It is a widespread belief that the American society embraces individuals’ freedom of expression. People in America have been expressing themselves through art, the way they dress, the sports they play, their occupational choice, and music for generations. Only recently, however, are more people beginning to express themselves on their bodies permanently. Tattoos were once considered to be for rebels and outcasts: they were marks of outsiders. However, as the views in our country broaden, it now seems that the number and types of people getting tattoos are also broadening. It’s gone from sailors to moms in the blink of an eye. Though still a minority, people with tattoos are becoming more and more common in the population. There are studies done evaluating what is considered the “tattoo culture”. Can we go even as far to say now that tattooing is becoming a norm?
The number of people getting tattoos has also definitely risen. Approximately sixteen percent of all adults in the United States reported having one or more tattoo (Harris Interactive). Now compare that statistic to another fun fact: only two to four percent of people in the United States have red hair (Prado). This means that the number of adults with tattoos at least quadruples the amount of people in the United States with red hair, children included. This statistic supports my sense that tattoos in the United States are becoming “normal.”
Tattoos are no longer just for outcasts and rebel teenagers: even some parents are now getting tattoos. How many times has a teenager heard the phrase, “Don’t you dare get a tattoo!” followed by threats of disowning? Parents often try to deter their children from getting tattoos. But now there’s a new trend blowing through: “Mommy tattoos”. Mothers are getting tattoos to express their undying love for their children. In an article from the New York Times, Anna Jane Grossman analyzes the choice to get a tattoo as “…a prettier reminder of their motherly role than stretch marks.” So long to the skull and cross bones: one mother chose to get the footprints of her adopted son tattooed on her body to symbolize the journey they went through together. Another chose to get her son’s nickname, “Sweet Pea”, tattooed into a design on her foot, while another chose an abstract image of a mother and child. These women say that the pain is nothing compared to childbirth and that the image is a symbol of the connection they feel with their child that lasts forever, just like their tattoo (Grossman). Now mothers are getting tattoos. For me, this “mommy tattoo” trend is a deciding factor: tattoos could very soon be a norm.
But as I said, we usually think of parents as discouraging tattoos. In a similar vein, getting a tattoo may seem like a poor decision when working at a daycare. Surprisingly, when I asked my boss at day care what she thought about the idea of me getting a tattoo, she in no way discouraged me from getting one. In fact, she told me she would schedule my hours around my appointment if I already had one, and told me she thought it was “an awesome idea.” Now, my mama was not too keen on the idea of me getting a tattoo. She had told me a week before that I “dare not get this tattoo” because it was not a smart decision and was a poor way to spend my money. Valerie is also a friend of my mother’s. She also knows how my mother thinks and before even asking me what mom thought, she promised me wouldn’t say anything to her. If there’s a better boss in the world, I have no idea who they are, but I would love to work for them. It makes me hope that the “working world” may soon be a safe place to have tattoos, no matter what occupation you hold.
In mere generations, the spectrum of the tattoo canvases has gone from sailors and bikers to suburban students and mothers. In the past, tattoos have been connecting factors for sailors, gang members, etc. However, now that more and more people- “average” people at that- are getting tattoos, more people are able to share this connection and find things in common with each other. That is, tattoos can be a connecting factor for people. When you find out someone else you know has a tattoo, there’s somewhat of a mutual appreciation between the two of you. It’s something you have in common even if you thought there was absolutely nothing there. For example, my friend’s girlfriend and I have next to nothing in common. We disagree on most everything. However, we were left by ourselves once. Completely alone. With nothing to talk about. And then she saw my tattoo. Even though it may seem shallow, we had a good talk about tattoos until our friends came back. There was something about that that I just really appreciated. We connected for the very first time. Our connection may have been slightly superficial, but it is a connection nonetheless. It’s like the Jeep Thing. If you’re driving a Jeep and pass a fellow Jeep driver, it doesn’t matter who or where you are, you wave. There’s no rhyme or reason, just a connection. Sometimes on my way to class I’ll see someone new I never noticed before with a tattoo. In that moment, I know that there’s something we share. Though we probably came from different areas, our tattoos are something about us that we both enjoy and share.
Between two people with tattoos, there is a shared understanding of what went into the process of getting a tattoo. There was the contemplation, the decision, the action, and the reaction. I knew what I loved and had a passion for before I decided that I wanted a tattoo. Then the thought came up, and it seemed like a great idea to me. Two weeks later, I decided to get it. About two years later, I actually got the tattoo, and for the next few weeks to follow had the bottle of unscented Lubriderm in my hand, faithfully moisturizing my new ink every three hours. I was met with the reactions of my peers, family members, friends, and co-workers for months to follow. Some were pleased, others not so much. Whenever I see another tattoo, I know the process that went into it. I know it hurt, and that it was a pain to take care of while it healed, and that I had to deal with the reactions of the people in my life, but I also know that it was completely worth it. When I see someone else with that nice big bottle of Lubriderm, I sometimes wonder if the person holding it may have a new tattoo that they’re taking care of. Now that more people share this connection because of the rise and spread of this form of expression, more average people can share this simple connection.
