Are Professional Athletes Role Models - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1345 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/05/06 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Role Model Essay Did you like this example? Are athletes role models? That’s the big question that a lot of people try to answer. Athletes do a lot of extraordinary things in their sport. High flying dunks, coast to coast rushes down the ice for a spectacular goal, and amazing bending free kicks from 40 yards out. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Are Professional Athletes Role Models" essay for you Create order This can be why they are idols to a lot of kids. Kids idolize Lebron James because of what he can do on the court. Though he can also be a role model to people of all ages what he does off it. Yes, there are many athletes that have done very unacceptable and horrendous crimes and acts. Though this should not overshadow what many athletes do outside of their profession or even inside of it. They should be considered role models. Sports can be a way out of bad places for many kids growing up. Being in a bad situation, living in a rough neighbourhood, or just not having the right mindset. Having good role models in a sport can help lead kids into it. Many start playing a sport from following in the footsteps of an athlete they idolize. In the mid 2000’s, Sidney Crosby influenced so many kids to lace up the skates and play. Sid is an incredible role model. His whole career no things negative about him have arose that have impacted him as a person. He has stayed out of the public eye and shown hard work and dedication to the sport. This can show kids to not only work hard in sports but life in general. Showing that hard work can get you to whatever your dreams are. Players stories can inspire people that are in a bad place. You see it all the time of players growing up in a small trailer to making it to the NFL (Jarvis Landry). To have players like this to follow can set the right tone for kids. In the media you see stories all the time of players doing bad things and making bad decisions. This can be looked at players shouldn’t be idolized by people. The perspective that should be looked at is it teaches people on how you shouldn’t be acting at your job and outside of it. Especially in the NFL there are a lot of situations that are brought up where domestic abuse has occurred. Just recent A video of Kareem Hunt (Former RB of the Kansas City Chiefs). It shows him confront a woman, pushing her and kicking at her while being heled back. This happening while being intoxicated (Belson, Nov. 30, 2018). This whole situation showing kids how you shouldn’t treat women and the consequences of it. He has since been released from his organization and most likely won’t be picked up by any other teams. This is no different then what would happen to someone at their workplace. They would be fired from their position and would be hard to get another job. As much as people want to say that athletes aren’t role models. This can be looked at as its showing kids what not to do, in their life and allowing them to follow other players that have a positive impact. The media portrays all these incidents in the right way that, they are always bad. Showcasing that it is not acceptable at all. So, with this happening every kid thinks they are the â€Å"bad guy† and their favourite player may be someone like Crosby that shows ex ceptional leadership and hard work. The whole point of this paragraph was to show that even though there are negatives that happen, it allows kids to learn from it. As well they are learning important qualities through the role models in sports that they follow. The players with a positive impact are shown so well that they make every kid want to be looked at that way, while disgracing the people that make bad decisions.There are so many things that athletes do outside of sports or in them that get recognized. Small things that always show a very positive impact. While Donovan Mitchell was out at the apple store he overheard that a man didn’t have enough money for his phone to be repaired (who was slow in development, said by his brother in a tweet he posted about it). So, he covered the cost for him. This is something that says great about someone’s character as many people and athletes would just ignore it and not think twice about doing it. A big thing about it as well is that he did it without having any cameras around him and didn’t say anything about himself doing it. This speaks levels of his character. As well he is heavily involved in the community and hosted the Strikes for Kids Utah Bowling Classic in February to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake City (Chiari, Aug. 2, 2018). Then there are big things that athletes do for the community. Take Russell Wilson for example, every Tuesday he goes and visits a children’s hospital, on his free time since becoming an NFL player. He has well gives first class seats to armed forces veterans. PK Subban, donated $10 million dollars to Montreal’s children hospital and Andrew Wiggins who is donating $22 (his number) to help underprivileged kids to gain better access to organized sports for every point he scores (Chiappelli Oct. 27, 2018). In the 2017-2018 season he scored a total of 1,451 points, if he averaged around that this year his total donation would be $31,922. LeBron who has his LeBron James Family foundation which has been around for a decade. The main focus is to help children’s education is rough areas. He opened the I Promise School, in Akron, Ohio (his hometown) to help children at risk (Kolur, July. 29, 2018). This is what a great leader and role model is. Yes, he is the greatest basketball player of all time, won many awards and championships but it’s his impact off the court that speaks volumes. To use his platform and wealth to bring awareness and help all these kids in needs is not only things that kids should try to follow in. No matter how big or small their impact is, doing something positive goes a long way. More athletes should follow these athlete’s footsteps because they have left a great impact on the community which is what being an athlete should be about. With this massive platform they have they can create such a positive impact on this world that they can change it for the better in realizing the opportunity they have. If I was a parent would I be happy if my kid’s role model was an athlete? Someone like LeBron or Sidney Crosby? I would love that. These players show so many good qualities and create such positive impacts that they can help lead kids down the right path. Bringing them into a sport, drawing them away from all the negatives surrounding them. Influencing people to start to do more things to help people out, no matter how small. Showing them that hard work pays off and you need to earn what you want through determination. People look at good teachers, siblings, parents, a motivational speaker or someone who has grown their business from nothing and now is very successful from hard work. So why can’t athletes be looked at as role models? Citations Belson, K. (2018, December 01). Kareem Hunt Is Cut by the Chiefs After a Video Showed Him Attacking a Woman. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/sports/kareem-hunt-chiefs-video.html Chiari, M. (2018, August 02). Donovan Mitchell Helps Fan Who Couldnt Afford iPhone Repair. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2789166-donovan-mitchell-helps-fan-who-couldnt-afford-iphone-repair Chiappelli, K. (2018, October 17). Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins will donate $22 for every point this season. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/timberwolves-andrew-wiggins-donation-every-point-this-season-stats-nba-news/ipbslbmlfixx15rsz28t9lpzl Kolur, N. (2018, July 29). LeBron James to open I Promise School on Monday. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.si.com/nba/2018/07/29/lebron-james-i-promise-school-opening-akron-ohio

How Women Are Portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great...

