Are Tattoos Still Negatively Stereotyped in the United States?

Tattooing has been practiced for many centuries in many cultures, particularly in Asia and then it spread throughout the world. Even though it’s been practiced for many centuries, why is it still negatively stereotyped? I believe that a person shouldn’t be stereo typed just by having tattoos. Just by having a tattoo doesn’t mean that you’re a “killer” or a “bad person.” I’ve seen doctors and even some of my own teachers have tattoos, are they killers or bad persons too? I don’t think so.

Most tattoos have a meaning or a story behind it and in the way I see it it’s like your dairy being a dairy, you portray and write memories and stuff that are very significant for the person. When tattoos where first introduced to America, they were symbols that represented courage, patriotism, defiance of death, and longing for family and loved ones behind and most of them were put on soldiers of World War I and World War II.

We, the Beachcomber, have surveyed 15 parents around various parts of San Diego and eleven out of the fifteen stated that they would much rather have their children get no tattoos. The reasons for this varied from them thinking it’s harder to get a job or that it plain looks “ugly.” We also interviewed Anthony Estrada, a senior here at Mission Bay High School, about his feelings towards tattoos, “I think tattoos are pretty cool if you get one that’s meaningful or something you like. If you’re scared that you won’t get a job because of tattoos but you still want them you should get them on places where you can hide like your back but I don’t think an employer should turn you down just because of tattoos. It makes you different from everyone else.”

Overall, I do understand why people think that tattoos could be bad but if you get meaningful or even just a nice designed tattoo, it won’t ruin your life. You may be stereotyped, but just remember that it’s your body and you can decorate it however you’d like.