“Oh you’re not going to be as I birthed you,” Rocco Shcirripa, a Baruch College student, remembers his mom joking as he left their house to get his first tattoo. His parents had no problem with his getting a tattoo and even offered to pay for it, he said.
“My dad’s pretty ridiculous,” Schirripa said. “He has Looney Tunes tattoos. He has a Tasmanian Devil on his arm, and he wants to get Yosemite Sam on his leg. My mom’s okay with it as long as I don’t get covered in them.”
Schirripa’s story is an example of how tattoos, once considered a social stigma, are increasingly being accepted across generations and cultures. For many who choose to get inked, the act is no longer one of rebellion but rather a way to acknowledge a milestone in their lives with body art.
Schirripa said the tattoo he got that day, an emblem of the bass player symbol from Led Zepplin on his lower calf, was a way for him to remember a moment in his life when he was a part of a band that almost got signed by Sid Bernstein, the man responsible for bringing The Beatles to the United States.
In recent years, the tattoo industry has received somewhat of a face life. Tattoos were once regarded as solely for sailors, convicts, gang members, but that is no longer the case.
Currently, nearly 45 million people in the United States have tattoos, according to a report by the Food and Drug Administration.
“More people at different levels in society are getting tattoos,” said Mike Martin, president of the Alliance of Professional Artists and Tattooist.
“It’s not uncommon to tattoo a doctor, lawyer, or high ranking military individuals. Society is become more accepting of tattoos because people from different levels are getting them which helps break down barriers.”
The Alliance of Professional Tattooists is a Missouri based non-profit organization, which began in 1992, aimed at educating artists of health codes, and importance of sterilization, and immunizations.
When Pierre Riddle, a Baruch College student, told his parents about getting his first tattoo they were both against it.
“I told them because I didn’t want to get kicked out of the house when I got it,” Riddle said. “My dad started to tell me about all the health hazards related to getting a tattoo. My mom said, ‘Don’t do something that stupid.’”
In African American culture tattoos have a bad reputation, but to Riddle it was a great way of expressing art and personal beliefs.
“They do have a bad stigma,” Riddle said. “They’re usually associated with criminals, then when athletes get them they’re associated with athletes, but then athletes are looked at as criminals.”
After Riddle got a tattoo that symbolizes the quote, “I rise each morning torn between saving the world, and savoring the world, and that makes it hard to plan a day.” He showed his mom who happened to like the tattoo. His dad never asked to see it, or acknowledged it afterwards.
Tattooists became an underground craft when it became illegal in New York City in 1961. They operated out of apartments on Canal Street, basements, and backrooms. This gave the industry a sleazy image linked with unsanitary conditions, and grouchy meathead tattooists.
An evolution began in the tattoo world when the craft became legal in 1997. The backrooms of tattoo parlors began to resemble medical offices due to the advanced equipment and safety minded procedures.
“It’s an evolution of our art,” Martin said. “It’s not stagnant. It’s evolving all the time. The better the field becomes, the more competitive it becomes. The game has stepped up a lot over the years.”
The media has certainly helped to shed more light on the tattoo industry with television shows such as ‘NY Ink”, “LA Ink”, and “Miami Ink” on the TLC network. From these shows audiences saw that tattoo parlors were not places to be feared, they were not a dirty places with grouchy people and bikers.
“These shows knock barriers down, and lift this veil of uncertainty,” Martin said. “It shows that people aren’t going to die [from entering a tattoo parlor].”
People who are contemplating whether or not getting inked are encouraged to take their time and to do as much research as possible.
“Know what to look for when you go in to a tattoo shop,” Martin said. “Look at the artist’s portfolios, talk to them, know the type of work they do, and pick up on chemistry and attitudes. If person is excited and motivated to do the work for you, and they motivate you then you have found a good working relationship.”