Tattoos: Not Just For
Bikers Anymore
In the distant past, tattoos had the smallest modicum of
acceptance, primarily based on the people who wore them.
When military men came back to the States after serving
overseas, it was difficult to express too much negativity about
the names of their sweethearts or "Mom and Dad" emblazoned on
their arms. It's likely that the acceptance was more for
the wearer than the tattoo, though, for tattoos had not
attained a degree of respectability with the American public in
general. As syphilis became more widespread, and with the
less-than-sanitary tattooing procedures adding to its increase,
New York City eventually banned tattooing, and did not make the
practice legal again until 1997.
As disdain for the military began to spread across the
United States, so did a new counter-culture. To most
Americans during that time-period, the word "tattoo" was
synonymous for those who were outside of the mainstream of
America, thumbing their noses at society. It brought to
mind the fringe-element of undesirables, from the widely-movie
"Easy Rider" to the infamous Hell's Angels. Greasy
individuals who rode motorcycles and displayed obnoxious
artwork on various parts of their bodies-- bikers were
only "cool" amongst their own kind, and thought of in a very
unfavorable light by most of the American population. In
general, tattoos were limited to that range of
individuals; and both the bikers and their "sleeves" was
something the population at large preferred to do
without.
Although in some locales, especially those with Navy bases,
tattoos continued to enjoy a moderate degree of acceptance
throughout the 'seventies, they still were not considered a
respectable means of personal expression within the mainstream
population. The younger generation who lived in these
areas, with the usual curiosity of youth, often frequented
tattoo parlors and began to make tattoos a part of their
lifestyle. As these were usually young adults whose
lifestyle included drug use and too much alcohol, their
embracing the practice of tattoos did not assist in convincing
the older generation that there was anything positive about
it. One tattoo artist who practiced in the Navy town of
Port Hueneme, California, remarked that the types of
individuals whose lifestyle included tattoos were the kind of
people who "don't usually make it to forty years
old."
Also commenting that tattoos are "a fever," he shed some
light on the most negative aspects of this practice. Even
though by law artists were not supposed to do such artwork on
individuals who were in any state of intoxication, his clients
were usually in either of two categories: those who
requested tattoos while seriously under-the-influence, and the
fainters. His tattoo studio had a large couch for the
benefit of the latter. Young drug users and Navy men made
up the majority of his customers.
It was not until the early eighties that tattoos began to
gain positive exposure. With the Long Island based band
"The Stray Cats" appearing on the cover of the music
magazine Rolling Stone, not only did this bring the rockabilly
music style back into popularity it was also one of the first
steps in helping tattoos gain widespread appeal. In
stepping away from the coarse music of that particular
time-period, the Stray Cats' scope was that of good clean music
and good clean fun; and tattoos were a part of that
image. Suddenly everybody wanted to be a part of it all,
including the tattoos; and although it was often to the
chagrin of the older generation, tattoos began to have less
negativity attached to them.
As tattoos ceased to be solely connected to the
counter-culture, they started to appear on everybody. In
the following years they started showing up on average
Americans all across the United States. Tattoo studios
sprung up in cities that had colleges and universities, making
tattoos an accepted part of life for students. As the
people in that age group became older, their tattoos remained,
as well as the interest in tattoos developing amongst the newer
younger generation. In most parts of the United States
they are now commonplace, and considered to be just a basic
form of self-expression.
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