In the Great Gatsby hedonism, consumerism and materialism plays a huge part in the portrayal of women. Alongside with this comes the American Dream. Before the 1920’s the American dream was based on equality, however a different dream was developed during the 1920’s that contradicted this idea of equality as instead they strived to be rich. Fitzgerald presents women to be victims of this dream and channels this through Myrtle. She is a key character as she shows who suffers from the American dream the most, as she is shallow and fixated with materialistic goods. The way she views her husband exhibits this ‘I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t the fit to lick my shoe’. Myrtle is in denial with the life that she has been given; this is symbolic of the fact that she is unable to attain her dream of having glamour, money and beauty. The different forms of the American dreams have an elusive force, which is constantly changing as huma n desires change. The materialistic craving, which consumes Myrtle as a character, is rooted in her crisis of identity, which is indicative of the woman within the 1920s society. Woman can only be defined when related to society in terms of material possessions. The more possessions a woman has the more she is accepted within society. Tom Buchanan gave Daisy pearls before their wedding ‘pulled out the string of pearls’. Yet as is demonstrated with Daisy, the material wealth only gives superficial acceptance. Therefore it may beShow MoreRelatedThe Yin And Yang Theory Intertwined With The Great Gatsby1402 Words   |  6 PagesIntertwined with The Great Gatsby The novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘The Great Gatsby’ is one of the greatest novels of all time. â€Å"The novel exposes the hollow values of the Jazz Age, with its economic and social corruptions. It also turns on its ear the particularly American myth of the self-made man who achieves success through his integrity and plain hard work† (F. 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Scott Fitzgerald writes about the fictitious life of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire (Gross 1). The setting of the novel is New York in the twenties, a time, and place, where people were jovial and carefree. In New York, more than anywhere, people did not worry about lifes downs, but focused on the highlife and partying. ProhibitionRead MoreWhat Is The Role Of Women In The Great Gatsby857 Words   |  4 Pagesthe years, women have tried to break free from the stereotype of being less than a man. It is understandable that it has been incredibly hard to break this stigma since this standard was established centuries ago. Throughout history, the common role of a woman was to sit at home, cook, clean take care of the kids. In 1925, during the time that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, that standard was not any different. Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson were portrayed as oblivious women who wouldRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgeralds Personl Influences on The Great Gatsby1762 Words   |  7 Pagesdead.† (Fitzgerald, 1925). The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925, and takes place in 1922. The novel greatly exemplifies the time period that it takes place in, known as â€Å"The Roaring Twenties† or â€Å"The Jazz Age†. One way of exemplification is prohibition and the Volstead Act. According to David J. Hanson from Potsdam.edu, the Volstead Act, which took place in 1919, established National Prohibition of alcoholic beverages (Hanson, 2013). Fitzgerald made hisRead Moreâ€Å"the Jazz Age† and F. Scott Fitzgerald1095 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Jazz Age† and F. Scott Fitzgerald It was an age of miracles. It was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire.† (â€Å"Fitzgerald: The Jazz Age† p. 3). As the 1920s began, the old, conservative ways of life began to disintegrate. A new era was just beginning. 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Anthropology of Tattoos Free Essays

string(59) " festive activities such as dance and sport participation\." Scarred across her back are raised bumps forming intricate designs of lines and angles, a reminder of who she is and where she is from. She thinks back on the ceremony in which she was marked with the painful scarification. She remembered feeling a sense of calm as the village artist pierced her back with a small arrowhead, stretching the skin away from the body and swiftly but skillfully cutting a slit in her back. We will write a custom essay sample on Anthropology of Tattoos or any similar topic only for you Order Now He repeated this several times as a ceremonial pot was filled with gathering soot from the burning fire. After the artist finished his tedious design, he rubbed soot from the pot bottom deep into the slits, planting the bacteria that would infect the skin, raising the scars into their meaningful design. She felt accomplished that she withstood the agonizing pain while other members of her clan could not. Her newly inherited body art signified the birth of her first son, and left her with a renewed sense of beauty. This is the way of life common to people indigenous to the motherland of Africa. Scarification, however, is not the only form of body art that is used. Body painting, tattooing, and branding are all similar forms of body art, which can be found in Africa and other cultures throughout the world. The word â€Å"tattoo† comes from the Tahitian word â€Å"tattau†, which means â€Å"to mark†. Tattoos have evolved from being symbols of punishment that were given to identify criminals and slaves in the