“Body tattooing- An Unintentional Damage”
Body tattooing is ubiquitous, one of the most fashionable forms of body adornment nowadays, especially among young people in western societies. It is more or less a typical behavior in the minds of today’s adolescents. Most of the youngsters, nowadays, can be seen with at least some form of body art. The changing standards of beauty and fashion norms have changed the meaning of body tattoos. There are certainly various drivers that force teenagers to go through such practices and eventually encompass unusual behavior traits. Users of body tattoos seem to be aware that there are some risks associated with this practice. In the young age group, these risks appear to be dismissed by a worldview that they can deal with complications only if they arise. I strongly oppose the idea of getting tattoos because of the negative effects which come along with it, like health risks, society’s view, financial problems, and most important the correlation to aggressive behavior and self-destructive desires.
There are many concealed health risks involves in getting a tattoo. The foremost thing we have to think before getting a tattoo is that it involves someone sticking needles into our body. These needles should be brand new and disposed of immediately after every use, to avoid spreading dangerous diseases and infections. “A new study by a former Centers for Diseases Control researcher suggests that getting a tattoo can significantly increase the risk of hepatitis C, a viral infection of the liver for which there is no cure and which often leads to fatal liver diseases” (Peck 68). The major cause of Hepatitis C is blood-to- blood contamination which is often spread by sharing the same needle on different people by an unprofessional tattoo artist while making a tattoo. For this reason, it is very important for an artist to dispose of all the needles after using them on one client and not to use the same needle on many clients. It is recommended to visit a professional tattoo artist to reduce the chances of getting infected. Not only is it much safer, but the quality of the tattoo will be much greater. Experience, brand new needles, and sterilized or disposable tools are the most important factors to ensure that the artist possess safety and cleanliness. Furthermore, the tattoo removal process is also as risky as getting them. Removing a tattoo is a painful experience which involves using a laser to produce a short pulse of light which eventually removed the tattoo ink. In many cases, hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation may occur. Other side effects of getting rid of a tattoo may include infection, lack of complete pigment removal and in some instances permanent scaring (Brain 76). Body tattooing can be considered as a clear contravention of beauty values, but sometimes it is viewed differently by the society. Most people believe that persons with lots of visible tattoos are affiliated with gangs, drug users, or have some other deviant aspects about them (Rothenberg 98). In the United States, most of the criminals get inked to simply show that they were in prison or affiliated to some gang groups. A teardrop tattoo is most often viewed as an indicator that the wearer has killed someone, and three dots in a triangular formation placed at the bottom corner of one eye represents the crazy life of the wearer. Due to these negative associations involved with tattoos, a person with tattoos can easily be misconstrued by the society. Along with that, people with visible tattoos often put their jobs at risk. Even though tattoos are widely accepted, they still remain a taboo in many workplaces, and employees struggle to express their individuality while complying with workplace anti-ink policies (Bedore). Many employers have a tattoo policy which requires inked employees to cover up in order to protect the good name of the company. And those who refuse to cover up their tattoos may lose