Cultural Criticism: Body Art

Body Art A Times staff writer enters the life of Tim Conrad who is a carpenter from Chino and his body is covered from head to toe literally with tattoos. Along with his family, Tim uses his body as a canvas to express himself as a person through the many tattoos he has on his body. He attends events where hundreds of tattoo artists come out and showcase their tattoo art, and where thousands of people come out and express their love for body art at the Body Art Expo. (Ricci) A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology of Americans aged 18 to 50 found that the rate of tattooing was 24%, with 22% of women and 26% of men having at least one. (Laumann and Derick 2006) Most people take tattoos as a misconception, and think of it as an ineffaceable marking on the body. Tattoos have become a pleasure for a lot of people. Once a person gets their first tattoo it is said to become an addicting thing. They get one tattoo and continue to go back for more because of the excitement and the rush they get from having a needle and ink puncturing their body. Having a tattoo isn’t something that is uncommon; and isn’t something that is only associated with the “deviants” but, even among the oldest people that are a part of the society. Tattoos are deemed unprofessional and shouldn’t be visible when working certain jobs, but the popularity and number of people that have at least one tattoo is growing immensely. Now that more doctors, lawyers, and other highly professional people are getting more tattoos, maybe they aren’t so “bad” anymore.
Unfortunately in many businesses, having a visible tattoo is deemed “unprofessional” and hinders many people from job opportunities. “With private employers, employment decisions can be based on any factor they desire, as long as it does not run contrary to any specific law” (Elzwieg, Peeples). Heavily tattooed people sometimes come at risk of not getting a job desired. There have been many cases where a person