history of tattoos, body piercings and art

Humans show themselves in a variety of ways. - individual is special and may identify themselves in a number of ways. In certain parts of the world, people use their skin as a kind of novel, with photographs and decorations added to alter their appearance. Personal enjoyment, physical appearance, bravery, social and/or economic status, vitality, social transformation, and attachment to heavenly beings are all served by the alteration. Some people do so to commemorate a significant moment in their lives. Body arts became a medium for voicing one's political ideas during post-colonial times. It may also be used to demonstrate moral and personal convictions. This paper is an attempt to find out the origin of tattoos and other forms body art, from the aboriginal tribes, its evolution, and effect on culture and how it fits into the mainstream society today. In this paper informative approach of writing is applied from the eye of conflict perspective sociologist.

Tattoos and Its Origins

It is believed that tattoos came about over 9000 years ago (Oanta, Irimie and Morariu 125). The oldest recorded evidence of tattoos is that of a man called Otzi the Iceman, discovered in the year 1991. Otzi lived around 3300BC and died as a result of hypothermia (Turner 45). Oanta, Irimie and Morariu purport that in the ancient Egypt tattoos portraying imaginary animals of myths have been unearthed on the embalmed bodies of the ancient Egyptians (128). After the ascension of Jesus, Christianity was proclaimed in many parts of the world. Emperor Constantine gave a strict order prohibiting people from wearing tattoos since it was associated to those who break the law. By early nineteenth century, tattoos were no longer banned, and it was used by seamen, military and reached its peak when King George V was tattooed leading to the whole royal families becoming tattooed (Tuner 49).

Goldstein points out that tattoos have been used as a form of body decoration as well as a form of identification. During the Nazi regime, especially during the Holocaust, the Jews were tattooed before being sent to concentration camps for gassing. The Romans have also been known to tattoo the law breakers (604). Over the years tattoos have always been viewed as a taboo but as time went by this view as changed mainly because of change of human rights and modernization and new discoveries in technology. Despite the negative perceptions portrayed by tattoos in the past, nowadays tattoos are used for aesthetics and as a way of people expressing themselves (Armstrong 25).

Tattoos may also serve the purpose of identifying one’s sexual orientation. Tattoos near the genitals send sexual signals to the intended partners. The form of tattoo and where it is placed is a reliable indicator of sexual preference and orientation. In California, a particular tattoo on the ring finger of shows that one is bisexual while some pattern of dots on fingers indicates that one is a lesbian (Ezeibekwe, Usman, & Adeyinka 89).

Body Piercing

Body Piecing is another type of body art which was observed in the Middle East and can be dated back to over 5000 years ago in the Bible, the book of Genesis 24:22. By the sixteenth century, nose piercing was practiced in India, but it was not until the 1970s when it was brought to the western countries (Ison 36). Tongue piercing can be traced from the ancient Aztecs who performed it for spiritual purposes. The blood drawn from the people was used to invoke the gods so as the priests could communicate with them. Nowadays tongue piercing is very common and is employed by some people to enhance oral sexual pleasure. However, to many people, this perceived as a sexual pervasion (Ferguson 1629).

Ear Piercing

Ear piercing is an additional general type of body art. Ear piercing has been in practice since the ancient times, and perhaps it is the most common type of body piercing today. The primitive people of the ancient times used to believe that evil spirits entered through ears and they could be prevented by wearing metal devices on the ears (Turner 49). Seaman practiced ear piercing with the belief that it prevented bad omen and improved their eyesight (Ferguson 1627). Today, ear piercing is practiced in many societies. Some do it to signify a rite of passage, others for aesthetic purposes while others do it for religious purposes. In Borneo, an island in Asia, the father makes a hole in one ear of their child while the mother does so in the other ear as a symbol that a child depends on both parents (Oanta, Irimie & Morariu 128).

