Would you believe the New York Times ran an article on this very topic today?
Ahhh… henna. Not permanent.
I can’t help but wonder how and when the negative attitudes regarding tattoos got started. In Western culture, it usually seems that the more tattooed a person is, the more dangerous or undesirable they are. The most tattooed of all are outlaw bikers and prisoners, and aside from a nod to people who live legally and creatively outside the economic mainstream, and are “expected” to be different, tats seem to be associated with criminality. In saying this, I’m just expressing what I believe the mainstream perception to be, not my own opinion.
But how did this happen? Outlaws today get tattoos to be rebellious. But was there a time in remote antiquity when tattoos were expected and proper, and people rebelled by refusing to have them?
I’d say even nowadays, the idea that tattoos=outlaws/rebels is pretty much fading. Most inked people I know lead pretty mundane lives.
IIRC, in the past people that had a lot of ink WERE (mostly) in fact felons, bikers and generally undesirables…or in the Navy…or viewed by the masses as such…
It’s funny how things change. I recall when having an earring as a male was considered taboo (but only in the left ear! Never in the right or you’re GAY!), and that tats were generally frowned upon, and now…not so much. You see so many people with gauged (gaged?) ears, nose rings, tats, you name it and most of those people I’ve encountered are mostly cool folks.
But tats that aren’t covereable by corporate outfits are still cause for exclusion from employment as part of corporate uniform policy, as are piercings that are considered extreme. I wonder if that is even legal.
I have to say this takes the thread right here. And all Jewish-related threads ever, actually.
At the crux of all these proscriptions, biblical etc, is that one should be seeking to make mitzvot their life. All of Isreal is one body and one soul. What one jew does to their body they do to all Jews. When one Jew makes a mitzvah, all enjoy the fruits of that mitzvah. The body is a symbol of your covenant with G-d and so you want to keep it in a good condition. How far this is taken depends on the Jew and where they want to fit into their religious life. (As my friend Adam would say, “I’m not a Jew! I’m Jew-ish!” Adam thinks himself very clever.)
I know at least 2 Jewish guys with tattoos, a father and son who got matching ones to honor their son/brother. The tattoos are on their backs and easily covered.
As far as Western European cultures go, in antiquity many of the groups that fought against the Romans, such as the Celts, were tattooed. Tattooing became associated with barbarians; civilized (and later, Christian and non-pagan) people did not do such things. So tattooing fell out of favor.
I believe that tattooing began to enter European culture again in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, when expeditions began to encounter heavily tattooed societies in the South Pacific, such as the Marquesans and the Maori of New Zealand. Sailors got tattoos as a badge of their travels in exotic lands. It may have been that the practice spread from sailors to other raffish or outsider elements in society.
I see what you did there.
Asked and answered. Many thanks!
Isn’t a particular sort of ear piercing emblematic of slavery, in the Bible? While that wouldn’t be a prohibition, it would certainly be an argument against getting such a piercing.
Chronos:
Yes, it’s true that if a Jewish slave chooses to remain with his master after his six-year ordinary period of servitude is up, he gets his ear pierced in a very specific manner, in front of a court of law. Nonetheless, ornamental ear piercings don’t seem to carry any stigma that I’m aware of.
This article addresses tattoos near the end: 'New Jews' stake claim to faith, culture - CNN.com
Having lived in both cities, I’d say tattoos are as common in Tel Aviv as they are in New York. The mall near my house has at least 4 tattoo parlors.
In honor of Hallow’een, it’s a zombie thread looking for braaaaaaaaaaaains!
Granted, Elendil’s Heir’s post is relevant. But still… braaaaaaaaaaaains!
I always thought it would be pretty amusing to tattoo “Leviticus 19.28”.
If I owned a tattoo parlor, I’d call it “Marks Upon You.”
Sounds like one theory of how a certain hotel got to be named “Adam’s Mark”.
Few people know this, but Muslims can’t wear muslin.
why? classic muslin is pure cotton fabric. it was introduced to europe by arab traders, and was originally made in mousul, hence the name muslin.
sorry, early medieval clothing is one of my areas of fascination and research.
Just for clarification: the rules that are being cited, and cmkeller’s insightful comments, apply to Orthodox and most Conservative Jews. Reform Jews tend to be more casual about such rules. So, if you know a Jew with a voluntary tattoo, it’s pretty much a safe conclusion that that person is Reform (or a convert who got tattooed before the conversion.)