Tyler Chapman

English 102

Casual Argument –Final Draft

“Don’t ever get a tattoo. They’re permanent.” That’s what my parents always told

me. I had wanted a tattoo since I was little, the originating reason didn’t stick with me, but

as I grew older I wanted a tattoo for personal reasons; to express myself, to remember

someone, to create artistic beauty. Why are so many people becoming interested in

tattoos? Some think that this is an exploding fad, just to fit in with the masses that are

tattooing their bodies. Some believe it indicates gang initiation and evokes negative

feelings. Many, especially those with tattoos like myself, believe that it is a way to have self-

expression.

Self-expression looks different for every person. Some people express themselves

through music, others through sports, some through traditional art such as painting.

Another way to express yourself is by using art on your body. People are interested in

getting tattoos because they feel it can express how they are feeling about a certain person

or thing. This is a phenomenon that has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of

years. Native people have tattooed their bodies for years. Their tattoos tell a story and

express their lives through body art. One of my close friends has a tattoo of a butterfly.

This butterfly may not look like much to strangers, but to her, and her cousins, who also

have the same butterfly tattoo, it is a reminder of their grandmother. When she passed

away they all got tattoos to show their love and memorialize her. This is just one way that

people use tattoos as a meaningful form of expression. Our culture has adopted this form

of art, and people enjoy using tattoos to express their love of people, places, or things.

Another reason people are getting tattooed so frequently is to feel a sense of

belonging to some type of group. This group is sometimes one’s family. There are many

cases where a family will get matching or similar tattoos that shows their love of their

heritage, a sport, or even an inside joke. Another group that may cause someone to get

tattoos is a gang. In these gangs the members get tattoos for many reasons including

violent crimes and telling stories of what they have done. Other groups that people belong

to are sororities and fraternities. There are students and alumni of these organizations that

get tattoos together to feel a sense of belonging and support for their affiliation. Belonging

to a religious group is another cause for people getting tattoos. Those that have a strong

sense of faith sometimes want to share their beliefs by getting tattoos.

There are some people that are against tattoos. They believe that tattoos are

negative in some way or that they are too permanent. Many people believe that tattoos are

solely connected to gangs or illegal actions, which is not the case. There are many people

that have tattoos without any type of record. Some work places do not allow their

employees to have their tattoos visible and may not hire someone because they have

tattoos. Having a tattoo does not make someone a criminal and it does not mean that they

are involved in anything negative. Tattoos are becoming more and more common which is

why employers should be more tolerant of tattoos in the workplace. Some believe that

tattoos are health risks because of infection. This is sometimes the case, but if people are

aware of where they are going to get the tattoos they can avoid infection, and if infection

does happen it is easily treated most times.

People get tattoos for many reasons including self-expression and a sense of

belonging. Tattoos are a way to show your love, beliefs, and feelings toward things that are

important to you. Whether or not someone has a tattoo is not a determining factor in

whether or not someone is a good person. People from all different backgrounds get

tattoos every day for varying reasons.