Why People Get Tattoos And Other Body Art

Looks at some of the cultural, aesthetic, expressive, and religious motivations that people have for getting tattoos and body art.

This insightful book offers readers an intriguing perspective into the culture of tattooing and the reasons why people worldwide choose to get them. The perspective that readers gain can potentially alter their decision to get a tattoo themselves. The chapters investigate reasons for tattooing, including self-expression, to memorialize a loved one, or to commemorate a life-changing event, for military or religious belonging, and fashion. Understanding the motivations behind getting a tattoo can give a deeper appreciation of this ancient art form.

With about 10–20% of the adult population in Europe being tattooed, there is a strong demand for publications discussing the various issues related to tattooed skin and health. Until now, only a few scientific studies on tattooing have been published. This book discusses different aspects of the various medical risks associated with tattoos, such as allergic reactions from red tattoos, papulo-nodular reactions from black tattoos as well as technical and psycho-social complications, in addition to bacterial and viral infections. Further sections are dedicated to the composition of tattoo inks, and a case is made for the urgent introduction of national and international regulations. Distinguished authors, all specialists in their particular fields, have contributed to this publication which provides a comprehensive view of the health implications associated with tattooing. The book covers a broad range of topics that will be of interest to clinicians and nursing staff, toxicologists and regulators as well as laser surgeons who often face the challenge of having to remove tattoos, professional tattooists and producers of tattoo ink.

Cultural sensibilities about tattooing are discussed within historical context and in relation to broader trends in body modification, such as cosmetic surgery, dieting, and piercing.

Tattoos as art, work, decoration and defiance.

From expressing cultural and religious beliefs to saying something about yourself as an individual, the tattoo is a form of communication, and an art form in its own right. This collection takes a comprehensive look at tattooing. Written in an even, neutral tone, the series shares technical information on getting inked, removing ink, top reasons why people get tattoos, and how tattoos are expressed throughout the world. A crisp, colorful design lays the framework for stunning color photographs and intriguing sidebars that get under the skin of these tattoo topics.

"In this provocative work full of intriguing female characters from tattoo history, Margot Mifflin makes a persuasive case for the tattooed woman as an emblem of female self-expression." —Susan Faludi Bodies of Subversion is the first history of women’s tattoo art, providing a fascinating excursion to a subculture that dates back into the nineteenth-century and includes many never-before-seen photos of tattooed women from the last century. Author Margot Mifflin notes that women’s interest in tattoos surged in the suffragist 20s and the feminist 70s. She chronicles: * Breast cancer survivors of the 90s who tattoo their mastectomy scars as an alternative to reconstructive surgery or prosthetics. * The parallel rise of tattooing and cosmetic surgery during the 80s when women tattooists became soul doctors to a nation afflicted with body anxieties. * Maud Wagner, the first known woman tattooist, who in 1904 traded a date with her tattooist husband-to-be for an apprenticeship. * Victorian society women who wore tattoos as custom couture, including Winston Churchill’s mother, who wore a serpent on her wrist. * Nineteeth-century sideshow attractions who created fantastic abduction tales in which they claimed to have been forcibly tattooed. “In Bodies of Subversion, Margot Mifflin insightfully chronicles the saga of skin as signage. Through compelling anecdotes and cleverly astute analysis, she shows and tells us new histories about women, tattoos, public pictures, and private parts. It’s an indelible account of an indelible piece of cultural history.” —Barbara Kruger, artist