early ninth-century Chinese culture, into a pop-culture trend of using he skin as â€Å"a way of describing the exotic uncivilized other† within ourselves (Schildkrout 2004:324). For centuries, the body has been used as a â€Å"visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference† (Schildkrout 2004:319). This cultural difference becomes apparent when studying the evolution of body art over time, especially when focusing on the differences between the Western and Non-Western cultures. People have been adorning their body with tattoos and piercing for centuries, but until recently, the thought of tattoos in ancient Egypt had been pushed aside. It has now been discovered that, without a doubt, tattoos did exist in that time period. Although miniscule, a group of enormously important tattooed mummies serve to help prove this point (Bianchi 1988:21). The first mummy to be discovered was one f a woman named Amunet, whose mummy was found in an excellent state of preservation, â€Å"most likely due to the fact that she served as a priestess of the goddess Harthor at Thebes during Dynasty XI†(Bianchi 1988:22). The tattoos on her body were comprised of a pattern of dots and dashes in an elliptical shape on her lower abdomen. The thighs and arms adorned the identical parallel lines of the aforementioned pattern. Two more women mummies, who were discovered and believed to be from the same time period, also had similar tattoos on their lower abdomen (Bianchi 1988:22). This group of woman represents an exclusive group of Egyptians who received tattoos in that time period, because there is no other evidence that shows tattoos to be a part of the Egyptian culture until the time of the Middle Kingdom. These abstract patterns associated with ritualistic tattooing survived into the New Kingdom. The Egyptians, more then likely, borrowed a form of tattooing from the Nubian civilization. Unlike the Nubians, whose purpose for tattooing is unknown, â€Å"the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived† (Bianchi 1988:27). Substantiation proposes that only women were associated with the decorating of their bodies and the ritualistic activities that went along with it. The art of tattooing began with the grouping of bluish or black dots and/or dashes forming abstract geometric patterns; that system of body art lasted for over two thousand years in ancient Egypt. Just like other ideas and goods, the idea of tattooing began to travel to several different societies, and has evolved into extremely different forms of art all over the world. In northeastern Zambia, the Tabwa â€Å"once covered themselves from head to foot with scarification† (Roberts 1988:41). The women of the Tabwa began receiving elaborate marks on their face, chest, and backs when they were young girls; it sometimes was continued at other points in a woman’s life (Roberts 1988:43) such as courting rituals and for woman wishing to bear a child. Male sculptors would trace designs and make incisions on the lesser intimate parts of the body; they left the rest for the women to do. ‘Tabwa women used razors to slit skin [that had been] plucked up with a fishhook or arrowhead. These incisions were then rubbed with soot from a pot bottom, an irritant that produced the desired raised cicatrices† (Roberts 1988:44). There were several reasons that this tradition was done, different to every age and gender in the tribe. Young women went through this process in order to achieve a state of perfection, which was required for those wanting to marry and have children (Roberts 1988:45). Scarification is a form of body art that was used in several tribes because according to their customs â€Å"beauty is not physically innate, but rather a function of the girl’s inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:45). Not only the Tabwa, scarification was used in such tribes as the Ga’anda and the Tiv; all the tribes have distinctly different purposes for doing this, but the process and effect of the body are the same. Another form of body art is body painting, which the people of the Southeast Nuba begin at a young age; but the meanings, and time frame from when they begin decorating the body are very different between males and females. The males paint themselves from the ages of 12 to 27 (Faris 1988:31). Typically, they only paint during the down time after the harvest season and before the next years planting begins. This is the time that the males are less involved in mandatory and productive activities; they spend their supplementary time with festive activities such as dance and sport participation. You read "Anthropology of Tattoos" in category "Essay examples" The restrictions placed on the men by their age, most importantly deal with the color that they use on their body—for example â€Å" only the older age groups are eligible to use the greatest elaboration in color, including the deep black and yellow [colors, that are] prohibited to younger grades†(Faris 1988:32). The change in elaboration allowed on the body does not coincide with any physiological changes, rather, it corresponds with changes â€Å"in productive status or sport† (Faris 1988:32). As they move up in grades from young laborers that answer to the elders, to mature men that own their own property, farm and family, their elaborate painting ability increases. The elders though, do not decorate their bodies; rather, they delegate and lead rituals for the younger men and enforce the rules of allowed color use. Therefore, the male body painting shows their progression thru ones life stages. The women of Southeast Nuba, â€Å"from the age of six years, until consummation of marriage, oil and ochre [their