THE DARK SIDE OF TATTOOING
While the bulk of this FAQ looks at tattoos and tattooing very positively, I need to address the fact that tattooing can be used in harmful, negative ways. If you have ever been forced to get a tattoo you did not want, or had someone else take your idea or identity, this section will be of particular interest to you.
Particular thanks to Michelle De Lio for assistance in this section.
"RAPE BY TATTOO"
"Rape by tattoo" by its definition means that someone violated you in a personal way by using a tattoo as a weapon. This could be done in two ways. One could be that you were forced to receive a tattoo you did not want. The movie, 'Tattoo', carries this theme to the extreme, with an obsessed tattoo artist kidnapping a professional model (Maude Adams) and tattooing her while she is unconscious. The movie in fact, was boycotted by some women's groups when it was first released.
While genital penetration may not be involved, involuntary tattooing is an unpleasant experience for the recipient, and is very symbolic of the use of a penetrating weapon to mark an indelible stain on the victim's body.
The second could happen when someone chooses to tattoo your name on their body without your full permission and cooperation. Some may think, "What's the problem? You should be flattered," However, those who have had this happen to them have noted a profound sense of loss, that part of their identity or soul was stolen from them. In one particular case, a man surprised his girlfriend with a tattoo of her name on him, and with it began the start of a stalking relationship that terrified her for years in an obsessive/possessive situation involving domestic abuse.
I am hereby urging the strongest recommendation in the entire FAQ: If you want the name of your loved one tattooed on your body or your loved one wants one of your name, 150% open-hearted, voluntary permission must be given by both parties as a prerequisite. (Exceptions made for names of the deceased, or of famous people). There should be no "convincing" or "talking into" involved. If there is the slightest hesitation, please do not do this. Those who wish to have their loved one represented in a tattoo should instead use a symbolic object.
FULFILLING UNREQUITED FEELINGS WITH TATTOOS
There are some lonely people in this world who enjoy inflicting pain on their bodies (NOT to say all those who enjoy it are lonely!), or have wish fulfillment dreams that they try to make come true with tattoos.
Michelle Delio tells the following story:
"Back when he was first starting out, Shotsie Gorman says a girl came into shop - kind of shy and awkward - wanted a name tattooed around her nipple. Shotsie tried to back off, feeling weird about this, but the shop owner insisted.
"So Shotsie does the tattoo. He's almost finished when he says, 'Well you and--- must have a really
special relationship for you to be getting this kind of tattoo, right?' The girl replies, 'He doesn't even know I exist.' Shotsie said this made him physically ill. That was the start of his personal ban on doing names/slogans, because he says there's too much weirdness connected with it."
GETTING TATTOOED IN A BDSM SCENE OR RELATIONSHIP
There are a couple of concerns with tattooing in the BDSM context. First, there are many sanitation concerns with regard to tattooing, and just as with piercing (either play piercing or "real" piercing) during a scene, it is imperative that all sterilization procedures are correctly followed. And because of the permanency of tattoos, things such as designs, locations, and placement should be fully agreed upon prior to the start of a scene. While this may take some of the spontaneity out of things, it is a very important step that should not be omitted. Recipients of the tattooing in a scene should be fully aware during the procedure, and be able to safe-word out if the scene is not comfortable for them.
Second (and within the frame of the "dark side" theme of this section) there are some tops who extend the relationship with their bottoms beyond scenes, and in some instances, bottoms may feel that they have no choice but to be tattooed (or pierced, branded, etc.) by order of their tops.
While persons may enlarge their relationship boundaries beyond the actual scenes, it is important to make sure that such permanent things as tattoos are still fully agreed upon. Just as safe words exist, a bottom should still be feel comfortable when it comes to a decision to receive a tattoo as part of the relationship. The bottom should always have the final say in such matters, if only for the fact that the relationship may not always last, and because body modification affects people at very deep levels.
"PROPERTY OF ----" TATTOOS
There are (primarily) women who have "Property of-- " tattooed on their buttocks to show that they
are "owned" by their partner. This has been traditional with bikers. Some women have "Property of [name of the club]" tattooed on themselves after they pass some sort of initiation (which could be having sex with every member of the club) so they could join the club (although many times, they join the club as a "hood ornament" and not as full-fledged members with the same rank and status of men).
Treating women as property is both degrading and insulting. It is also a sad fact that some women feel that they are not worth as much without this stamp of approval. Do women in these situations have the capacity to know what "true consent" is?
Michelle DeLio tells the tale of one such woman, who broke up with one man and married another: "As a sort of wedding present to her, they dragged the girl to the local tattooist and they inked 'CANCELLED' on her butt in big black block letters, like a meat stamp (over her old 'Property of tattoo)."
