Tattoos and other body modification have been around for years. There are thousands of tattoo designs and many different types or styles of tattoos.
Basically a tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. People have been using tattoos and other body modification as a type of body decoration and has been practiced worldwide for centuries.
The word "tattoo" is a borrowing of the Samoan word tatau, meaning to mark or strike twice (the latter referring to traditional methods of applying the designs). The first syllable "ta", meaning "hand", is repeated twice as an onomatopoeic reference to the repetitive nature of the action, and the final syllable "U" translates to "color". The instrument used to pierce the skin in Polynesian tattooing is called a hahau, the syllable "ha" meaning to "strike or pierce".
Today we have what is called tattoo guns. These work in the same way using a type of motor to move a single needle or group of needles in a rapid up and down movement allowing the artist to complete a tattoo design much more quickly than in the past.
Tattoos and other body modification have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion,
decorations for bravery,
sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts. The symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures, sometimes with unintended consequences. Also, tattoos and other body modification show how a person feels about another person, or how they feel about a relative, preferably mother/father or daughter/son.
Today, people choose to get tattoos and other body modification for cosmetic, sentimental/memorial, religious, and magical reasons, and to symbolize their
belonging to or identification with particular groups, including criminal gangs but also a particular ethnic group or law-abiding subculture. Some Māori still choose to wear intricate moko on their faces. In Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, the yantra tattoo is used for protection against evil and to increase luck.
Piercing
Body piercing is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. Body piercing is a form of body modification. The word piercing can refer to the act
or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. The cultural norms reflected in body piercing are various due to the fact that ideas about body modification range greatly. They may include religion, spirituality, fashion, eroticism, conformism, or subcultural identification.
Ear piercing, of either one or both ears, has long been practiced by men and women in many non-Western cultures.
It is also the most popular type of body modification. Other forms of body piercing have also existed continuously for as long as ear piercing.
For example, women in India and Pakistan routinely practice ear and nostril piercing, and have done so for centuries. In the western world the body modification of navel or belly button piercing have become quite the norm for younger women.
Attitudes towards piercing, as a body modification, vary. Some regard the practice of piercing or of being pierced as spiritual, sometimes embracing the term "modern primitive", while others deride this view as insulting, as cultural appropriation, or as trendy. Some see the practice as a form of artistic or self-expression.
Others choose to be pierced as a form of sexual expression, or to increase sexual sensitivity. For some people, piercing and other forms of body modification is part of their practices of S&M. In most countries, some people find forms of body piercing distasteful and/or refuse to permit employees to display their piercings on the job as part of the dress code.
So, no matter what you choose there are many different forms of tattoos and body modification to look at in order to find that self-expression you desire. Understand that you are investing in something that will be with you for a very long time. Not all tattoos and other body modification are permanent but they are intended to reflect a part of you for many years to come.
Reference: Wikipedia
Basically a tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. People have been using tattoos and other body modification as a type of body decoration and has been practiced worldwide for centuries.
The word "tattoo" is a borrowing of the Samoan word tatau, meaning to mark or strike twice (the latter referring to traditional methods of applying the designs). The first syllable "ta", meaning "hand", is repeated twice as an onomatopoeic reference to the repetitive nature of the action, and the final syllable "U" translates to "color". The instrument used to pierce the skin in Polynesian tattooing is called a hahau, the syllable "ha" meaning to "strike or pierce".
Today we have what is called tattoo guns. These work in the same way using a type of motor to move a single needle or group of needles in a rapid up and down movement allowing the artist to complete a tattoo design much more quickly than in the past.
Tattoos and other body modification have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion,
decorations for bravery,
sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts. The symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures, sometimes with unintended consequences. Also, tattoos and other body modification show how a person feels about another person, or how they feel about a relative, preferably mother/father or daughter/son.
Today, people choose to get tattoos and other body modification for cosmetic, sentimental/memorial, religious, and magical reasons, and to symbolize their
belonging to or identification with particular groups, including criminal gangs but also a particular ethnic group or law-abiding subculture. Some Māori still choose to wear intricate moko on their faces. In Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, the yantra tattoo is used for protection against evil and to increase luck.Piercing
Body piercing is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. Body piercing is a form of body modification. The word piercing can refer to the act
or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. The cultural norms reflected in body piercing are various due to the fact that ideas about body modification range greatly. They may include religion, spirituality, fashion, eroticism, conformism, or subcultural identification.Ear piercing, of either one or both ears, has long been practiced by men and women in many non-Western cultures.
It is also the most popular type of body modification. Other forms of body piercing have also existed continuously for as long as ear piercing.
For example, women in India and Pakistan routinely practice ear and nostril piercing, and have done so for centuries. In the western world the body modification of navel or belly button piercing have become quite the norm for younger women.
Attitudes towards piercing, as a body modification, vary. Some regard the practice of piercing or of being pierced as spiritual, sometimes embracing the term "modern primitive", while others deride this view as insulting, as cultural appropriation, or as trendy. Some see the practice as a form of artistic or self-expression.
Others choose to be pierced as a form of sexual expression, or to increase sexual sensitivity. For some people, piercing and other forms of body modification is part of their practices of S&M. In most countries, some people find forms of body piercing distasteful and/or refuse to permit employees to display their piercings on the job as part of the dress code.
So, no matter what you choose there are many different forms of tattoos and body modification to look at in order to find that self-expression you desire. Understand that you are investing in something that will be with you for a very long time. Not all tattoos and other body modification are permanent but they are intended to reflect a part of you for many years to come.
Reference: Wikipedia
