Running head: BODY PIERCING AND TATTOOING 1

Body Piercing and Tattooing: A New Kind of Canvas

Gregory Gelsinger

Willow Canyon High School

March 10, 2011

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Body Piercing and Tattooing: A New Kind of Canvas

Many people take trips to special shops and parlors to buy paintings. These aren’t just

any normal paintings though. These masterpieces are just waiting to be painted, right onto the

body of a customer. Tattooing is an increasingly popular art that many young people are

becoming interested in. Whether it is just for a unique fashion statement, a memorabilia of a lost

friend or family member, or symbolizing the membership of a gang, many people come in to

tattoo parlors to get these pieces of work permanently embedded into their skin. Just like tattoos,

body piercing has also become very popular among young people in the United States, Europe,

Japan, etc. To pierce a part of the body, a needle is forced through the skin, followed by a piece

of jewelry to be set until it is fully healed. Once it is fully healed, the wearer may replace the

original jewelry with another. The downside to getting body piercings and tattoos is that there are

many dangers. Another problem with these is that it is frowned upon by most of the middle-aged

and senior community. One difference with these two is the difficulty in learning how to perform

these bodily changes. It is a very dangerous and talent-required industry which very rarely

people can be successful.

There are a significant amount of dangers involved with tattoo art. Firstly, the main worry

before getting a tattoo is who to trust. You will want to find a very popular tattoo parlor with

many good reviews and is known to be very sanitary with the equipment used. If this precaution

is not done, and the artist does not keep their equipment clean, it is possible to get a fever,

infection, swelling, pain, Hepatitis, HIV, etc. The ink in the tattoo can also lead to some dangers
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in the near future such as AIDS. According to the Mayo Clinic, “If the equipment used to create

your tattoo is contaminated with infected blood, you can contract various blood borne diseases”

(Mayo Clinic 2010).

As said before, Tattoo art and piercings are frowned upon by most of the middle-aged

and senior community. It is also frowned upon by the professional community, which makes

finding a job very difficult. The Marine Corp does not tolerate any “eccentric or faddish”

appearance, which include sleeves tattoos. "Sleeve" tattoos are not mainstream, thus they are

eccentric and draw undo attention ["Hearts on their sleeves," Oct. 23]. Reports of adults having

their tattoos removed show that tattoos fall under the category of "faddish."

(1st. Sgt. Robert Knox 2007). Most businesses make employees cover up obvious tattoos and

piercings with longer clothing, or flesh colored or clear gauges for the ears. These people are

often stereotyped as trashy, part of a gang, have poor judgment, offensive symbols, etc.

However, tattoo art is slowly working its way out onto the mainstream, and out of its once

frowned upon state.

Lastly, in order to perform tattoo artwork or body piercing, many years of experience is

required. It is more than just learning how to operate a tattoo machine. You will need to have raw

talent, which means that if you cannot draw, you probably are not meant to be a tattoo artist. “It

is hard to become a tattoo artist because it weeds out those who aren't equipped with these

necessities.” (A.R. Marth 2007) There are many things you have to consider before becoming a

tattoo artist. If you can draw well on paper, then you are pretty much set for the training. Next,

you will need an apprenticeship from someone who is very skilled in the trade. Apprenticeships

can sometimes be free, but is most often very costly. In addition to learning the trade, you will
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have to acknowledge the fact that whatever your hands do, will be permanent on the customer

and cannot be redone.

With that said, tattoo art and piercing is very dangerous and talent-required industry

which very rarely people can be successful. Whether it is just for a unique fashion statement, a

memorabilia of a lost friend or family member, or symbolizing the membership of a gang, many

people come in to tattoo parlors to get these pieces of work permanently embedded into their

skin. Before getting a tattoo, remember that it will stay with you for your entire life and cannot

be removed without a lot of time, pain, and money.

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References

Schmidt RM, et al. Tattooing and body piercing. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html.

Accessed Oct. 29, 2009.

1stSgt. Robert Knox, Tattoos Unacceptable.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41983

Feb. 22, 2007.

A.R. Marth, Steps to becoming a tattoo Artist. http://www.helium.com/items/236968-steps-to-

becoming-a-tattoo-artist

Mar. 28, 2007

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