Katherine Castaneda
Professor Páez
Sociology 210
Dec. 2, 2014
Tattoos and Piercings
Armstrong, Myrna L. "Tattooing, Body Piercing, and Permanent Cosmetics: A Historical and
Current View of State Regulations, with Continuing Concerns." Journal of environmental
health 67.8 (2005): 38,43, 54, 53. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Over time the regulations placed on body art have changed. There are laws made to protect
health and well being of both tattoo artists and their costumers. In current times lawmakers have
become more involved in creating regulations for tattoo parlors. However, each state has its own
set of laws. In 1938 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was the only agency that
examined tattoo ink. In the 1950’s certain states allowed only physicians to tattoo. Later, in 1978
only three states enforced standards and regulations for tattooing while seven states illegalized
tattooing all together. Today regulations across the United States are more advanced and better
suited to prevent health hazards in the tattoo and piercing industry. Lawmakers, agencies and
even tattoo artists themselves help create and implement such regulations today.
Bible, Jon D. "TATTOOS AND BODY PIERCINGS: NEW TERRAIN FOR EMPLOYERS
AND COURTS." Labor law journal 61.3 (2010): 109-22. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
Several court cases reflect business views on tattooed and pierced employees in work fields such
as police departments and retail stores. In these cases employers are required to cover or remove
tattoos and piercing due to employers’ views on customer reflections of the business. Employers
are scared to lose customers if employees reflect deviant behaviors in their personal lives. Courts
take into consideration the rights of employees and of business but consumer views on business
professionalism play a big part as well.
Dean, Dwane H. "Consumer Perceptions of Visible Tattoos on Service Personnel." Managing
Service Quality 20.3 (2010): 294-308. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
A sample of consumers of nine different types of occupations is investigated to determine their
views on visible tattoos of employees. They are asked about their opinions on employees’ five
different traits. In most white-collar jobs, consumers report that tattoos are inappropriate while
blue-collar jobs receive consumer approval. In most cases, opinions were not affected by
whether or not the consumer had a tattoo. Reasons for costumer opinions include whether or not
the employee’s tattoo matched the image of a person in that occupation.
DeBoer, Scott, et al. "Body Piercing/Tattooing and Trauma Diagnostic Imaging: Medical Myths
Vs Realities." Journal of Trauma Nursing 14.1 (2007): 35-8. ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov.
2014.
Many times physicians have concerns about performing medical procedure on patients who have
or had any form of body art. Some of their concerns include the distortion of images from MRI’s
and possible burns from the magnetic field of the machines. Physicians also worry that MR
scanning can cause piercings to be torn out. However, these occurrences are extremely rare; in
fact only 5 cases of tattooed areas getting burned have been reported. Even though these health
hazards are rare, physicians are encouraged to take safety precautions such as testing jewelry
before an MR scan with a handheld magnet.
Fisher, Jill A.. “Tattooing the Body, Marking Culture.” Body and Society. 2002. PDF file.
Although tattooing is currently widely accepted there is still a stigma surrounding people with
tattoos or body art. This stigma has been around since the very beginning of tattoos. At first
Greeks used tattoos as a means for branding criminals and slaves. Later, Romans adopted the
same practice. It was initially a way of out casting them and separating them from the rest of
society. During the American Civil War, soldiers got tattoos as a symbol of their allegiance in
the war. In the late 19th century tattoos became a fashionable statement; both the working class
and the wealthy were getting tattooed. However, each group was doing it for different reasons.
After WWII society, for the most part, publically opposed tattooing. It became fashionable once
again during the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, body art has become even more popular.
Guéguen, Nicolas. "Effects of a Tattoo on Men's Behavior and Attitudes Towards Women: An
Experimental Field Study." Archives of Sexual Behavior 42.8 (2013): 1517-24. ProQuest.
Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Studies show that men place a large amount of importance on physical attractiveness when
seeking both long-term and short-term relationships with women. All aspect of a female’s body
influences the level of attractiveness, including tattoos. In this article, a field study demonstrates
men’s likelihood of approaching women with tattoos versus women without tattoos. Twenty-two
women were instructed to lie on there stomachs at the beach. Some of the women were given
temporary tattoos on their lower backs. The first study showed that more men approached the
women with a tattoo than those without tattoos. In the second study, a male interviewer asked
440 men a few questions about the female participants. The study revealed that men saw a higher
chance of having a date and sex from the women with tattoos.
Hawkes, Daina, Charlene Y. Senn, and Chantal Thorn. "Factors that Influence Attitudes Toward
Women with Tattoos." Sex Roles 50.9 (2004): 593-604. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
Undergraduate student’s attitudes toward women with tattoos are examined on the basis of
visibility and size of tattoos. Most of the men and women asked for their opinions had a negative
view of women with visible tattoos as opposed to those without them. Size of the tattoo created
more negative views in men and women who do not have tattoos of their own. We have seen
negative views of tattooed women throughout history. For example, in the late nineteenth
century women received tattoos to join sideshow circuses. Society saw them as rebellious and
something to ridicule. In addition society has also viewed tattooed women as more promiscuous.
In fact, in the 1920’s a judge overturned a rapist’s conviction because his victim had a small
butterfly tattoo. Both the judge and jury determined that the tattoo had sexual implications and
caused the rape to happen.
Poe, Susannah Grimm,EdD., B.C.B.A.-D., and Cronin, Anne,PhD., O.T.R./L. "Health Risks
Associated with Tattoos and Body Piercing." Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management
21.7 (2014): 1. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
Describes some health risks associated with tattoos and piercing. Health risks include infection
and frequent bleeding of piercings in addition to skin infections and allergic reactions from
tattoos. Even though receiving tattoos and piercings is a popular practice in the United States,
Clinicians are encouraged to be involved with those who participate in such practices.
Understanding complications and health risks of tattoos and piercing can lead to prevention of
such health risks.
Quaranta, Alessia, et al. "Body Piercing and Tattoos: A Survey on Young Adults' Knowledge of
the Risks and Practices in Body Art." BMC Public Health 11 (2011): 774. ProQuest.
Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
In order to test western society’s knowledge of potential risks of tattoos and piercings, 1,598
freshmen students of University of Bari are investigated. Of the sample size some showed
knowledge that hepatitis C, tetanus, and AIDs are a health risk. Others demonstrated no
knowledge of non-infectious risks as well. Some of the students who were receiving tattoos took
less than a month to reach their decisions. Even though many come to the decision of getting a
tattoo, a lot of the time possible risks are not researched an therefore are not taken into
consideration.
Schmid, Selma. "Tattoos - an Historical Essay." Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 11.6
(2013): 444-7. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.
Historical practices in tattoo art are described from different eras and different regions of the
world. The historical practices of tattoos are due to cultural views. Reasons for the practice
include punishment and branding. In some cases of branding, tattoos were involuntary like slave
branding. In other cases branding was voluntary like crusaders. In Japan tattoos were given to
criminals in order to separate them from the rest of society.