"CULTURE VULTURES"
The popularity of primitive designs has led to people searching anthropology books for cultural images for their tattoos. It is a very bad idea to use sacred images of a culture to which you do not belong. Using clan symbols, shields and other such images merely for visual effect is nothing short of robbing the soul of a culture. On the other hand, tattoos inspired by native iconography are both exciting and respectful. Otherwise, make sure you can lay claim to the image by checking your genealogy.
Also, remember that some cultures have an extensive tattoo history. Beyond the images themselves, some tattoos, like the Maori moko, are considered sacred and limited only to those who are allowed to wear them. For the Maori, a foreigner who wears a moko without understanding its significance, or receiving the proper blessings, is nothing short of cultural robbery.
• The use of icons and symbols is a real sore point for people of a culture that considers the symbols sacred. Examples: Family crests, patterns indicating genealogical lineage, and religious symbols.
• Many cultural images are not sacred or religious. These should be available for use by those from other cultures.
• Many symbols of one culture are actually adaptations from other cultures. From this standpoint,
some people feel that the use of cultural symbols should be okay.
Perhaps a compromise or middle ground is best in this situation. If you are interested in a tattoo from another culture, it is suggested you:
• First check to see if the image is sacred and whether "foreigners" are allowed to wear the image.
After all, if you desire to wear the image because you respect it or the culture, the last thing you
want to do is offend the very people you look up to.
• If the wearing of the image requires some sort of blessing from a person from that culture, do some research as to how this could be done?
• Even if the image is not sacred, you should check with a person native to that culture to make
sure the image looks correct. An example is Japanese kanji characters.
• Above all, be respectful. Do a little research. If you find an image you like, try to learn a little bit
about the culture and the image. Make sure you are not offending anyone with the tattoo idea
you have.
U.S. LAWS REGULATING TATTOOING
Where available, I have included the information about the laws regarding tattooing for that state. Note that some states leave this up to the cities or municipalities. This information should only be used for unofficial information purposes, and may change by each legislative session - for accurate and up-to- date information regarding the laws of your area, contact a professional tattoo shop or the department of public health.
The laws regarding tattooing differ as greatly as there are states in the U.S. While a handful serves as model states for regulations, most are completely unregulated, with the exception of some laws on the minimum allowable age. There is no federal legislation regarding tattooing.
To complicate things however, many states leave these regulations up to the cities, counties and municipalities. In addition, changes or amendments to existing laws crop up regularly.
Regulations help promote professionalism, and discourage "scratchers." This is important when considering disease transmission (HIV and Hepatitis-B in particular). If you think this is a frivolous issue, consider that South Carolina has banned tattooing altogether.
If state legislators try to introduce regulations on tattooing make sure they follow in the lines of the 11 states, which cover points such as:
Artist requirements: Training, knowledge of sanitation, washing of hands and use of barrier gloves for every new client
Facility requirements: Clean work area, availability of running water Equipment requirements: Autoclave, disposable needles, covered waste containers Procedural requirements: Customers needing to be sober, use of signed consent forms Basic sanitary requirements:
• Building must be clean, in good repair, have adequate lighting
• Adequate ventilation required
• Tattoo establishments many not be used for any non-tattoo related activities
• Toilets must be provided for customers
• Work area must be separate from the rest of the business, or at least separated upon request Artist Hygiene
• Artists should always wash their hands before every tattoo.
• Separate sink (away from the toilet facilities) must be available for artists to wash their hands
• Artists must dry their hands with single use paper towels or some sort of mechanical (air) dryer
• Artists with communicable diseases may not tattoo
• Food, drink, and smoking not allowed in the work area
• Smoking prohibited
• May not tattoo in exchange for sex Equipment
• Immersion in a germicidal solution as an alternative to autoclaving allowed
• Use of defective, dull, or rusty equipment is banned
• Disposable single-use ink containers must be used, and with any unused ink must be discarded
after every customer
• All dyes must be approved
• Minimum number of needles and tubes must be kept on hand
• Only sterilized or disposable razors allowed
• Covered waste containers required
• Special storage cabinets for tattooing materials required
• Tattooing materials may not be stored in the restroom.
• Facial tattoos may only be done by licensed physicians
• Injection of chemicals into the skin by tattoo artists to remove tattoos is illegal
• Customers must be sober
• Signed consent forms required
• Parental consent forms required for minors
• Artists must keep records on every customer for at least 2 years
• Oral care instructions required
Автор: denis на 9:25 0 коммент.
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