. From this derives also the need for protest.
People tattooed messages on them with a message for other people or the government.
“A tattoo can thus become the most extreme form of protest. It gives people the
strength to survive, the ability to assert oneself in the face of daily humiliation”.2

One country that has developed a lot the art of tattoo are the British Islands.
Unfortunately, the ancient art of Tattoo disappeared from Britain for four centuries.
From the 12th to the 16th. Tattoos were banned from the church as pagan symbols. In
1691 a sailor named William Dampher brought to London a heavily tattooed
Polynesian known as the Painted Prince. A great help in the renaissance of tattoo was
Captain James Cook, who also found people tattooed in the South Pacific and
Polynesia and brought them in Britain. People tried to remember and start over this
ancient art. In that period people used to tattoo themselves for a living. They worked
in circuses and they were a great show.

However, all this happened in the past. Nowadays, people use tattoos for
different reasons. First of all, the most important thing is beauty. Women use to tattoo
their lips, eyebrows and a permanent make-up or they try to cover some ugly spots
they have like moles and scars. It is also used to cover scars from operations or
accidents.

Today people and especially young people, tattoo their bodies because they
want to impress their peers, show they are trendy and show their strength to do painful
things like tattoos. Others use tattoo to rebel against their families and the society. But
the most important thing of all is that they use the tattoos to create a sexual desire to
2
Benedict Taschen Verlag, 1000 Tattoos, p. 14; quoted by the Taschen.
others. The new tattoos have transferred from the faces and the arms in the lower
back, the belly and the genitals. The trendiest designs for women are the tribal, the
Japanese or Chinese monograms and little animals like butterflies. On the other hand,
men as always prefer something wild, like tigers, lions or even the devil, tribal and
small animals like snakes, scorpions and spiders.

Additionally movie stars, singers, models, etc. tattoo their bodies in order to be
trendier and eventually more famous. In this way they pass the message that tattoo is
trendy and the youngsters try to imitate them immediately with no second thought.
Surprisingly more and more people are going out and getting tattoos.

Today tattoo has made a strong comeback. It is more popular than ever and the
tattooists are considered as ‘fine artists’. They use traditional or self-made designs.
The most important things that distinguish one tattoist from another are the tools, the
experience and the imagination. In the past, the tools that were using were self-made
and they didn’t follow any rules of sterilization. There were only black or grey tattoos
and the tools were sharp stones, bamboos or bones that had sharpened in the end.
Luckily on 1891 the electric tattooing machine was invented by the Irish Samuel O’
Riley and it is still used by modern tattooists. “The drive principle, based on an
electromagnet and a spring, has remained unchanged since its invention more than a
hundred years ago. However, the rotational movement is transformed into a vertical
one via a shaft”.3 Now there is a variety of colours for a more lively tattoo and also
there are used different needles each time.

Nowadays, legally you have to be 18 years old and older to have a tattoo.
Tattooists who accept make a tattoo to a young person can be prosecuted. To have a
tattoo is a very serious decision and is really very personal. In the shops there is a
large number of images from which you can choose the one you like. Moreover you
have more choices if you search the Internet. You must think responsible before you
have a tattoo because it is something that you’ll have forever. There are a lot of facts
about tattoos and tattooists that people should be aware of but the most common are
the following:

3
Benedict Taschen Verlag, 1000 Tattoos, p. 8; quoted by Taschen.
 i. Tattoos are painful but you can control the pain if you have it in the area of the
body that doesn’t have many bones. Relaxation also helps a lot.
ii. The more complex a tattoo is and with more colours, the more expensive it is.
The prices start from twelve pounds for the smallest images.
iii. It is your own business to take care your tattoo. If you don’t moisturize it, it
will fade. Especially the direct sunlight lightens the colour of the tattoo.
iv. It needs fifteen days to heal completely.
v. If the tattoist don’t sterilize the tools properly there is the fear of being
infected by HIV and all forms of hepatitis.
vi. You never know if the tattoist is experienced or amateur and therefore it is
recommended that you make a research before you have a tattoo.

However, the body can be decorated safety in other ways like, henna, stencils
or jewellery. In this way there is no fear of getting infected by a virus and of course
you can change the image when you like.

Unfortunately, not all of the people who get their tattoos like what they have
or believe in the design they have on their bodies. No matter how amazing is the art of
tattoo it happens that a lot of people with tattoo regret it later or can’t find a job. It is
shame that people criticize others for the tattoo they have on their skin. On the other
hand there are tattoos with very wild or immodest context. In this way of course you
are not able to find a job among others and especially children or the government.
Tattoo must have some limits and the most important is not to be offensive. For these
reasons people often decide to remove their tattoo.

Until now most of the methods that were used in tattoo removal were
dangerous for the skin because they created large scars. However, the introduction of
lasers into the field of tattoo removal was a very important step. They offered faster
and safer ways to remove tattoos than many of the non-laser methods. The latest
technology in the field of lasers is the Q-Switched lasers. But before you make a
tattoo removal takes place there must be a consultation from a dermatologist in order
to find out what type of skin you have and which laser is the most appropriate for
your occasion. The tattoo removal method with a laser is more expensive than having
a tattoo and you have to attend a lot of sessions. One every six weeks. However, the
results are usually very good and the skin comes back to its first appearance. There
are some exceptions when the skin is allergic and there is a danger of oxidization. The
melanin of the body in this case block the laser, the skin change colour and blisters.

Personally speaking, when I started writing this essay I was totally against
tattooing but through the research process I realized that there is a whole history in the
background of the ancient word ‘tatu’. Now I have changed my mind and I believe
that having a tattoo means something deeper than a simple image. It is also important
to understand its meaning through the person who wears it. To conclude, tattoo is a
very special art that has changed through the centuries and has come to us less painful
and more attractive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 Krakow, A. 1994. The Total Tattoo Book. Warner Books.

 Gilbert, S. 2001. Tattoo History. Juno Publishing.
 Taschen, V. 1996. 1000 Tattoos. Germany: edited by Henk schiffmacher.

SITES:
 http://kahuna.studio.free.fr
 www.tattoo.com
 www.tattoo.co.uk
 www.tattooyou.co.uk

MAGAZINES:
 Tattoo Savage
 Tattoo
 Tattoo Flash