July 17 is National Tattoo Day!

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Depending on who you ask, tattoos get a bit of a bad rap. Some people choose to stereotype those who get ink, and make assumptions about them that are unflattering and usually untrue. But despite how you may or may not feel about tattoos, since the dawn of mankind, humans have adorned their bodies with decoration, sometimes for a functional purpose, other times for status or recreation. July 17 is National Tattoo Day, and it is a day to learn about the tattooing process and recognize its current societal importance as well as its place in our history.
Tattooing is the art of inserting a pigment under the dermis layer of the skin to create a decorative, symbolic or pictorial design. Even if you personally do not have a tattoo, chances are you know someone who does. Tattoos serve as a connection between members of society, and often complete strangers will feel akin to other people who have ink. This phenomenon may seem unfathomable to those who have never considered getting a tattoo, but there are many common reasons for someone committing to having art on their body. These reasons serve as a common ground, and help facilitate this feeling of kinship.
Committing to who you are and what you like. Tattoos allow us to adorn our bodies with art we feel represents who we are. Tattoos are ways to permanently preserve who we are, even as we constantly change, creating a roadmap of artwork that serves as a connection to significant times in our lives. Even tattoos we grow to “regert” can serve as powerful reminders that we have grown, as we look back on our ink years or even decades later. Tattoos have been called the ultimate form of self expression. They serve as a way for people to outwardly express who they are to the world around them, without having to say a thing. It is a silent way to communicate differences and similarities with other people, and this influences how the outside world perceives them.
Tattoos can tell a story. A vast amount of people who commit to getting a tattoo do so to remember something that happened to them, or to commemorate someone that they lost who meant a great deal to them. This immortalization of impactful moments brings a comfort to the person getting a tattoo, who can rest assured that the memory they have memorialized on their skin will not fade, and the people they lost will not be forgotten. Tattoos serve as permanent connections to important moments, events, people or places. The presence of such a permanent link to the past can be a huge aid in processing grief.
Not every tattoo is a heartfelt message into the past, however. Sometimes people choose to display art on their body simply because they like it, and it makes them happy. When a piece of art is designed, it is often designed with the canvas in mind. We hang art up in our homes because we like how it looks, and it can have an enriching effect on our living space. Some people feel this way about having art on their body.
Tattoos have been a part of humanity's culture for millennia. Evidence of tattoos is indicated in numerous cultures, and served a wide variety of purposes. The 5,300 year old mummy of a 30-45 year old man named Ötzi that was found in 1991 in the Alps showed over fifty lines and crosses tattooed across his body. Many of these tattoos were consistent with traditional Chinese acupuncture treatments, and a later study that included x-rays revealed that Ötzi suffered from arthritis. His tattoos are believed to have served a therapeutic role in his life. Additionally tattoos have been seen in many other cultures. In Egypt, evidence of tattoos is indicated in a handful of mummies that date back to the time of the great pyramids' construction, over 4,000 years ago. In the 5th century, the ancient Greeks used tattoos to communicate among spies. Later, Roman civilizations used tattoos to mark criminals and slaves. In Japan, criminals were tattooed with a single line across their forehead for each offense, until there were three lines, the Japanese character for “dog.” It is suspected that the Inca, Maya and Aztec people used tattoos in rituals, and early Britons used tattoos in ceremonies. The Danes, Norse and Saxons are known to have tattoos of family crests on their bodies, and during the time of the crusades, some Europeans tattooed a cross on their hands or arms to indicate their wishes for a Christian burial should they not return home alive.
Tattoos are universal, and are present in our history for largely the same reasons as they exist today. Some people are telling a story, others use the art as therapy. Some tattoos are meant to preserve a memory, while other are intended to facilitate a new, positive memory. It cannot be denied that tattoos play an important role in our current society, as many seek to adorn their skin with expression.
We hang art in our homes to enrich our living space, we attend museums to view and surround ourselves with artwork from different eras, we feel connected to movies, books and television shows that tell us stories and teach us lessons. We attend church and research philosophies to feel connected to something bigger than us. We search and browse the internet to connect with people we would otherwise never meet. And sometimes, we get tattoos, and get to take these art forms with us everywhere we go. Tattoos are a modernized extension of an ancient practice; one that exists across cultures, across continents, and across communities, and serves as a great connector between members of the human race.