Stigma, or Status Symbol?
A brief history of tattoos
I sort of tend to equate tattoos with prisoners, punks or people with a high level of self-confidence. - Lena Dunham
Greetings, fellow info addicts! I hope this delightful May day finds you well. Here in Central Texas, it’s sunny, warm, and windy. We could use some rain. The Carolina Wrens are busy building their extraordinarily messy nest in their usual spot behind the non-functional speaker in the ceiling on our back porch. This is the third or fourth year they’ve graced us with their presence. So bold. So loud. So prolific, bless their little hearts.
I have a front row seat to their activities as I sit here at my desk, plowing away on my next book. The working title is The Sacred Key. It’s a treasure hunt tale with a Chosen One theme. Zero draft is in pretty rough shape, not gonna lie.
Recently, I’ve been in research mode. And you know this is my absolute favorite part of the writing process. One thing leads to another. I love when that happens!
Poking around on the topic of archeological treasure led me to the history of Thrace, which led to the story of the murder of Orpheus by the Maenads, which led me to today’s topic: the history of tattoos.
Not exactly a direct line from point A to point B, is it? But here’s the thing: that heinous crime was memorialized on a lot of pottery from that era. And the Maenads, who were women, are usually portrayed as having tattoos. Lots and lots of tattoos.
I thought this little factoid was worth pursuing. Similar to the time I pursued getting a tat of my own back in the day.
I was raised in a conservative Protestant household. Lots of things were frowned upon. Tattoos were on the Bad List. The gist was, people who got tattoos were tacky. Low class. Beneath us. In the same category as wearing too much lipstick, using foul language, drinking booze, playing cards, dancing, or anything else remotely fun.
(Which reminds me of one of my dad’s jokes: why don’t Baptists make love standing up? Because they don’t want anyone to think they’re dancing.)
Ahem.
As I approached adulthood, I definitely pushed back on a lot of the things on the Bad List. As one does. Booze. Foul language. Lipstick. The other stuff. But it took me a while to get around to tattoos. Twenty-five years or so.
Maybe I was feeling like I was running out of boundaries to test. I don’t remember exactly why tattoos got on my radar. But when a friend mentioned she had been considering getting one, I figured, why not? And that was that. It was an easier decision to make if we were doing it together.
It was fun. I was a coward and got the first one where no one would see it. Yes, it is in the charming category known as a ‘tramp stamp’. Fun fact about tramp stamps, or at least mine, anyway: it rarely sees the light of day, hence very little sun damage/fading.
I put a little more effort into the second tat. I walked into the shop with a design I had researched beforehand, as opposed to thumbing through one of their books spur of the moment. I put it somewhere I could see it every day, and others could as well. It’s a little faded, but I am still glad I did it.
When I started coming across the topic of tattoos during my recent research, there was so much I didn’t know about tattoos, I was drowning in new info.
Tattoos have been around in cultures all over the word for millenia. Remember that ancient body found in Europe a while back? Oldest intact remains ever? Dude had 60+ tats. They dated him at around 3300 BCE, I believe.
The differing perceptions of tattoos between various societies is also nothing new. In my era, I’ve witnessed the shift from the abhorrence of tattoos in my parents’ generation, to the embrace of the art by the generation of my adult children and beyond.
Differing opinions also existed thousands of years ago. The Persians, Thracians, and Scythians, to name a few, considered tattoos as we might consider fine jewelry. They were a sign of status for the upper classes. And as the artwork about Orpheus’ demise demonstrates, tattoos certainly were not limited to men.
Their neighbors to the south, the Greeks, felt strongly the opposite. They sought perfection in the human body. Anything they considered unnatural such as a scar, an injury, a piercing, or yes, a tattoo, marred this perfection. Even their word for it roughly translates to ‘skin stigma’. The Greeks only used tattoos to indicate negative status; specifically, if a person was a slave or a criminal. And by association, tattoos indicated ‘barbarian’ or ‘other’, which of course was definitely a negative in their opinion.
