Tattoos in Society: A Progression of Acceptance

Tattoos have shifted to be many different forms of personal identification; from tribal, to low class, to upper class, and now widely accepted in all levels of society.

Tattoos in society have progressed from having a negative connotation in past centuries to recently being widely accepted by all members of society as an art form. The timeline below maps the changing acceptance and use by different social groups.

Tattoos in their earliest form were markings thought to heal. The oldest ever instance of tattooing was found on the Otzi the Iceman, dating back to 4000BCE. The marking included lines and crosses on his knees, spinal chord, and shoulders where there seemed to be strains and cracking in the bones.

As time progressed, they began to be used as tribal identification in India and across Asia. Curator of African arts at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Christopher Roy, described the tribal tattooing as, “A way for people to recognize the boundaries of population in a time where land ownership was difficult to determine.”

Time moved forward, along with the evolution of society and its norms. Criminal activity and laws against it were outlined. Tattoos moved to identify with the lower class of criminals across Asia. In Japan, tattoos began to be used to identify Yakuza members that formed with the disbandment of the samurai by higher government. Samurai would tattoo their whole bodies in a way to keep the concept of their traditional armor in tact. In China, tattoos were given to criminals on their foreheads to mark their misdeeds for all of society to see, effectively creating the negative connotation behind tattoos.

Tattoos spread across western culture with the involvement of sailors through trade routes. First, Sir William Fobisher, a British sailor traveling to the Americas, brought a tattooed Inuit woman to be an attraction in Queen Elizabeth I’s court, and first spreading the idea of tattoos in western culture. Ten, Captain James Cook’s expeditions to the Polynesian islands allowed sailors to learn the techniques of tattooing from the natives. This became a widespread cultural identification for sailors and the lower class that associated with them.

Tattooing traveled and became accepted from port to port, and the installment of professional tattoo artists in inland societies became apparent. The first documented tattoo artist in the United States was Martin Hildebrant, and he tattooed members of the military on both sides of the Civil War. This stemmed the acceptance and identification of tattoo culture in the military that is still applicable in contemporary society, and is practiced by lower foot soldiers to high ranking officers in all branches of military.

The installment of professional in Britain was first documented as Sutherland Macdonald, and he instilled the cultural identification of tattoos from lower class sailors to noblemen, including King George V and Tsar Nicholas II. This shift in cultural identity occurred through the late 19th Century.

From the late 19th century into contemporary society, tattoos have been picked up by the feminist movement to challenge upper class, white society. It moved from women with large amounts of tattoos being displayed as side-acts for the circus to women labeling their strength, covering scars of breast cancer, and identifying with different progressive political movements.

Old School Jeff, a local Iowa City tattoo artist at Iowa City Tattoo, discussed the frequency of women receiving tattoos in contemporary society. “Our demographic is mostly women. We get about 60% girls try to get tattoos with deeper meaning versus the 40% of guys who are usually getting something kind of dumb.”

Not all tattoos are considered art, and that is the most important aspect to society widely accepting tattoos in today’s society. Mostly young adults are beginning to give themselves stick and poke tattoos.

Local University of Iowa Student, Kamiryn Jancik, describes stick and pokes as, “Just kind of dumb. You give it to yourself using a needle and native ink, or you have one of your friends do it while you’re drunk. I have a few, and I wanted them to be dumb, because just the idea of getting one is kind of dumb.”

The acceptance of tattoos in society has come not only through liberal identification, but it has also has the driving force of pop culture production behind it. Shows such as Miami Ink has shown Food Network icon Anthony Bourdain recieving a tattoo on national television. Mattel release a tattooed Barbie doll, as well, providing a catalyst for acceptance to younger generations.

Tattoos have even become more accepted in the professional setting, and the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics has changed its professional appearance policy to include acceptable body art pieces to be visible during work hours.

Assistant to editor of the operations manual and professional appearance policy, Marc Deming, sat down to discuss the change of acceptance in the work place.

Times are changing, and society is becoming more comfortable with personal body art being displayed publicly. Rather than fight the movement, people should flow the shift to provide a more colorful society.