Future Starts Slow

Prejudice is Fading, Future Starts Slow

English 114B
Mildred Fuentes
March 6, 2016

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Abstract

Nowadays tattoos are not being judged as highly, before they were looked at as a form of
defiance and a result of mischief but now tattoos are beginning to be seen as what they truly are
which is a form of body art and self-expression. In an interview by Armia Timmons, she asked a
series of questions to a young male who has tattoos on his body and was able to learn about the
reasons on why he has tattoos and what each of his tattoos mean to him. Also Karla Rivas
conducted an interview to an older male who does not have any tattoos and opposes them. Both
of the interviews resulted in having an opinion from both side of the argument, and prevented
any bias.
Keywords: Tattoo, Body Art, interviews, self-expression.

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Prejudice is Fading, Future Starts Slow

Tattoos allow people to express themselves, in ways that words cannot. Before tattoos
were frowned upon and criticized very much, but recently tattoos have been more widely
accepted by more and more people. Nowadays tattoos are more common and better accepted by
across more cultures. Armia Timmons conducted an interview with a young male, and asked him
what his tattoos represent for him. Tattoos are art, because they allow each individual to express
themselves in more unique way. Karla Rivas interviewed a 52 year old man, who opposes tattoos
and was able to see and understand his perspective. Lady Gaga recently got matching tattoos,
with a group of survivors, who have a special connection with her. Parents often discourage
tattoos, because they understand the social consequences that come with having a tattoo.
Celebrities from all walks of life are known to have tattoos, even the ones we wouldnt expect.
Tattoos are a form of art, because they allow people to express themselves, each tattoo is a
symbol which can hold many special meanings. Tattoos can represent anything from love and
passion to faith, and even if two people were to have the same tattoo, they both hold different
special and unique meanings.
In our modern society tattoos are now much more common and widely accepted than
they were a couple decades ago. The issue involving tattoos often revolves around the fact that
people automatically judge those others who have permanent art on their body. There are also
those individuals, who have tattoos or those simply support tattoos, because they understand
what tattoos truly represent. Getting a tattoo on your body is a serious decision, since they are
not something you can easily remove and those who choose to get them on their body know the
consequences. We live in a society where tattoos are finally beginning to become accepted, and
people from all ages are getting them more frequently. In a recent interview conducted by Armia

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Timmons with a young college student, named Roberto Ramos who has multiple tattoos,
Timmons asked What would you like to say to those who look at your tattoos negatively?
Ramos replied, Im being judged because of the artwork I have on my skin, you dont know
why I have them. People are so quick to judge [others with tattoos] without knowing why or
even asking, (personal communication, February, 16 2016) Ramos represents the majority of
people who have artwork on their bodies and are judged because of it. Individuals who oppose
tattoos often see tattoos as a form of defiance instead of art, and symbolism. A tattoo of a Sun
and Moon can represent from your parents your love of nature, and what makes each tattoo so
special is that each person who has it on their body can feel, show and be reminded the
importance each symbol has for them. Being able to be reminded about a special item in your life
everyday has a lot of meaning and that is one of the reasons why tattoos are a form of art.
Another question asked by Timmons in her interview with Ramos was, What do your
tattoos represent for you? and it resulted with a surprising response, which can make those who
oppose tattoos reconsider their opinions. Ramos replied, Most of them represent a message, a
way of me expressing myself. [Tattoos] are a way of me expressing yourself, and it shows others
what youre passionate about, (personal communication, February, 16 2016) Ramos in a few
sentences is explaining how passionate he is about his body art, and what they represent to him.
Tattoos often represent and have a deeper meaning, than the symbol that shows on the skin.
Being able to express yourself without words, is something almost impossible but, tattoos allow
you to do that in any form, color or size.
Tattoos are art, because they allow each person to express themselves in a way words
cannot. Tattoos are very popular among adolescents, and have evolved to a fashion trend. A
recent tattoo frenzy involving Miniature Tattoos has become a topic which is featured in all

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social networks. Miniature tattoos have many meanings, and are allowing each of the people who
get them to express themselves by getting a small symbol of what they are passionate about, in a
discreet manner. On Instagram, a popular social network website, a woman is shown displaying
the small but very beautiful tattoo she had on her wrist, which was a simple compass. The
caption of the image, explained that a compass represents her love of travel, and how this small
tattoo reminds her which direction life is taking her. I believe that miniature tattoos are very
important and will continue to be popular, not only because they look quite well but also because
since their size is small they are not something just anyone can spot, and they give a sense of
privacy. Tattoos are still not fully accepted by everyone, and each person has their own
perspective on the topic.
In a recent interview conducted by Karla Rivas, to an older male who does not have any
tattoos, and who does not plan on getting any, Rivas asked a series of questions to understand his
perspective. Rivas asked, What do you feel tattoos represent? and the gentleman responded,
Putting [tattoos] on their bodies I do not agree with that, because the country I am from, the
people who get tattoos are delinquents, (personal communication, February, 13 2016) this male
gave his understanding and perspective of what tattoos represent to him, and even though his
judgment might seem a little far-fetched, one of the reasons why tattoos are so highly opposed is
because they view tattoos exactly like this older man. Those individuals who are in gangs, often
use tattoos as a form of self-expression for the crimes they have committed, and therefore tattoos
are viewed so negatively. Another question Rivas asked was, What do you think about people
with tattoos? The older male replied, I feel great distrust, because in the environment I grew up
they were the people who had social problems, problems of drug addiction, many problems,
once again we see how negatively this older male views tattoos, but what is important is that he

