Do you ever wonder why you never see tattoos and piercings in the medical or federal career field? It is because some people believe that a person with tattoos and/or piercings is connected to people with a bad reputation, such as bikers, sailors, criminals and gang members, but this is false. Piercings and tattoos have been popular for a long time now, but they are still looked down upon and can even affect your daily life. The oldest known tattoos were left on Otzi the Iceman, who was believed to have died around 3300 BC and had over 50 cross and line marks in various places on his body. The reasoning behind his tattoos was therapeutic, because they were in places where he was under a lot of stress, which is very different from the reasons why people get tattoos today. In Leviticus 19:28, in the Bible, Moses tells the people that the Lord forbids any cutting of the skin or printing of any mark. But the Lord was not the only one to prohibit tattoos: the Japanese and Roman emperors also did so. In the 1950s tattooing became more tolerated, but only doctors could tattoo due to tattoo regulations passed in numerous states. By 1998, 36 states had changed their body art laws, and as of September 2003, 34 states had regulated tattoos and piercings, 39 regulated tattoos only, and 35 regulated body piercings only. Of course, tattoos and piercings are much more popular nowadays than they were in the past. it was thirty years ago. Now, 1 in 10 Americans have them, whereas back then 1 in 100 had them. Your body is a blank canvas and you're just making it something fun to look at. Today, people get tattoos and piercings for many different reasons, such as beauty, art and fashion, individuality, group affinity... middle of paper... workplace." World of Work. 1Myrna L. Armstrong. “Tattoos, Piercings, and Permanent Cosmetics: A Historical and Current View of State Regulations with Continuing Concerns.” of the body: tattoos, piercings and scarifications.Brookfield, Connecticut: Twenty-First Century Books, 2002 Print.Tatiana Varenik. "How tattoos and piercings affect your career." is the history of tattooing." Penn State News. June 20, 2008: 1Mayo Clinic Staff. "Tattoos: Understanding the Risks and precautions." Mayo Clinic. ART-20045067. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, March 20, 2012. May 11, 2014. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in- further information/tattoos-and-piercings/art-20045067