Tattoos in Today's Society

Tattoos have been around for thousands of years. This form of body art is accepted in parts of today’s society, not all of society. This has always been true. Many people have tattoos that represent their life, history, interests, or their memories. Tattoos are popular for being rebellious, adventurous, and nonconformist. It’s a type of public announcement which makes the individual feels they are different, and even more adventurous. The practice of tattooing has always been discouraged. Even today, tattoos still carry a stigma. This may be due to how a person may be raised, their religion, or personal beliefs.
Many people often associate these designs with criminal activity and loose morals. These stereotypes are just not true. A lot of people who have them do not have criminal records and are upstanding members of society. While this is true, many people do not take the chance to associate with persons with tattoos due to the fact of stereotyping. Since tattoos have always only been associated, by the media, with criminal activity—people have always assumed that.
Some people do utilize tattoos to signify their loyalty to an organization, such as a gang. By attempting to show their loyalty, they may get a tattoo of the logo that represents their gang. While they may only be a member of this organization for a few years, they have a tattoo that is permanent and will stick with them through the rest of their lives. When watching the news one may see people getting arrested due to the tattoos they have, mostly due to the fact that the tattoo is the gang logo.
For others, a tattoo is a passing “fad”, a craze, and is something they will later regret. These are most often the people who go with a group of friends to get tattooed because it's “cool," or perhaps some are those who would, in the thralls of a passionate affair, get a lover's name inked into their flesh. These people are most commonly the ones who are often ashamed of what they consider a momentary