Tattoo: About Tattoo

Tattoo involves puncturing the skin with a sharp instrument and inserting pigment through the outer layer, the epidermis, into the second layer, the dermis. Tattoos are intended to be permanent; only recently have expensive laser techniques allowed people to remove them. Tattoo patterns and techniques have varied with different cultures. Traditional Polynesian tattooists tap a needle with a small hammer, while the Japanese work with bundles of needles set in wooden handles. In the West, the electric tattoo machine has revolutionized tattooing, expanding the ease of application and the range of colors and designs. Besides being decorative, tattoos send important cultural messages: a commitment to some group, an emblem of a rite of passage, even a fashion statement. Tattooing has been used to indicate high rank in some societies, rebellion and low status in others. Despite numerous religious and social injunctions, tattooing has been a popular form of body art throughout the world. Although tattooing is a popular form of self-expression, the practice can involve potential health risks. Regarding tattooing, the New York City Department of Health states:

"Tattooing is an invasive procedure that can result in serious skin and blood infections. Where procedures involving penetration of the skin are not performed correctly, they can be means of transmitting organisms that cause diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. It is advisable that pregnant women and persons with possible allergies to ink or dyes consult with their physician prior to getting a tattoo. In New York State, it is against the law to tattoo any person under the age of 18 years. Parental consent for tattooing persons under the age of 18 is not allowable."

Terminology and etymology

The origin of the word tattoo is usually traced to the Tahitian tatu or tatau, which means to mark or strike (the latter referring to traditional methods of applying the designs).

The word "tattoo" is now the most common word to describe the art and process throughout the English-speaking world. "Tattoo" is commonly used by speakers of other languages as well, even when there are native words that mean the same thing. Sometimes different words are used for different types of art or different procedures. In Japanese, for example, the word used for traditional designs or those that are applied using traditional methods is irezumi, while "tattoo" is used for non-Japanese designs.

Most tattoo enthusiasts refer to tattoos as art and to tattooists (less often "tattooers") as artists. This usage is rapidly gaining support, with mainstream art galleries holding exhibitions of tattoo designs and photographs of tattoos.

Generic (that is, not custom-drawn) tattoo designs that are mass produced and sold to tattoo artists and studios are called flash. "Tattoo Flash" is also the name of an American tattoo magazine.

Prevalence

It is impossible to give exact figures since there is no reporting on the number of tattoos performed, but the evidence suggests that tattooing (along with piercing and some other forms of body modification) is rapidly gaining in popularity in many parts of the world, and is gaining mainstream acceptance in many areas, particularly in the west.

Many celebrities, mostly those in the music industry, wear tattoos, but there are many others who have tattoos but generally keep them covered. In some areas, tattoos still have a largely negative image. This is particularly true in East Asian countries and regions, where tattoos are still generally associated with criminality in the public's mind; therefore those who choose to be tattooed in such countries usually keep their tattoos covered for fear of reprisal. For example, many businesses such as gyms, hot springs and recreational facilities in Japan still ban people with visible tattoos.

It has been suggested that a majority of prisoners in US prisons have at least one tattoo. It is said that most triad members in Hong Kong have a tattoo of a black dragon on the left bicep and one of a white tiger on the right; in fact, many people in Hong Kong use "left a black dragon, right a white tiger" as a euphemism for a triad member. It is widely believed that one of the initiation rites in becoming a triad member is silently withstanding the pain of receiving a tattoo the size of one's entire back in one sitting, usually performed in the traditional "hand-poked" style. Tattoos, particularly full traditional body suits, are still popularly associated with the yakuza (mafia) in Japan; in reality, however, many yakuza members are choosing not to be tattooed to avoid this very stigma.

Procedure

Some tribal cultures still create tattoos by cutting designs into the skin and rubbing the resulting wound with ink, ashes or other agents. This may be an adjunct to scarification. Some cultures create tattooed marks by "tapping" the ink into the skin using sharpened sticks or animal bones. Traditional Japanese tattoos (irezumi) are still "hand-poked," that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel.

The most common method of tattooing in modern times is with an electric tattoo machine. In this procedure, ink is inserted into the skin via a group needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, usually 50 to 3,000 times a minute.

Tattoo machines operate on an electromagnetic principle (much like an old-fashioned door bell) and are manufactured by many small to mid-sized companies throughout the world.

In prisons, tattoo machines are not available, so machines are cobbled together. Tattoos created under such conditions are frequently painful, and the resulting designs are coarser. There is also significant risk of illness, including such blood-borne diseases as HIV and hepatitis. Prisoners often dismiss these risks in a show of toughness.