bodies] daily, in colors [that are] appropriate to their patri-clan section† (Faris 1988:34). After childbirth, they may continue to wear some oil and ochre on their shoulders. The personal body art of women is strictly related to the physiological changes that occur as a women goes through life, and are fixed around body scarification as a way of showing her changes. A woman’s scarification is so important, that â€Å"if a husband refuses to pay for a scarring specialist, a woman may seek a lover who will do so, and her first marriage will end† (Faris 1988:35). Unlike the males elaborate body art, a woman’s body art is simple, but it accumulates over her life-span and is very standardized, while a male’s body art is constantly changing. Body painting, tattooing and scarification thus far had been tools used by individuals to beautify their body and elevate their status within their tribe; this is not the case with all societies. In several other cultures, tattoos have been used in a form of branding, which is quite the opposite. Though tattooing and branding are â€Å"similar in that both involve the insertion of pigments under the skin to create permanent marks†, branding is implemented in order to lower an individuals status, to punish for crimes committed, to identify slaves, but most importantly, to eliminate personal identity (Schildkrout 2004:323). â€Å"The immutable alteration of human skin by branding needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing† (Bianchi 1988:27). Two recent studies originating in South Africa elaborate on this subject, reporting on the political influence of tattooing â€Å"as a means of social control† (Schildkrout 2004:330). They site examples from Zambia in which a medical practitioner travels around to villages â€Å"in which witch craft accusations have been common†¦to inoculate people against people against witch craft† (Schildkrout 2004:331). The villagers would â€Å"submit to bodily inspections†, they were then treated â€Å"by getting numbers tattooed on their arms† (Schildkrout 2004:331). This is disturbingly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps when an unfathomable number of Jewish people lost their personal identities and became known as only a number in the system to be disposed of. This â€Å"symbolic denial of personhood† served as a system â€Å"of control and surveillance† (Schildkrout 2004:323). This system of control was also imposed by â€Å"authoritarian regimes† in Southeast Asia (Schildkrout 2004:323). The Zhou and Ming Dynasties branded criminals as a form of punishment with â€Å"extensive, often full-body tattoos, with elaborate pictorial imagery as well as written inscriptions† (Schildkrout 2004:324) portraying their crime. This form of tattooing is definitely contrary to traditional methods. Similarly in Brazil, branding was used to mark convicts by the penal authorities. Penal tattoos derived their power from subjugation of the marked convicts. The humiliation of being visibly branded was a significant component of the convict’s punishment. In an act of resistance, those that had been branded â€Å"were known to reclaim their bodies by writing over the inscriptions or by displaying them in new social situations† (Schildkrout 2004:324). The branded, therefore, became the empowered, restoring the function of the tattoo to being personally-motivated. This personal motivation is perhaps most notable in Western cultures, specifically North America. In America, the Native Americans used body painting in many ways, usually connected with ethnic identity, social roles or marital status (Rubin 1988:179). The Natives also used the body as a canvas in ritualistic ceremonies, on warriors going into battle and for the beautification of their women. When the Europeans discovered America, they brought with them slaves from Africa and they introduced branding of the slaves into the American culture. After the civil war, when the slaves had been freed, branding was still embedded in American culture through groups of people including gang members and convicts. Though â€Å"branding is often associated with involuntary marking and the denial of personhood†, it has also â€Å"been adopted in contemporary Western body culture as an assertion of group identity, for example in college fraternities† (Schildkrout 2004:323). Tattoos were also prevalent in other parts of America, including Alaska. Among the Eskimos â€Å"[t]he function of these art forms [was] – essentially manifesting one’s place or role within the hierarchy of hunting life† (Gritton 1988:190). With the introduction and adaptation of the western civilization in Alaskan culture, â€Å"the marks of a hunter or hunter’s wife served no purpose in their new lives and were understandably abandoned† (Gritton 1988:190). The function of body art and tattooing has been Americanized, evolving from its native origins to incorporate self expression. This self expression has mushroomed from a manor of identifying oneself to a way of gaining attention through shock value. Though ever-changing, all forms of body art mentioned play enormous roles in the lives of people. Certain non-Western cultures are based around the ability to use skin as a visible way of defining status or bettering their self-image, in order to attract companions. So the artists who are allowed to perform the act of adorning bodies with different designs are regarded as having a very important place in the society. They are â€Å"scarring specialist† (Faris 1988:35), â€Å"body artists† (Drewal 1988:84), but most importantly, they are known as â€Å"[the] one-who-creates- art† (Drewal 1988:84). In the non-Native American culture, however, the general attitude