Body Art Banning

In today's society, the most prominent form of body modification is tattooing. Tattoos can range from large and obvious to small and personal (Body Modification). It is believed that even the iceman that was discovered in the Alps in 1991 had tattoos. Cultures cite different reasons for body adornment and celebrate the body as a ground on which all cultures inscribe significant meanings. Body modification has long been a part of non-Christian cultures as a positive mark of identity (Tattoos). But while many cultures and religions embraced body art as statements of devotion or status, some went as far as forbidding it. For instance, the Koran, the holy book of Islam, forbids marking the body, and the Christian Bible associates body markings with sin. Attempts to eradicate body-marking practices were numerous. Pope Hadrian I decreed a ban on tattooing in 787 A.D. and Constantine prohibited tattooing, for it was seen as altering God's work (Tattoo). Nevertheless, historically tattoos still remained a big part of many cultures. Ancient Egyptian mummies had tattoos, as well as the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs. The Vikings tattooed family crests and tribal symbols on their bodies, and Romans used tattoos to identify their criminals and slaves. Tattoos have even marked British Army deserters, U.S. convicts, and others as identification. …