Body art: a history
BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0206196 (Published 01 June 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:0206196
- Monica Desai, fourth year medical student1
- 1Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine
A Bedouin woman with the traditional face tattoos
They're everywhere. Beckham has Posh's name in Hindi (although it is spelt wrongly), Sporty Spice has a Chinese symbol, and Pamela Anderson has barbed wire. Tattooing has been around for centuries, but only recently has it transformed from being a biker or “I'm hard” symbol to being the height of Western fashion.
The increase in popularity is not necessarily matched, however, by an emergence of safe tattoo parlours, and tattooing is contributing to an increase in cases of hepatitis C. Recently, Pamela Anderson claims she contracted hepatitis C while sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband, Tommy Lee.
Samoan men with body tattoos
So where does tattooing have its origins? Why do people go through the pain of having needles stuck in them for a permanent scar? And how can …
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