TATTOOING + RELIGION

Leviticus 19:28, "You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord."

Many religions have strict ideas against tattooing. They believe that tattooing is against their beliefs and the Bible or other ancient scriptures. In this post I will explain the Christian and the Judaic views on tattoos. 

The Christian argument against tattooing is that the body belongs to Christ, and tattooing is an attempt to adhere meaning to the body, but God has already given the body meaning. They take the above Leviticus verse literally. They believe that Christians who get tattoos are seeking for a way to identify themselves, and they find it saddening that they cannot find their identification through God. They believe that the Christian faith and God should be our primary identity. 

Jews have been forbidden, for the past three thousand years, against getting tattoos. They are supposedly not able to be buried in a Jewish cemetery, but as the Boston Globe article entitled "Jews With Tattoos" found, many local funeral directors said tattooed Jews would not be turned down. The original taboo against tattooing in the Jewish religion and culture came from the Bible verse in Leviticus stated at the top of this entry. Some scholars believe that the Jews' ideas are because of them wanting to be "a people apart".

Ori Scherr, a young Jew who decided to defy her parents and get a tattoo, believes that "The literature isn't there solely to be taken literally. It's abstract; it needs to be interpreted." She also argues that smoking, anorexia , and body mutilation also defy the Leviticus bible verse.

Another argument in the Jewish faith against tattooing is the fact that Jews who were put in concentration camps during the Holocaust were routinely tattooed with numbers. Some Jews argue that getting a tattoo only honors the survivors. Steven Ross, a tattooed Auschwitz survivor says that "To me it just means we can make our own decisions now. In a few more years, there won't be any more survivors left. Then, the only Jews with tattoos will be the ones who asked  for them." However, there is a much larger group of Jews who take the Old Testament's verse quite literally and who are, to this day, strongly opposed to tattoos. They believe that it is prohibited in their faith and should remain that way.

I think these connections between tattooing and religion are important to consider. As we discussed in class, their are many different religions who all have beliefs that differ. Each person values their religion for a different reason. I, personally, don't have any strong religious beliefs, so the aforementioned beliefs would not prohibit me from getting a tattoo. I think that one's view on tattoos should be personal, and if you are so devout to your religion that it would prohibit you from getting a tattoo, then so be it, but if not, then that is okay too. 

1. Jews With Tattoos

2004 The Boston Globe. Douglas Belkin. Electronic Document.

www.boston.com/news/. Accessed 20 March 2009.

2. Jones, Beth Felker. "Marked for life." The Christian Century 124.10 (May 15, 2007): 19 (2) Academic OneFile. Fale. Wheaton College. 22 Mar. 2009. .

STATISTICS

Through the following statistics, I hope to better understand the socioeconomic diversity of tattoos and how common tattooing is in our country. Here are some statistics I found on www.associatedcontent.com in an article entitled "Tattoo Statistics":

• "Tattooing has become one of America's fastest growing categories of retail business.
• There are about 15,000 tattoo studios in operation and one new tattoo studio opens daily.
• About 15% of Americans have a tattoo.
• 16% of American males have a tattoo and 15% percent of American women have a tattoo.
• Across the United States, the statistics of the amount of Americans with tattoos is consistent, except for the West coast having the highest percentage, with 20% of its residents having a tattoo.
• In the 2003 Harris poll, 83% of the respondents admitted to regretting their tattoo. 16% of these said that it was because of someone's name who was included in their tattoo.
• This same poll found that 16% of people with a tattoo stated that they are white, 14% black, and 18% Hispanic.
• 14% of Republicans said they had at least one tattoo, 18% of Democrats, and 12% of Independents. 
• Interestingly, no cases of HIV transmission through tattoos, according to the Center for Disease Control, since 1985. But, there have been at least seven HIV transmissions through dental work.
• This same study also found that out of the 13,387 annual cases of hepatitis, only twelve of these were from tattoo studios, but 43 were from dental work."

These statistics taught me that tattooing is more widespread amongst socioeconomic boundaries that I previously believed. One cannot generalize the tattooed population, because it is dispersed among most age groups, racial and economic groups, and political groups. However, I find is unbelievable that 83% of the respondents to this survey regret their tattoo. That is disappointing considering the permanency of the decision. Also, these statistics that modern-day tattooing is not as dangerous as it used to be. By getting your tattoo done at a nicer salon, one can easily avoid the dangers of contracting HIV, however you might want to reconsider going to the dentist...

All facts were taken DIRECTLY from:

1. Tattoo Statistics

2006 Associated Content. Electronic Document.

www.associatedcontent.com, Accessed March 24, 2009.

CLOSE TO HOME

I decided to interview my closest friend about her recent tattoo of a dinosaur (yes, a dinosaur). The picture above is a photo that my friend took of her own tattoo. It is being used with permission, as is the transcript and documentation of her interview below. Here is our conversation:

Me: Explain your tattoo. Where on your body is it?

Friend: My tattoo is of a green brontosaurus dinosaur, it is on my left rib.

Me: What is it's significance?

Friend: Well, I think it suits me as a person. I like its artistic expression, it makes me happy to look at, although I don't see it very often because it is in an odd place.