Contrary to popular belief that ear piercing is for female only; it is widely practiced by both sexes. In the western countries it was viewed as a feminine practice, but the recent years this view has changed. An example is the time of Elizabeth, great personalities like Shakespeare and Drake Francis pierced their ears and wore golden rings. This was not at all a new practice. During the time of Caesar, the wealth of the Roman Empire increased, the empire became more effeminate. Men, as well as women, wore earrings, and the emperor himself gave earrings to his men as presents (Oanta, Irimie & Morariu 129). Nonetheless, there are those who strongly object to this practice. In the year 2015, Susan Ingram started a movement against ear piercing especially in children. She claimed this is a practice which is detrimental to the health of the children and should be considered as a form torture. Children do not make free choices and thus ear piercing, if at all is to be allowed should be done by adults only. However, since this practice has been done for long, and even by nurses in hospitals, and no significant adverse effect has been observed, Susan’s petition was dismissed as baseless (Sanghani 2).

Lib Piercing

All over the world, lip-piercing is practiced and object inserted. Among the Dogon in Mali, lip piercing with a ring has a religious significance. They believe that their God “Noomi” is the creator of the universe, and used to weave thread using her teeth; however, instead of thread coming out, words were spoken (Millner, Vaughn, and Eichold 228). Several other tribes around the world perform labrets piercing. Among the ancients Maya, labret piercing was done on people of higher social status. Labrets of pure gold and different shapes and sizes were fashioned and inserted in their lips (Koch et al., 157). In Malawi, the Makololo tribe, women wear some pieces of metals called ‘pepele,' just for beauty. They claim that since men have beards to enhance their facial beauty, women should also wear something on their face to serve the same purpose (Turner 42). Today, in many parts of the world, lip piercing is practiced by many, mostly youth who do it as an individual style.

Conclusion

Body art is widely performed in many parts of the world serving different purposes. Some perform body arty for purely beauty purpose while others have particular reasons including religious and spiritual reasons. Tattoos have been worn during the ancient times and still widely practiced. Whereas in the past tattoos were used as form of identification and religious purposes, today they are used mainly for beauty. One can also make a tattoo on the skin to commemorate a memorable event in one’s life. The use tattoos is, however a controversial issue. Some people view those with tattoos and body piercing as social deviants; not conforming to the social norms. Democracy and human right movements have seen to it that one’s dressing and body decoration is accepted irrespective of other people’s view about it.





































Works Cited

Armstrong, L., D. Owen, A. Roberts, and J. Koch. "College students and tattoos: influence of image, identity, family and friends." Journal of Psychological Nursing 40 (2002): 21-29.

Ezeibekwe, Uju Perpetual, Usman Adekunle Ojedokun, and Adeyinka Abideen Aderinto. "“Love for artwork”: tattooing and body piercing among undergraduate students of university of Ibadan, Nigeria." African Journal For The Psychological Studies Of Social Issues 19.3 (2016): 87-93. Web.

Ferguson. "Body Piercing." British Medical Journal 319 (1999): 1627-1630.

Goldstein, Norman. "Tattoos Today: From Eyelids to Ankles and Some in'3-D'." Archives of dermatology 121.5 (1985): 604-605.

Ison, Joshua A. "Poking, Prodding, and Piercing: Becoming a Successful Body Modifier." (2015).

Koch, Jerome R., et al. "Body art, deviance, and American college students." The Social Science Journal 47.1 (2010): 151-161.

Millner, Vaughn S., and Bernard H. Eichold. "Body piercing and tattooing perspectives." Clinical Nursing Research 10.4 (2001): 424-441.

Oanta, A., M. Irimie, and S. Morariu. "Tattoos - History and Actuality." Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov 2nd ser. 7.56 (2014): 125-129.

Sanghani, Radhika. "Thousands Call For Ear-Piercing To Be Banned For Babies In The UK." Telegraph 11 June 2005: 2-3. Print.

Turner, S. B. "The possibilities of primitiveness: towards sociology of body marks in cool societies." Body and Society 5 (1999): 39-50. Accessed 3 May 2017.