A tattoo is a form of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos fall into three broad categories: purely decorative (with no specific meaning); symbolic (with a specific meaning pertinent to the wearer); pictorial (a depiction of a specific person or item). Tattoos have long been associated by ‘the west’ with the uncivilised and over the last 100 years with sailors and working men. By the end of the 20th Century many western stigmas of the tattoo culture had gone and it moved into the realm of being a fashion accessory for people of all genders.