towards tattoo artist in present-day American culture is less than appreciative. Extreme critics even characterize tattooist as opportunist, exclusively seeking monetary gain (Sanders 1988:229). â€Å"The tattooist interest in artistry and control is often in conflict with his profit orientation†, revealing the major flaw within the American society (Sanders 1988:229). This is the major difference in western and non-western cultures. Body tattoos in western society are an object to be purchased. Americans obtain tattoos in the same manner that they acquire a new Louis Vuitton handbag. They purchase them as accessories, which is in stark contrast to the non-western cultures, who acquire tattoos as an essential ritual in their society. With this is mind, the process in which American’s purchases body art seems slightly ridiculous. Tattoo artists often complain of the unwillingness of customers to spend the quoted amount of money for â€Å"a tattoo [they] are going to wear for the rest of [their] life† (Sanders 1988:229). It is more acceptable in American culture to invest in short term materialistic purchases, therefore the legitimate tattoo artists are constantly being monitored and regimented under strict laws imposed by the government. Despite the absurdity of the purchasing process, the reasoning that propels the American society to obtain tattoos is just as flawed. Some reasons people give to explain permanently marking their skin include, â€Å"they were drunk, it’s a macho thing, to fit in with a crowd or even worse, for no reason at all† (DeMello 1995:42). Western society seems to have a complete disregard for the spiritual origins of body art. Tattoo artist are even witness to clients’ apathy, avoiding â€Å"working on people who are obviously under the influence of alcohol† (Sanders 1988:225). Where once there was a ceremonious celebration deeply rooted in spiritualism, in American society the only ritualistic ceremony is the receiving of a piece of paper on how to care for the recently acquired body art. This apathetic attitude of Americans is perhaps derived from the renouncing majority of the population. This bias stems from â€Å"very early ‘regulations’ [including] Moses’ remarks in Leviticus 19:28 forbidding any cuttings in the flesh or the printing of any marks† (Armstrong 2005:39). Since tattoos â€Å"were not sanctioned by the church† the profile for the tattooed archetype became unconventional (Schildkrout 2004:325). Christian belief has been adapted to the masses, forcing those who are tattooed into rebellion. The majority of people adopting body art include â€Å"bikers, convicts, and other ‘low lives’† (DeMello 1995:40). In Western society â€Å"the idea that the unmarked body as a sign of God’s work was linked to the Protestant reformation† and â€Å"the idea that body markings were a sign of savagery goes back even earlier† ( Schildkrout 2004:324). This is ironic considering tattoos in earlier cultures signified positions of high status. Perhaps the only entity that ties these drastic cultures together is the desire to increase their inherited beauty. â€Å"If the body is – metaphorically – a site of inscription to various degrees for various theorist, then cosmetic surgery can be seen, at one level, as an example of the literal and explicit enactment of this process of inscription† ( Schildkrout 2004:320), which is also seen in the aforementioned tribes with the rituals of scarification. DeMello also agrees that along with tattooing and piericing, that cosmetic surgery is seen as a form of â€Å"body modification† (DeMello 1995:37). â€Å"Not only does the tattooed skin negotiate between the individual and society and between different social groups, but also mediates relations between persons and spirits, the human and the divine† (Schildkrout 2004:321). Body art is a tradition that extends throughout the barriers of the world and although the forms in which they are found may be different, the idea of using your body as a canvas is universal. Although recently, several anthropologists agreed and have begun to examine body art more closely, looking at it â€Å"as a microcosm of society† (Schildkrout 2004:328), Roberts still believes that â€Å"there can be no ultimate explanation of symbolism† (Roberts 1988:51). He claims that â€Å"the blazes on trees in the Ndembu forest will remain many years after their purpose and meaning are forgotten. So it is with other inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:51). This is exemplified in the woman who endured the agonizing pain of her scarification to instigate a new chapter in her life. Nevertheless, soon after her body is placed into the ground, her skin will no longer be a visible indication of who she once was. She will become a memory and her body will no longer be used as a canvas. How to cite Anthropology of Tattoos, Essay examples

Anthropology of Tattoos Free Essays

