Body Art: Your Tattoos Are Problematic

Liz. Wolfe, in her article “Your tattoos are problematic” published in Reason Foundation on March 10, 2018, discusses why she thinks tattoos are problematic from different aspects of this issue.

Wolfe discusses the history and origins of tattooing, it relates with many cultures.  Asia was one of the first regions where tattooing was common.  In Japan Tattoos were associated with criminals and certain types of merchants, it was outlawed for many years but was made legal again in 1948.  In Mexico tattoos were used to honor a relative who died. “About 90% of sailors in the 19^th century sported tattoos” says Wolfe. Most were nautical in theme, but some sailors adorned themselves with Hula girls or “pin up girls to remind them of ladies back home.”  Sailors traveling around the world was one method the art of tattooing spread. Some societies honored them while some societies shunned tattoos. Twenty years ago, body art became more acceptable in America.  In 1993 the magazine Playboy debuted its first tattoo on one of its playmates.  Even the toy company Mattel “released an “inked” Barbie Doll in 2011.”  Wolfe said that body art comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors.  People sometimes wait for long periods of time before deciding what tattoo to have because they do not want risk regretting their decision.  One person received a Tasmanian Devil tattoo to honor the death of his father, who years before also had a Tasmanian Devil tattoo to honor his father.  

Wolfe also discusses some of the political issues about tattoos. Many activists expressed opposition to tattoos that “steal” images from native cultures.  Wolfe calls this “Cultural appropriation.”  She says that “Some popular tattoos have historical lineages so tangled it’s hard to tell who is appropriating whose heritage.” Quoting Salman Rusdie who said, “The idea of the sacred … seeks to turn other ideas … into crimes.” Wolfe argues that prohibiting replicating an idea misses the mark.  She states activists fail to see that replicating art from other cultures preserves it for the future. She suggests that tattoos are art and should be protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the right of free speech.  She is concerned the courts may rule on what can be tattooed and what cannot be tattooed, and whether tattoos are art and thereby considered a free speech protected by the first amendment.  

Tattoos like any art form are subject to the likes and dislikes of the individual.  I personally do not like tattoos. In my opinion and from articles I have read, tattoos are sometimes associated with bad people and criminals.  But while I am personally opposed to tattoos I know people who do get them and who are not bad people or a criminal.  And like any piece of art, some I like and some I do not like.  It just like any other artist, a tattoo artist should be required to tattoo someone or something he or she finds against her beliefs.