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gives reasoning to his argument. Many people who grew up in cultures where they are highly
conservative, immediately oppose tattoos because they have been raised to oppose them and not
understand another perspective.
Lady Gaga recently got matching tattoos with fellow survivors, who performed with her
on stage during the Oscars, to represent unity. On the popular social networking app, Twitter,
there have been many articles dedicated to the powerful message Lady Gaga sent, using tattoos
to unify the victims of rape together, to be strong together. Tattoos get this message across
because they are extremely visible, in this situation tattoos are used to proclaim from those
fellow survivors that they are not ashamed of what happened to them, but instead they are proud
to show that they are survivors. Popular twitter accounts like @MYVNEWS, @GLAMOUR and
@ELLEUS tweeted about this powerful art movement. Tattoos are becoming a very popular
topic, and form of art, they can be found on people from all walks of life.
Parents always want what is best for their children and one of the main reasons why
tattoos are so highly discouraged by them is because they do not want to see their children to be
judged, for something as simple as a tattoo. In an article by Myrna Armstrong titled When the
Art Is on a Body Part Armstrong mentions that parents, Some parents view body art as deviant,
[while] adolescents often see it as a form of self-assertion, (1999, pg. 1) tattoos can be viewed
from many different perspectives, each opinion is based from the culture in which the judge grew
up in. Certain parents view tattoos as something their kids get when they want to be deviant and
rebellious, and even though in some cases that might be true, it is not always the case. If tattoos
are viewed as a form of art, then a positive outcome is expected.
Tattoos are very popular, and their popularity is going to continue to increase as a result
that tattoos are now more widely accepted through many cultures. Myrna Armstrong comments

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that Even Barbie has a butterfly tattoo these days, (1999, pg. 1) as a perfect reference to
express the popularity of tattoos. In this case Barbie represents, a product that is known across all
cultures and countries and for it to have a tattoo sends the message which expresses that tattoos
are now more widely accepted. The fact that a brand as big as Barbie supports them also sends
another subliminal message. It is risky to incorporate such a controversial topic into such a
popular brand, because the reactions of how people interpret this movement cannot simply be
measured. Also tattoos are highly promoted and accepted by all sorts of celebrities ranging from
actors, singers and reality T.V. stars. Adam Levine, the lead singer from Maroon 5 has tattoos all
over his body, and he is very proud of his tattoos, because not only do they have a profound
meaning for him, but also let him express himself. Another example is Kylie Jenner, a reality tv
star who has multiple miniature tattoos in red ink. Jenner explains all of her tattoos, to her fans
and her most recent tattoo on her arm is her grandmothers name in her grandfathers writing.
This tattoo has a very deep meaning, because it represents how much love and affection Jenner
has for her family.
In conclusion tattoos are a form of art not only because they allow you to express
yourself in ways that words simply cannot, but also because each tattoo represents a special
meaning for each person who attains it on their body. In the interview conducted by Armia
Timmons, she interviewed a young man with tattoos and asked him a series of questions to
understand why he has them and the young man answered that tattoos allow him express
themselves and each tattoo that he has, has a special meaning. Tattoos have also become a
fashion trend, miniature tattoos in particular have been very popular recently, and although
tattoos can be very personal and meaningful there are still those people who oppose them. Lady
Gaga recently got matching tattoos with a group of people who she is very close with to

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represent unity, parents are concerned about the impacts that tattoos can have on their childrens
lives. Surpassing all the negativity involving tattoos, they continue to be very popular and brands
that are recognized worldwide support them. Tattoos have been pre judged for many decades, but
society is finally evolving and accepting tattoos for what they really are, which is a form of art
and self-expression.

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References

Armstrong, M.. (1999). Vital Signs: When the Art Is on a Body Part. The American Journal of
blahhhNursing, 99(6), 8080. http://doi.org/10.2307/3472156
@MTVNEWS (2016, March 6) Re: MTV News [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved
blahhhfrom Twitter.com: https://twitter.com/MTVNews/status/706392851605803008