string(59) " festive activities such as dance and sport participation\." Scarred across her back are raised bumps forming intricate designs of lines and angles, a reminder of who she is and where she is from. She thinks back on the ceremony in which she was marked with the painful scarification. She remembered feeling a sense of calm as the village artist pierced her back with a small arrowhead, stretching the skin away from the body and swiftly but skillfully cutting a slit in her back. We will write a custom essay sample on Anthropology of Tattoos or any similar topic only for you Order Now He repeated this several times as a ceremonial pot was filled with gathering soot from the burning fire. After the artist finished his tedious design, he rubbed soot from the pot bottom deep into the slits, planting the bacteria that would infect the skin, raising the scars into their meaningful design. She felt accomplished that she withstood the agonizing pain while other members of her clan could not. Her newly inherited body art signified the birth of her first son, and left her with a renewed sense of beauty. This is the way of life common to people indigenous to the motherland of Africa. Scarification, however, is not the only form of body art that is used. Body painting, tattooing, and branding are all similar forms of body art, which can be found in Africa and other cultures throughout the world. The word â€Å"tattoo† comes from the Tahitian word â€Å"tattau†, which means â€Å"to mark†. Tattoos have evolved from being symbols of punishment that were given to identify criminals and slaves in the early ninth-century Chinese culture, into a pop-culture trend of using he skin as â€Å"a way of describing the exotic uncivilized other† within ourselves (Schildkrout 2004:324). For centuries, the body has been used as a â€Å"visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference† (Schildkrout 2004:319). This cultural difference becomes apparent when studying the evolution of body art over time, especially when focusing on the differences between the Western and Non-Western cultures. People have been adorning their body with tattoos and piercing for centuries, but until recently, the thought of tattoos in ancient Egypt had been pushed aside. It has now been discovered that, without a doubt, tattoos did exist in that time period. Although miniscule, a group of enormously important tattooed mummies serve to help prove this point (Bianchi 1988:21). The first mummy to be discovered was one f a woman named Amunet, whose mummy was found in an excellent state of preservation, â€Å"most likely due to the fact that she served as a priestess of the goddess Harthor at Thebes during Dynasty XI†(Bianchi 1988:22). The tattoos on her body were comprised of a pattern of dots and dashes in an elliptical shape on her lower abdomen. The thighs and arms adorned the identical parallel lines of the aforementioned pattern. Two more women mummies, who were discovered and believed to be from the same time period, also had similar tattoos on their lower abdomen (Bianchi 1988:22). This group of woman represents an exclusive group of Egyptians who received tattoos in that time period, because there is no other evidence that shows tattoos to be a part of the Egyptian culture until the time of the Middle Kingdom. These abstract patterns associated with ritualistic tattooing survived into the New Kingdom. The Egyptians, more then likely, borrowed a form of tattooing from the Nubian civilization. Unlike the Nubians, whose purpose for tattooing is unknown, â€Å"the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived† (Bianchi 1988:27). Substantiation proposes that only women were associated with the decorating of their bodies and the ritualistic activities that went along with it. The art of tattooing began with the grouping of bluish or black dots and/or dashes forming abstract geometric patterns; that system of body art lasted for over two thousand years in ancient Egypt. Just like other ideas and goods, the idea of tattooing began to travel to several different societies, and has evolved into extremely different forms of art all over the world. In northeastern Zambia, the Tabwa â€Å"once covered themselves from head to foot with scarification† (Roberts 1988:41). The women of the Tabwa began receiving elaborate marks on their face, chest, and backs when they were young girls; it sometimes was continued at other points in a woman’s life (Roberts 1988:43) such as courting rituals and for woman wishing to bear a child. Male sculptors would trace designs and make incisions on the lesser intimate parts of the body; they left the rest for the women to do. ‘Tabwa women used razors to slit skin [that had been] plucked up with a fishhook or arrowhead. These incisions were then rubbed with soot from a pot bottom, an irritant that produced the desired raised cicatrices† (Roberts 1988:44). There were several reasons that this tradition was done, different to every age and gender in the tribe. Young women went through this process in order to achieve a state of perfection, which was required for those wanting to marry and have children (Roberts 1988:45). Scarification is a form of body art that was used in several tribes because according to their customs â€Å"beauty is not physically innate, but rather a function of the girl’s inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:45). Not only the Tabwa, scarification was used in such tribes as the Ga’anda and the Tiv; all the tribes have distinctly different purposes for doing this, but the process and effect of the body are the same. Another form of body art is body painting, which the people of the Southeast Nuba begin at a young age; but the meanings, and time frame from when they begin decorating the body are very different between males and females. The males paint themselves from the ages of 12 to 27 (Faris 1988:31). Typically, they only paint during the down time after the harvest season and before the next years planting begins. This is the time that the males are less involved in mandatory and productive activities; they spend their supplementary time with festive activities such as dance and sport participation. You read "Anthropology of Tattoos" in category "Essay examples" The restrictions placed on the men by their age, most importantly deal with the color that they use on their body—for example â€Å" only the older age groups are eligible to use the greatest