Tattooing - Popularity In Society Today

Tattoos have experienced a resurgence in popularity around various parts of the globe, particularly in North and South America, Japan, and Europe. This rise in the number of tattoo enthusiasts has also led to a rising number of tattoo artists, many of whom have technical and fine arts training. This development in conjunction with the use of better pigments as well as technical development of tattoo machines, this has advanced the whole tattooing industry in terms of both quality and security. Common among modern tattoos are wrist tattoos. Typically female (”soft”) tatto motives could be for example angel wing tattoos. More elaborate, maybe more masculine, designs include cross tattoos.

In June 2006 the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published the results of a telephone survey which took place in 2004. It found that 36% of Americans ages 18-29, 24% of those 30-40 and 15% of those 41-51 had a tattoo. In September 2006, the Pew Research Center conducted a telephone survey which found that 36% of Americans ages 18-25, 40% of those 26-40 and 10% of those 41-64 had a tattoo. In January 2008, a survey conducted online by Harris Interactive estimated that 14% of all adults in the United States have a tattoo, just slightly down from 2003, when 16% had a tattoo.

It is still common among criminal gangs and prisoners to display tattoos as a way to show for example criminal experiences, stays in prison, and gang memberships. As an example, a tattoo shaped as a tear can in some cases indicate murder, with each tear representing the death of a friend. Also, the United States military have been using tattoos for a long time as a way to show which unit they belong to, battles they have fought and more, a practice that encompasses also older Americans. This practice is also prevalent among the Brish Armed Forces.

Although tattooing among these type of subcultures (military and criminals) have historical background and is somewhat removed from the current wave of popularity, the use of certain tattoos is still to some extent linked to criminality. Even though the wider popularity in the general population brings with it a more of acceptance, they still carry a heavy stigma among certain social groups.

The prevalence of women in the tattoo industry, along with larger numbers of women bearing tattoos, is changing negative perceptions. Keep in mind though that a study of “at-risk” (as defined by school absenteeism and truancy) adolescent girls showed a positive correlation between body-modification and negative feelings towards the body and self-esteem; however, also illustrating a strong motive for body-modification as the search for “self and attempts to attain mastery and control over the body in an age of increasing alienation.”