Tattoos have experienced a resurgence in popularity in many parts of the world, particularly in North and South America, Japan, and Europe. The growth in tattoo culture has also led to a rising number of tattoo artists, many of whom have technical and fine arts training. Coupled with advancements in tattoo pigments as well as technical development of tattoo machines, this has advanced the whole tattooing industry in terms of both quality and security. Modern tattoo options include wrist tattoos. Many females choose “softer” tattoo motives such as flower tattoo designs. More elaborate, maybe more masculine, designs include Chinese dragon tattoos.
A survey by the American Academy of Dermatology was made in 2004, with the results published in June 2006. It found that 36% of Americans ages 18-29, 24% of those 30-40 and 15% of those 41-51 had a tattoo. These numbers were basically confirmed by another study by the Pew Research Center (September 2006) which generated the following results: 18-25 yrs – 36% with tattoos, 26-40 years – 40% and 41-64 years old 10%. In January 2008, a survey conducted online by Harris Interactive estimated that 14% of all adults in the United States have a tattoo, just slightly down from 2003, when 16% had a tattoo.
In the United States many prisoners and criminal gangs display tattoos as a way to show for example criminal experiences, stays in prison, and gang memberships. Tear tattoo, for example, can be symbolic of murder, where one tear symbolizes the loss of a friend. At the same time, members of the U.S. military have an equally well established and longstanding history of tattooing to show which unit they belong to, battles they have fought and more, a practice that encompasses also older Americans. Tattooing is also common in the British Armed Forces.
Although tattooing among these type of subcultures (military and criminals) have historical background and is somewhat removed from the current wave of popularity, the use of certain tattoos is still to some extent linked to criminality. Even though the wider popularity in the general population brings with it a more of acceptance, they still carry a heavy stigma among certain social groups.
The prevalence of women in the tattoo industry, along with larger numbers of women bearing tattoos, is transforming the previously negative connotations of tattoos. Keep in mind though that a study of “at-risk” (as defined by school absenteeism and truancy) adolescent girls showed a positive correlation between body-modification and negative feelings towards the body and self-esteem; however, also illustrating a strong motive for body-modification as the search for “self and attempts to attain mastery and control over the body in an age of increasing alienation.”
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