elaboration in color, including the deep black and yellow [colors, that are] prohibited to younger grades†(Faris 1988:32). The change in elaboration allowed on the body does not coincide with any physiological changes, rather, it corresponds with changes â€Å"in productive status or sport† (Faris 1988:32). As they move up in grades from young laborers that answer to the elders, to mature men that own their own property, farm and family, their elaborate painting ability increases. The elders though, do not decorate their bodies; rather, they delegate and lead rituals for the younger men and enforce the rules of allowed color use. Therefore, the male body painting shows their progression thru ones life stages. The women of Southeast Nuba, â€Å"from the age of six years, until consummation of marriage, oil and ochre [their bodies] daily, in colors [that are] appropriate to their patri-clan section† (Faris 1988:34). After childbirth, they may continue to wear some oil and ochre on their shoulders. The personal body art of women is strictly related to the physiological changes that occur as a women goes through life, and are fixed around body scarification as a way of showing her changes. A woman’s scarification is so important, that â€Å"if a husband refuses to pay for a scarring specialist, a woman may seek a lover who will do so, and her first marriage will end† (Faris 1988:35). Unlike the males elaborate body art, a woman’s body art is simple, but it accumulates over her life-span and is very standardized, while a male’s body art is constantly changing. Body painting, tattooing and scarification thus far had been tools used by individuals to beautify their body and elevate their status within their tribe; this is not the case with all societies. In several other cultures, tattoos have been used in a form of branding, which is quite the opposite. Though tattooing and branding are â€Å"similar in that both involve the insertion of pigments under the skin to create permanent marks†, branding is implemented in order to lower an individuals status, to punish for crimes committed, to identify slaves, but most importantly, to eliminate personal identity (Schildkrout 2004:323). â€Å"The immutable alteration of human skin by branding needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing† (Bianchi 1988:27). Two recent studies originating in South Africa elaborate on this subject, reporting on the political influence of tattooing â€Å"as a means of social control† (Schildkrout 2004:330). They site examples from Zambia in which a medical practitioner travels around to villages â€Å"in which witch craft accusations have been common†¦to inoculate people against people against witch craft† (Schildkrout 2004:331). The villagers would â€Å"submit to bodily inspections†, they were then treated â€Å"by getting numbers tattooed on their arms† (Schildkrout 2004:331). This is disturbingly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps when an unfathomable number of Jewish people lost their personal identities and became known as only a number in the system to be disposed of. This â€Å"symbolic denial of personhood† served as a system â€Å"of control and surveillance† (Schildkrout 2004:323). This system of control was also imposed by â€Å"authoritarian regimes† in Southeast Asia (Schildkrout 2004:323). The Zhou and Ming Dynasties branded criminals as a form of punishment with â€Å"extensive, often full-body tattoos, with elaborate pictorial imagery as well as written inscriptions† (Schildkrout 2004:324) portraying their crime. This form of tattooing is definitely contrary to traditional methods. Similarly in Brazil, branding was used to mark convicts by the penal authorities. Penal tattoos derived their power from subjugation of the marked convicts. The humiliation of being visibly branded was a significant component of the convict’s punishment. In an act of resistance, those that had been branded â€Å"were known to reclaim their bodies by writing over the inscriptions or by displaying them in new social situations† (Schildkrout 2004:324). The branded, therefore, became the empowered, restoring the function of the tattoo to being personally-motivated. This personal motivation is perhaps most notable in Western cultures, specifically North America. In America, the Native Americans used body painting in many ways, usually connected with ethnic identity, social roles or marital status (Rubin 1988:179). The Natives also used the body as a canvas in ritualistic ceremonies, on warriors going into battle and for the beautification of their women. When the Europeans discovered America, they brought with them slaves from Africa and they introduced branding of the slaves into the American culture. After the civil war, when the slaves had been freed, branding was still embedded in American culture through groups of people including gang members and convicts. Though â€Å"branding is often associated with involuntary marking and the denial of personhood†, it has also â€Å"been adopted in contemporary Western body culture as an assertion of group identity, for example in college fraternities† (Schildkrout 2004:323). Tattoos were also prevalent in other parts of America, including Alaska. Among the Eskimos â€Å"[t]he function of these art forms [was] – essentially manifesting one’s place or role within the hierarchy of hunting life† (Gritton 1988:190). With the introduction and adaptation of the western civilization in Alaskan culture, â€Å"the marks of a hunter or hunter’s wife served no purpose in their new lives and were understandably abandoned† (Gritton 1988:190). The function of body art and tattooing has been Americanized, evolving from its