Tattoos Should Not Be Stereotype Essay

Arrows, flowers, Chinese characters, geometric figures, skulls, and animals: tattoos have come to be present in mundane symbols. They also embody more mysterious images like an ice cream cone and tear drops that carry personal significance. In years prior, however, tattoos have held negative connotations and been associated with social outcasts: inmates, sailors, and bikers. As the times evolve, people with tattoos should not be stereotyped because tattoos more often hold personal meaning or serve as an art medium rather than represent dangerous, criminal activities, and the stereotype is damaging to folks who are actually respectable, hard-working people. Tattoos have been proven to “have existed for over five thousand years as archeological findings have unearthed Egyptian mummies with body art present” (Kaiyala). The Egyptians, along with other Pagan worshippers “tattooed the names or symbols of their deities on their breast or arms” in order to show devotion to their gods (“Some Religions Forbid

African Americans in the Civil Rights Era were known to get tattoos related to activist groups they were a part of, such as the NAACP or SNCC. The Jews who survived the death camps of the Holocaust, and even those who were born outside or after, bear Star of David tattoos for religious pride. People often have undying devotion to a cause, group, or person and want to show this devotion with a symbol just as permanent. Many people in the present day do the same for family members, particularly those that have passed away. Common cases of familial tattoos include the word “Mom,” family names, and even a loved one’s signature. Family love is something that no one could rightfully claim as insignificant. So why would anyone suddenly make this claim when the love transitions itself into a