For the longest time, people have considered tattoos to be improper, with reason. These painful and permanent markings on the skin have often been considered religiously and socially inappropriate, especially in Western civilizations. From the times where slaves were forced to have markings on their skin for identification, to the Bible telling us not to change our appearance, tattoos in the United States have been looked down upon.

There is not only a stigma derived from history but also common sense. Why would you want to go through such a painful process in order to permanently mark your skin with a belief or ideal that might change someday?

A Brief History of the Tattoo

The word tattoo comes from the Polynesian word “tatau” which means to write. Tattoos have been found on the oldest mummified corpses and have existed through time in many places and cultures for different reasons. They have symbolized rights of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations of bravery, pledges of love, protection, and punishments. They were mostly brought to America by Japanese and Polynesian armatures and became popular during the American civil war among soldiers and sailors.

First a status of wealth, tattoos became cheaper and easier and became more prevalent for rebels and criminals. That’s where the stigma comes from today. Now, as history has developed, The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology has concluded that Generation X and Generation Y (aka us) are not afraid to express themselves through their appearance, and tattoos are a popular form of self-expression. Today, people choose to be tattooed for artistic, sentimental, religious, or personal beliefs and encourage this form of self-expression.

When I walk into my hair salon, my stylist runs her hands through my hair and I can see the small black markings on her wrist and fingers. The stylists around her have on the most daring, creative outfits and they too have tattoos. They have red, pink, or black hair with hats, skirts, and bright makeup. When I sit in my digital design classroom, my young teacher has tattoos scattered over her arms as she talks about artistic pieces I don’t quite understand.

As I exit the plane to Hawaii, I see the owl on my aunt’s wrist as she hugs me, and tribal shin tattoos on my uncle when we go fishing in the ocean. Some of my sorority sisters have coordinates, roman numerals, and short sayings written on different places on their body.

We are all trying to express ourselves. The reasons tattoos interest me is because they are daring, artistic, and meaningful. They are outward expressions about how we feel and who we are on the inside and I think that's becoming more acceptable for the whole world to understand.