Walking around campus, and in town, I’ve come to realize just how many “average” people have tattoos. I walked in to Sleepy Hollow and in one visit saw a man that I usually see walking on weekend mornings with a new calf tattoo and the man who owns the Asian World Imports store walking out with new ink on his back. In the same visit, I resisted the urge to get a piercing and my friend walked out with her first tattoo. Potsdam as a town is a very accepting place. The people are friendly and welcoming, and the business owners are open to all customers, no matter how new or strange they may seem.
As I mentioned earlier, people living in Potsdam seem very tolerant of tattoos. The professors and families that live around the campuses and see these students on a daily basis grow to tolerate, if not accept, these tattoos as part of a way of expression. What is the difference between those two things? Right now, many people tolerate tattoos. They see them and acknowledge their presence, but may have a sense of resentment toward that person and their tattoo. I hope that in the future, tattoos won’t merely be tolerated, but accepted. I hope that I could walk into anywhere I wished and know that I wouldn’t be judged for my tattoo, that it would simply be accepted as part of who I am. But for now, I can deal with tolerance because I know that the frequency of tattoos is so high that it is becoming normal to see a student who is completely destined to live the rest of their life in suburbia sporting some ink. At least in this town, it’s becoming culturally acceptable. Not only do we see students with tattoos, but as I mentioned before, the tattoo realm extends to store owners and morning joggers and walkers. There seems to be no limit on the extent of this expanding group.
It was somewhat surprising to me at first that a town like Potsdam with its All-American vibe would have so many tattoo parlors. It took a few weeks for me to realize why they are all still there and able to run, but once I realized why, it was obvious. Potsdam is a college town. There are four college campuses in a very close radius. There are the Potsdam and Clarkson campuses, which are a hop, skip, and a jump from the center of town, and SUNY Canton and St. Lawrence University just miles outside. College is that ideal time to get a tattoo: mom and dad are hundreds of miles away, and you’re finding out who you are as a person. Why not get a tattoo? There’s no one there who you’ve known since birth that will judge you in your decision.
Having so many colleges in such a small area, it would seem normal for this many people to be getting tattoos. However, since SUNY Potsdam is such a large school for education, it makes me wonder why tattoos are so prevalent in this community. It can be very difficult to obtain a teaching job with tattoos. So why do so many education students here have them? One reason I’m willing to point out is that there isn’t much to do in Potsdam. Being here for a few months, I’ve already experienced most of the things there are to do in Potsdam. But having Sleepy Hollow as one of the first things you see when walking onto Market Street says to a bored college student with some money in their pocket, “Let’s get a tattoo today.” Since we’ve arrived, three of my friends have gotten tattoos. Granted, the tattoos they have all gotten are related to their major: music. In an interview, music education student, Stephany Griffith says, “ Honestly, it’s something to do in Potsdam. But in all reality, I want a tattoo because it’s a way of expressing myself on my body forever and it’s something that I love. It’s like a rite of passage because it’s something I can do once I turn eighteen.” When I asked Stephany if she thought it would be hard to get a job in the teaching or performing realm, she said, “You can always cover anything up with good makeup.” It’s a possibility that with the rate that tattoos are becoming more acceptable, these students won’t face any prejudice based on how they choose to identify themselves when it comes time for them to enter the classroom as music teachers.
Another music education student named John Lynd says, “Honestly, tattoos are becoming so much of a norm in modern society that even in the next four to five years I could see myself not worrying about covering my tattoos at work. It could be that our generation is changing the views on tattoos because everyone has them now.” It’s so common to find students on campus with fresh ink, and it’s not just the chain-wearing black-clad folk, it’s everyone. The shy, innocent looking soprano has a small tattoo on her back, and the boy sitting in the third row of your anthropology has a three quarter sleeve. Tattoos are everywhere on Potsdam students. Since Potsdam is an education school, it makes me think that maybe the tides really have changed and that there are education students not only in Potsdam, but all over the country finally feeling able to express themselves through body art. These students have their own complex reasons for their tattoos despite their career paths.
Even though I would like to say that Potsdam is always an example of acceptance of this tattoo sub-culture, there was recently been a horrific event that made me think otherwise. The first “hate crime” I have heard of from Potsdam since I considered coming here for college just happened in October. Paul Matott, a piercer at a local tattoo parlor was brutally attacked on his way home from work on October 17, 2009. He believes that these three people hated him. He is unsure if it was for the fact that he has a design tattooed on his entire face, or if it was something like a dare. However, he knows that these individuals singled him out specifically. (Robinson). Though Potsdam may be an accepting and welcoming town, there is obviously some more work to do. Hopefully with this spread of tattoos, the few people in Potsdam that still don’t know how to tolerate this difference will eventually grow to embrace and accept this way of expression.
