Tattoos Essay: Should Tattoos Be Viewed Negatively?

Should tattoos be viewed negatively?

Tattoo culture has been around for milleania, and has gone through several phases of change in forms of expression. The oldest known practice of tattooing comes from Ancient Egypt, where Pharaos and other high ranking members of Egyptian society would get tattoos of gods and other holy beings to appease them. The North Germanic peoples, more commonly known as vikings, used to have tattoos representing their life, like a battle they fought in, or a varangian adventure they partook in. Tattoo artists were highly respected in old norse culture, as many of them were former warriors and champions who had settled down to lead a peaceful life. It is in this culture that the first instances of non-linear tattooing appeared. In previous cultures, tattoos represented a single aspect of life, like appeasing a god, or marking warriors, but the norse peoples got tattoos of several aspects of life, expanding the range of tattoo meanings.