Sociology Behind Tattoos - 2349 Words

Introduction Body modifications have existed in our society for centuries and the way in which it is perceived has changed somewhat over the years. But certain stigmas still persists to this contemporary day. One such body modification is the act of inking or marking the skin: Tattooing. Like most body modifications, tattoos are an often misunderstood form of body modification. Despite the stigmas, tattoos have become a unique object of desire to diverse groups of people. But are the popular perceptions of tattoos out of synch with the true meaning behind them? This essay will explore the social and cultural practices of tattooing and the causal connection between the mind and the tattooed body. It will also explore why tattoos engender†¦show more content†¦Gradually the acceptance of tattoos seeped into the Western society, which led to the tattoo fad in England and USA in the late 1800s (Caplan, 2000). Despite the historical stigma, the fashionable society started adorning tattoos as a social expression. What started as a fad for the working classes, soon spread to the upper classes. Interestingly, the trend did not unify people of different classes. The upper class discriminated the tattooed lower class and saw their tattoos as a sign of deviance. On the most basic level, tattoos acted as a badge of social and cultural differentiation that separated the tattooed from the non-tattooed. On a deeper level, however, social and cultural homogeneity did not unite the tattooed, for the subject matter and aesthetic style of the tattoos created a fault-line that divided the classes. (Caplan, 2000, 148) One reason for the social divide is the reason behind their tattoos. The upper class got tattoos to impress, while the working class got tattoos to express. Over the next few decades, the social practice of tattooing sustained itself. But the art still raises eyebrows till this day and the tattooed remain relatively marginalized by the larger society. Motivations Behind Tattoos in the Contemporary Era There are multiple reasons for individuals to tattoo their bodies and the reasons are usually individualistic and subjective. The experience of being tattooed is intricately bound up with one’s character,Show MoreRelatedThe Tattoo By Chris Mckinney Essay1704 Words   |  7 Pages‘The tattoo’ is a novel which was written by Chris McKinney about a young adult named Ken ‘Kenji’ Hideyoshi who was sent to the Halawa Correctional Institute. Inside he tells his personal struggle of living life as a Japanese male brought up in Hawai’i, being exposed to poverty, colonialism, violence, urban gangs, and drugs. In this essay, I will argue that one can learn criminal and violent behaviour by those who they hold close interpersonal relationships with, for example, family and friends.Read MoreEssay on Gendered Self1139 Words   |  5 PagesSociology 202 Bovin Som Dr. Holzgang 11/19/2012 Gendered Self From January, 1991, the day I was born, I have been given a status, class, and expectation from both my family and the society. A status that was obtains involuntarily at birth, as a son of a Cambodian’s governor, and the only male in family after my dad. It was determined that my sex, the biological distinction between male and female, was male. From that moment, my parents used my gender, personal traits of the society to determinedRead MoreThe Practice of Body Piercing1130 Words   |  4 Pagesplays on pressuring individuals to changing their physical appearance, one is able to better understand that the complex desire to meet the standards of beauty in a society are a part of everyday life. To begin understanding the complex meanings behind body modification, the term must first be defined. According to Merriam’s Web Dictionary, body modification is the â€Å"deliberate altering of the human anatomy or phenotype.† Ranging anywhere from anorexia to turning one’s face to resemble that ofRead MoreThe Term Implicit Personality Theory1559 Words   |  7 Pagesthe friends that they will have and the aquaintences that they will choose to meet. Understanding the relationship that exists between the implicit personality theory and the impression management, it is important to understand the concept behind each term. Implicit personality is the trait an individual develops when meeting unfamiliar person through limited information about the same the person. An impression management is simply a perception a person develops when meeting a new person.Read MoreExplain The Procedures Of Three Sociological Research Methods And Evaluate Their Strengths And Weaknesses Essay961 Words   |  4 PagesExplain the procedures of three sociological research methods and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Sociology is the study of how humans experience life. Through studying behaviour, development, cultures and how people function as a society sociologist strive to explain social problems. This is achieved through research methods. Research methods can take many different approaches and rarely is one method used to gain insight and understanding, a mixture of different concepts can be usedRead MoreSample Resume : Mom s Mom Essay1562 Words   |  7 PagesAngie Castellanos Professor Dr. Song Sociology 10 December 15, 2016 Mom’s Mom’s. When you hear the word â€Å"Mom†, what are the first thoughts that race into your head? What is the image that you get? Is it a Betty Crocker mom from the 1950’s? or perhaps a soccer mom? A Betty Crocker mom is someone who bakes and stays home to take care of the kids and the household. While a soccer mom is a mother who spends a great deal of time driving her kids around to extracurricular activities. These are theRead MoreEssay on Dramaturgical Analysis1185 Words   |  5 Pagesand may have the foundation to make that happen. But we cannot be sure of every interaction we will have throughout the day, having to ebb and flow with the conversations and situations as they happen. Adopted into sociology by Erving Goffman, he developed most terms and the idea behind dramaturgical analysis in his 1959 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This book lays out the process of human social interaction, sometimes called impression management. Goffman makes the distinctionRead MoreExplain The Procedures Of Three Sociological Research Methods And Evaluate Their Strengths And Weaknesses1151 Words   |  5 PagesExplain the procedures of three sociological research methods and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Sociology is the study of how humans experience life. Through studying behaviour, development, cultures and how people function as a society sociologist strive to explain social problems. This is achieved through research methods. Research methods can take many different approaches and rarely is one method used to gain insight and understanding, a mixture of different concepts can be usedRead MoreTattoos And Its Effect On Society Essay2019 Words   |  9 PagesThe tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about thisRead MoreCorrelation Between Ta ttoos and Risky Behavior Essay example3158 Words   |  13 PagesThis study will examine the correlation between deviance and tattoos. We hypothesize that there will be a correlation between the amount of tattoos one has and their participation in risky activities. We also hypothesis that people with tattoos, are more likely to engage in sexual activities with multiple partners. The next hypothesis will be that tattooed individuals are more likely to engage in drugs and alcohol usage. An online survey created by the authors will be used to score the participant’s