This ethnographic study was undertaken to explore the culture behind tattoos in America. This specific particular study mainly focuses on people who fall under the category of been in their late adolescence/early adulthood. A total of five people were interviewed for this study. Three of these individuals were between the ages of 19-24. Of those three, one was female and two were male. One of these males completed a non-structured interview, while the other male and female completed structured interviews. The other two subjects underwent non-structured interviews. These two individuals were significantly older than the other four. One was female and the other one was male, their ages were 60 and 42 respectively. These two individuals were interviewed so that they could provide a basis as to any differences that exist in the tattoo culture of the older generations compared to those of the previously mentioned late adolescent/early adult generation. All of these subjects are Caucasian. Each of these subjects has different tattoos and a varying in number, subject matter size and location of each tattoo. The subjects scribe themselves as being members of a variety of social statuses, which include in their own words; a hippie, athlete, artist, comic book nerd, grandma and blue collar father. .
A Study of the Culture of Tattoos in America.
he history of tattoos is a very extensive and diverse one that dates back many thousands of years. The first tattoo was most likely an accident. It probably happened when someone had a small wound and rubbed it with dirty hands. When the wound healed with the dirt or ash from the dirty hand still inside it, it was noticed that the mark stayed permanently. (DesignBoom)This discovery led to the intentional implanting of ink into the dermis layer (second layer) of the skin to change the pigment in the desired shape. Traditional methods of doing this were through the use of picks, rakes, combs or chisels.
