Growing up in a very religious household, I was always told that tattoos are not good for you. God did not approve of them. You were not supposed to make permanent marks on your body like that. If you did, you were proclaimed as a "sinner." Today we see tattoos everywhere, even in the church. Why have they been accepted now? What made people change their minds on tattoos? I believe that people have learned to appreciate them.
I appreciate the art of tattoos for many reasons. The first is this: tattoos are art. There are so many different kinds of tattoos. It truly is a way to express yourself. Isn't that what art is all about? For people who don't understand or like tattoos, I can see why you would say that; however, I will not agree with you if say that you can't see the beauty in tattoos. Expression of one's unique personality will always be beautiful to me.
With tattoos being artistic, they can be found in many shapes and sizes and all over the body. This allows tattoos to be strategically placed anywhere on the body. (I would not recommend a tattoo on some of those areas, though. That's painful.) What I'm getting at here is that anyone can have a tattoo. Regardless of your social standing, you can easily hide a tattoo on your body that means something to you. Anyone (lawyers, doctors, teachers, preachers, even POTUS) can have that tattoo and hide it from judgment in their social lives.
However, if you want everyone to see that tattoo, you can also do that. Tattoos can be used for social movements. I have seen many tattoos that are used to further a social movement. An example of this would be the semicolon tattoos that are popular right now. Not only are these tattoos used to make it easier for everyone to talk about the subject of mental health, but they are used as a badge of honor to someone that has been through depression. Every time that person looks at that tattoo, they remind themselves of how brave they were during that period of their life.
Those are just three of the reasons I believe tattoos have become more accepted and appreciated among people today. It's not all about what our peers think anymore. It's about how you feel and if it makes you happy. Happiness is something that everyone strives to have, and if having a tattoo on your body does that for you, then get one! I myself have a tattoo and look at it in the mirror every day as I am getting ready. It reminds myself of why I have it and what it means to me.