It was 5:30 in the morning and we were waiting in the cold summer air on the corner of 6th and 48th for the band Twisted Sister to play a free concert for the TV show Fox and Friends. We had been there for over two hours and had many more to go, but we were steadfast in our want to be in the front row of the concert. Being there for so long, I had struck up a conversation with a family of metalheads I was standing with. Long hair, cutoff band tees, chains, and tattoos, they were as stereotypical as characters from a Mötley Crüe or Iron Maiden music video. I was drawn to the tattoos of this one 40-something woman with dyed red hair. Her arms were covered in signatures, tiny black snakes slithering across her wrists and elbows. Names of various rock stars and movie actors: Alice Cooper, Christopher Lee, Tim Burton, C.C. DeVille, Johnny Depp, John Carpenter. She had made her skin her own permanent autograph book for her idols. She had driven in from New Jersey this morning on a mission to get the signature of A.J. Pero, the drummer of Twisted Sister. Then, as she told me, she would have all the signatures of her favorite band marked permanently on her skin.
Upon thinking back on this, I was struck by how nonchalant she was about this …show more content…
In most workplaces one must cover tattoos, Disney bans tattoos from their theme park employees’ skin, and in Japan, it is illegal to go to public baths with tattoos. In this country, tattooing was illegal in various states well into the 20th century. In one extreme example, New York City only recently lifted their ban on tattoos in 1997 which police were heavily enforcing. In some ways, tattoos are also inherently rebellious to systems of power as it is an individualistic art form. Each tattoo is unique, and the beauty of tattoos is in the uniqueness. This individuality adds to the non-normative power of tattoos. Having a tattoo is a rebellion against a social system which does not value
Upon thinking back on this, I was struck by how nonchalant she was about this …show more content…
In most workplaces one must cover tattoos, Disney bans tattoos from their theme park employees’ skin, and in Japan, it is illegal to go to public baths with tattoos. In this country, tattooing was illegal in various states well into the 20th century. In one extreme example, New York City only recently lifted their ban on tattoos in 1997 which police were heavily enforcing. In some ways, tattoos are also inherently rebellious to systems of power as it is an individualistic art form. Each tattoo is unique, and the beauty of tattoos is in the uniqueness. This individuality adds to the non-normative power of tattoos. Having a tattoo is a rebellion against a social system which does not value