Tattoos are a very permanent form of expression. Some people get them on a very spur of the moment impulse while others contemplate for years how they choose to express this. After all, this ink lasts forever. Some people view getting tattoos as an irresponsible action because of the cost involved, how the tattoo will look in the future, the possibility of regretting the choice to get one, and other factors like job availability with a tattoo. However, those reasons don’t always hold up. There are always ways to plan before making your final decision.
I happen to know that the foot is not badly affected by aging. So I chose to get my tattoo on the top of my foot, as a suggestion from my tattoo artist. I also realized that getting a job in the teaching field is difficult when you have a visible tattoo. There was another good reason to get my tattoo on my foot: it’s easily hidden and out of sight. Those people who say tattoos can interfere with getting a job just may not have been thinking about how simple it can be to hide them. Ink on the forearm? Wear a long-sleeved shirt. Problem solved.
When looking at the factor of cost going into a tattoo, one could compare it to the amount of money spent on jewelry or other accessories. When you look at a decently sized tattoo costing one hundred dollars plus, you can look at earrings. I spent, this summer alone, over eighty dollars on earrings. That is not to mention the cost of the bracelets or rings I bought. These earrings and whatnot can be easily lost. I’m living in a college dorm where a girl’s laptop was stolen in the middle of the day two weeks ago: no material belongings are completely safe. My tattoo cost less than the amount of money I spent on jewelry and will be with me forever. Over a lifetime, it would be like paying pennies a day or even less, depending on how long I live.
Some people don’t think enough before they get a tattoo. That’s the simple truth. Because my tattoo is of something I love and have a passion for, I know I won’t regret it, so I’m going to consider my investment a sound one. From people that I’ve talked with ranging from age eighteen to seventy-two, the only person who regretted their tattoo had gotten a girlfriend’s name penned on his bicep in a heart. All other tattoos were either in a direct correlation to passion or blood relatives. If you look at in a certain way, that’s really all you have in the end: your passion and family. Getting a girlfriend’s name on your body is not the smartest decision unless she is dead. That way, your feelings toward her can never change. Plus, she can’t exactly leave you for your brother when she’s six feet under.
The old reasons against tattoos no longer hold up. They are ineffective because there are ways around them. You can plan your tattoo around your job or future jobs, wear clothes to cover them, and just examine the finances. There is almost no reason not to get one as long as you really have a desire to sport your passion on the body.
The spectrum of the tattoo sub-culture has broadened so much that it can almost be considered to be a norm in society, as opposed to a sub-culture now. It’s now yet another form of self-expression. Tattoos are not as risky as people once thought. The town of Potsdam has been very accepting of those with tattoos and the idea of this expanding sub-culture. Despite its small-town feel, Potsdam is a very open place and has accepted this form of expression as a norm. It is leading the way for teachers and people of other professions to start expressing their passions more openly through tattoos in society.
Works Cited
Griffith, Stephany L. Personal interview. 3 Nov. 2009.
Grossman, Anna J. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 04 Dec. 2009
"Harris Interactive | The Harris Poll - A Third of Americans With Tattoos Say They Make Them Feel More Sexy." Harris Interactive: Your full service research partner for ensuring improved business performance. With global capabilities including Internet-based market research enabled by our panel, Harris Poll Online. 04 Dec. 2009
Lynd, John P. Personal interview. 3 Nov. 2009.
Prado, Antonio. "Celebrating redheads across America: Book examines the recessive gene - Hockessin, DE - The Community News." Home - Hockessin, DE - The Community News. 04 Dec. 2009
Robinson, Larry. "Trio Attacks Potsdam Man." Daily Courier Observer [Potsdam-Massena] 20 Oct. 2009: 1-2.
Works Consulted
Caplan, Jane. Written on the body the tattoo in European and American history. Princeton, N. J: Princeton UP, 2000.
Horne, Jenn, et al. "TATTOOS AND PIERCINGS: ATTITUDES, BEHAVIORS, AND INTERPRETATIONS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS." College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 1011-1020. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.
Sanders, Clinton, and D. Angus Vail. Customizing the Body The Art and Culture of Tattooing. New York: Temple UP, 2008.
Robinson, Larry. "Beating Victim Awaits Justice." Watertown Daily Times 29 Nov. 2009. Watertown Daily Times. 29 Nov. 2009.
“Youth explores identity through body art." New York Amsterdam News 99.1 (2007): 18. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.
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