I should add that the Greeks were a little pragmatic with this attitude. Tattoos were fine if they were being used to their benefit. As in, using tattoos on a shaved head to deliver secret messages (after the hair grew back, of course). I am wondering why I have not seen this method used in any of the spy stories I have consumed in my lifetime. You gotta admit, it’s genius. No thumb drive to lose. No airport security scanner to set off.
I don’t recall the jihad on tattoos when I was a kid as ever having a religious connection. Maybe I slept through that sermon. But during my tattoo deep dive this week, I learned that the advent of Christianity really put the quietus* on tattoos for several hundred years (at least in those cultures embracing it). It was considered cruel to deliberately, permanently, mark someone’s face, against their will, as punishment. Can’t say I disagree, especially regarding the ‘against their will’ bit. Initially, the ban only applied facial tattoos, but eventually the Christians got around to outlawing the whole concept as a ‘pagan practice’ in the 700s.
Unless of course you were a Christian fighting in the Crusades. Then it was okay to tattoo a cross on your body somewhere so that when you got killed, the survivors knew you required a Christian burial. Pragmatic, like the Greeks.
Generally speaking, though, tattoos in Western society really tanked after that ban in the 700s. They didn’t start making a comeback until Europeans ramped up the exploration of the New World, and specifically Asia/Indonesia, in the 1600s. In fact, the word itself probably comes from the Samoan word ‘tatau’ (an onomatopeoia emulating the tapping sound made when using the early tattoo tools). And this is definitely why there is a strong tradition of sailors sporting tattoos. Partly because these early explorers dug the body art in the Indonesian cultures, and partly because they spent a lot of time crossing oceans with nothing much else to do than practice giving each other tats.
So many other fun facts, but I will leave you with this: when British explorers started coming home with info about tattoos; drawings; even a few of them sporting the real deal, tattoos became the hot new fad among the posh set. Very chi-chi, like eating caviar or wearing mink. But when the invention of the electric tattoo machine around the turn of the 20th century brought down the price so that average folks could now afford it, the swells dropped tattoos like a hot rock.
I’ve only gotten two additional tattoos since those first two, and they’re very subtle. I think I started too late. I don’t see the point of wasting a talented artist’s time and art on my crepey geezer skin. But I do get a kick of seeing how the cultural zeitgeist has changed, embracing this unique art form. If you’re tattoo curious, and you’re looking for a buddy to tag along with you, hit me up. Those Maenad tats may be calling to me.
*a Southern expression; kwy-EE-tuss, meaning brought to a halt; stopped
I will leave you with three things:
Looking for an entertaining read? The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (and no, that is not a typo) might fit the bill. Think Native American vampire.
These scratch-made veggie burger patties are excellent. And I didn’t even have to use the dreaded food processor!
While I was in Dallas over Mother’s Day weekend, we visited the aquarium. It was a blast. If you haven’t been, put it on the list. Perfect (air-conditioned) activity when the kids are out of school this summer.
My latest book, Double Fault, is available now on Amazon.
When an investigation of illegal match fixing by the Russian mob brings the FBI to her tennis club in the person of hunky agent Wilson DuBois, Veronica Burk vows to help him solve the case quickly before her own very successful gambling habit falls under suspicion.
Ventured is available now on Amazon.
When she takes a chance on making a new life for herself, French orphan and cutpurse extraordinaire Belle must find a way to survive in the New World—or she may not live long enough to enjoy it.
My YA trilogy is now available. Hope you enjoy it.
Brody Morgan grew up starring in commercials for his dad's mega food corporation. What will Brody do when he discovers what he's really been selling?
I motorcycled with the tattooed for over a decade. Always wanted to get one. If someone had pushed me an inch, I'd have done it, but in truth, all those years, I never found that perfect image. Maybe I'm that generation, but I've never cottoned to the tattooed "mass," a whole arm or neck, or torso looking like the Sistine chapel.
I liked your dad’s joke! I just did Persian henna hand tattoos with my daughter when she came to visit. Great fun and washes off in three weeks. I liked wearing her artwork so much, I was considering getting my first real tattoo. I applaud your open mindedness and I also enjoy the research part of writing.