Me: Can you explain your decision making process?

Friend: One night I was walking around the Village (Greenwich Village in NYC- she goes to NYU) and decided "Hey, I want a tattoo!", so I got it! It was great. About four months before, my friend tried to convince me to get a dino tattoo on my butt. I didn't then, but it sparked my interest for the future. I always related to dinosaurs.

Me: Do you think you will regret it? Do you have any hesitations?

Friend: I probably won't want it in ten years, but how I look at it is that I hope to be successful enough in ten years to have the money to get it removed. I like to think of it as motivation to succeed in life. YEAH I have hesitations of showing it to my family because I am afraid they will think I'm weird.

Me: What satisfaction do you get out of having it on your body?

Friend: I feel like a bad ass!

Me: What were the positives and negatives of getting your tattoo?

Friend: The positives are that people think its cool NOW. The negatives are that they probably wont think it's cool later. I also can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery. (She's not Jewish...)

Me: What were your feelings about tattoos prior to getting yours?

Friend: I didn't want to get one because I wanted to be the only person in my family with out one, but then I was like whatever, I'm going to conform!

Okay, I think she was trying to be funny but she did provide some interesting answers to my questions. Her decision to permanently tattoo her body with a dinosaur was clearly a very impulsive one. I personally don't think she weighed the positives and negatives enough of her tattoo. I found some interesting information on tattoo removal, which my friend brought up in her interview. Although she was joking about being "successful enough" to get her tattoo, the fact that she would even be talking about that less than a month after she got her tattoo is a little disturbing. According to the Loftus Plastic Surgery Center in Cincinatti, one session of tattoo removal can cost anywhere between 200-300 dollars, with the total cost ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 dollars because usually multiple sessions are used. Is it worth it to get a tattoo that you will just get removed in the future? 

Here are some of the tattoo removal options I found:

1. Cover- up tattoos. This process only applies if you want to get your tattoo turned into something else, not removed. The tattoo artist simply changes your tattoo into something you would prefer. A "fade system" like this also might be desirable to lessen the darkness of the tattoo prior to cover-up surgery.

2. Excision. With excision, the surgeon will actually remove the actual epidermis and dermis where the tattoo is. This is an extremely invasive surgery and leaves a scar, but removes the tattoo completely.

3. Dermabrasion and Salabrasion. These two techniques of tattoo removal uses a "rotary" device to abrade the skin slowly. With dermabrasion, the tattoo is first sprayed with a freezing agent and with salabrasion, it is covered with a water and salt solution. Both methods leave bad scars in place of the removed tattoo.

4. Laster tattoo removal. This is the newest method in tattoo removal. The light of the laser is used to break down the tattoo so it can be naturally flushed out by the body. The skin bears no marks.

These removal techniques should be taken in account when deciding to get a tattoo, I believe. I particularly liked this quote on the Associated Content article entitled, "Tattoo Removal Options and Potential Side Effects". "There are many mistakes in life that we can't fix, we simply must live with them, but an unwanted tattoo doesn't have to be one of them." Did you know that it also costs MORE to have a tattoo removed than to have it put on?

1. Interview by Jane Gelb. Personal Interview. Norton, MA/ New York, NY. March 23, 2009.

2. Loftus Plastic Surgery Center. Electronic Document.

2009 Dr. Jean M. Loftus

www.infoplasticsurgery.com, Accessed March 23, 2009.

3. Sin of the Skin

2007  Sinoftheskin.com

www.sinoftheskin.com, Accessed March 23, 2009.

4. Tattoo Removal Options and Potential Side Effects

2008 Erin Morris

www.associatedcontent.com, Accessed March 23, 2009

HISTORY

There is a not so surprisingly lengthy history on tattooing. Watching this video helped me understand that tattooing is not just a modern day phenomena, it is a historical and cultural practice that is extremely meaningful. For some reason, knowing that tattooing has ancient roots, gives the practice more credibility in my mind. I can now understand that it is a tradition passed on through generations and cultures, and has been for thousands and thousands of years.

I have attached a Discovery Channel video on the "History of Tattoos". This video provides a brief history of tattooing. It is shocking that they found an Icelandic corpse from 3300 B.C. which was visibly marked with tattoos. Maybe tattooing is a natural instinct? 

 

1. YouTube video:

"History of Tattoos"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TvNM3AzA38, accessed March 22, 2009

INTRODUCTION

I have chosen to research and write my blog about tattooing as a cultural practice in the United States with roots worldwide. This is a site for cross-cultural encounter for me because growing up in an upper-middle class area, I was not exposed to the sub-culture of tattooing as much as I think I could have been. Why people choose to put something so permanent on their body has always puzzled me. I hope to learn the history of tattooing and which cultures it is prominent in. I want to understand what satisfaction people get out of displaying something on their body forever. Do they ever regret it? Is it more popular in certain cultures or within certain socioeconomic classes? If what the person is getting tattooed is so important to them, then why are they searching for a place on their body where it won't be visible? While tattooing is a fairly common practice in the United States (with one in seven North Americans having a tattoo), I still think it is appropriate for some investigation. I hope that through interviews and extensive research I will be able to completely understand the nature of the practice and the stories behind those who choose to partake.