Stephanie

WRT 105 Stephanie DiPrima Essay Proposal Unit 3 11-16-08 ** Tattoos  ** The topic that I am going to write about for my unit 3 essay is tattoos. Tattoos are used for many different reasons, some being to symbolize a special event, loved one, gang member, religious purposes or convictions. The bible goes against making any marks on your body while in different countries tattoos were used for ritualistic purposes. As time went on, tattoos were used more to show a symbol that other gang members would recognize easily. Criminals use tattoos to show ownership and personal expression. However, other people get tattoos in order to express a feeling for something or some are extremely addicted. Once people get on tattoo, they tend to get another, and another. This isn’t the case for everyone but people start to like the feeling of the pain and needle that they can’t get enough of it. It becomes a bad addiction. It’s not an addiction of getting marks on the body, it’s an addiction of going through that horrid pain of a needle going layers into your skin. What I want to find out is what the resistance on tattoos is? What groups of people are against them and why? I’m a little confused about what exactly I should be trying to look up. I know not to take a side to the argument, but to just take a position while listening to all sides of the topic. I want to find a lot of different views on tattoos and the history on them. I’ll find where exactly tattoos came from and what they were meant for. Then I can compare that to what people now a day’s use them for and see if there is any connection. A concern I may have is if I can’t find enough information on my topic but I believe I will be able to because it’s a topic that has a lot of controversy. This topic grabs my attention because ever sense I got one I have been more into the topic and interested about where they come from and what others think about them.

What interests you most about Tattoos, I see you have a lot of ideas and facts but looking at one specifically will help to find controversies and arguments. Maybe you could argue why tattoos are a person's choice and that the church or other should not be allowed to stop their freedom of expression? -Joe

As an idea a large controversy is with followers of the Jewish faith are not supposed to get tattoos because of the holocaust. What about tribal tattoos? did you ever think that people get them just for attention?

Source: __Tattooing in Jewish Law__   Me: So I heard tattoos were prohibited for Jews, why and where does it say that? Rabbi Alan Lucas: The Torah states that no gashes in the flesh shall be made because our bodies are to be viewed as precious gifts on loan from God. Me- I see, are all tattoos prohibited? Rabbi- Only to a certain extent, this applies only to permanent marks on the skin, for example children stamps don’t count. Also tattoos which are used in cancer treatment or anything like that for life saving treatment are not included in the prohibition against tattoos. Me- Have tattoos always been prohibited? Rabbi- In biblical times they actually may not have been. It has been seen that in biblical references Isaiah has marked his hand so that every man may know his doings. Source: __Criminal Tattoos__ Me- Why do criminals use tattoos? Khalid- They use them as a way of displaying their gang affiliations as well as personal history. Me- By personal history, what do you mean? Khalid- Personal history means their specific criminal talents, records of accomplishments and their past and current convictions. Me-Wouldn’t it not be a good idea showing others what their past has been like? Khalid- The criminals have codes and symbols to conceal their true meaning from authority figures and non-criminals. The tattoos are pretty complex, so they’re not easily recognized by those outside of criminal circles. Me- Is it hard for them to make these tattoos while in prison? Khalid- Yes, that’s why the tattoos are often improvised, homemade pieces and characterized by a bluish color and a bit blurry because they lack instruments for more detailed work. Source: __Pretty in Pink__ Me- Is it common for woman to get tattoos? Atkinson- One of the most popular body projects among North American woman since the late 1980’s has been tattooing! Me- Does society seem to accept that? Atkinson- North American woman have been actually dissuaded traditionally from involvement in tattooing as a result of cultural prohibitions. Me- So then why do they do it? Atkinson- They do it to subvert hegemonic ideologies about femininity- especially images of the weak, sexually objectified, or submissive woman. Me- What do others have to say about this? Atkinson- People think their too masculine for woman to get but Elias and Scotsons theory argue that woman’s tattoos are layered with culturally established, resistant, and negotiated images of femininity.
 * //Mini dialogue between my sources and I//**