native origins to incorporate self expression. This self expression has mushroomed from a manor of identifying oneself to a way of gaining attention through shock value. Though ever-changing, all forms of body art mentioned play enormous roles in the lives of people. Certain non-Western cultures are based around the ability to use skin as a visible way of defining status or bettering their self-image, in order to attract companions. So the artists who are allowed to perform the act of adorning bodies with different designs are regarded as having a very important place in the society. They are â€Å"scarring specialist† (Faris 1988:35), â€Å"body artists† (Drewal 1988:84), but most importantly, they are known as â€Å"[the] one-who-creates- art† (Drewal 1988:84). In the non-Native American culture, however, the general attitude towards tattoo artist in present-day American culture is less than appreciative. Extreme critics even characterize tattooist as opportunist, exclusively seeking monetary gain (Sanders 1988:229). â€Å"The tattooist interest in artistry and control is often in conflict with his profit orientation†, revealing the major flaw within the American society (Sanders 1988:229). This is the major difference in western and non-western cultures. Body tattoos in western society are an object to be purchased. Americans obtain tattoos in the same manner that they acquire a new Louis Vuitton handbag. They purchase them as accessories, which is in stark contrast to the non-western cultures, who acquire tattoos as an essential ritual in their society. With this is mind, the process in which American’s purchases body art seems slightly ridiculous. Tattoo artists often complain of the unwillingness of customers to spend the quoted amount of money for â€Å"a tattoo [they] are going to wear for the rest of [their] life† (Sanders 1988:229). It is more acceptable in American culture to invest in short term materialistic purchases, therefore the legitimate tattoo artists are constantly being monitored and regimented under strict laws imposed by the government. Despite the absurdity of the purchasing process, the reasoning that propels the American society to obtain tattoos is just as flawed. Some reasons people give to explain permanently marking their skin include, â€Å"they were drunk, it’s a macho thing, to fit in with a crowd or even worse, for no reason at all† (DeMello 1995:42). Western society seems to have a complete disregard for the spiritual origins of body art. Tattoo artist are even witness to clients’ apathy, avoiding â€Å"working on people who are obviously under the influence of alcohol† (Sanders 1988:225). Where once there was a ceremonious celebration deeply rooted in spiritualism, in American society the only ritualistic ceremony is the receiving of a piece of paper on how to care for the recently acquired body art. This apathetic attitude of Americans is perhaps derived from the renouncing majority of the population. This bias stems from â€Å"very early ‘regulations’ [including] Moses’ remarks in Leviticus 19:28 forbidding any cuttings in the flesh or the printing of any marks† (Armstrong 2005:39). Since tattoos â€Å"were not sanctioned by the church† the profile for the tattooed archetype became unconventional (Schildkrout 2004:325). Christian belief has been adapted to the masses, forcing those who are tattooed into rebellion. The majority of people adopting body art include â€Å"bikers, convicts, and other ‘low lives’† (DeMello 1995:40). In Western society â€Å"the idea that the unmarked body as a sign of God’s work was linked to the Protestant reformation† and â€Å"the idea that body markings were a sign of savagery goes back even earlier† ( Schildkrout 2004:324). This is ironic considering tattoos in earlier cultures signified positions of high status. Perhaps the only entity that ties these drastic cultures together is the desire to increase their inherited beauty. â€Å"If the body is – metaphorically – a site of inscription to various degrees for various theorist, then cosmetic surgery can be seen, at one level, as an example of the literal and explicit enactment of this process of inscription† ( Schildkrout 2004:320), which is also seen in the aforementioned tribes with the rituals of scarification. DeMello also agrees that along with tattooing and piericing, that cosmetic surgery is seen as a form of â€Å"body modification† (DeMello 1995:37). â€Å"Not only does the tattooed skin negotiate between the individual and society and between different social groups, but also mediates relations between persons and spirits, the human and the divine† (Schildkrout 2004:321). Body art is a tradition that extends throughout the barriers of the world and although the forms in which they are found may be different, the idea of using your body as a canvas is universal. Although recently, several anthropologists agreed and have begun to examine body art more closely, looking at it â€Å"as a microcosm of society† (Schildkrout 2004:328), Roberts still believes that â€Å"there can be no ultimate explanation of symbolism† (Roberts 1988:51). He claims that â€Å"the blazes on trees in the Ndembu forest will remain many years after their purpose and meaning are forgotten. So it is with other inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:51). This is exemplified in the woman who endured the agonizing pain of her scarification to instigate a new chapter in her life. Nevertheless, soon after her body is placed into the ground, her skin will no longer be a visible indication of who she once was. She will become a memory and her body will no longer be used as a canvas. How to cite Anthropology of Tattoos, Essay examples