The Taptoo Subculture

Words and their meanings have been known to change drastically over time; especially words that are seemingly simple enough. Tattoos have become a generally common and accepted art form and business. They have a long presence in many human cultures but the origin of the word itself has a surprising history. Using other’s research, unstructured interviewing and observation I explored the history, modern relevance and reasoning behind tattoos, in and out of the Western culture. Little do most people know, tattoos have existed before have existed since BC eras, but my research shows the words had we know it can be traced back to 17th century Dutch and 18th century Tahiti (1). For the Dutch the word underwent three meaning changes. First “taptoo” meant to “close the

Even today those with tattoos and those who practice the art form are a subculture. As discussed in the January 9th lecture (2), a subculture “is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs” (4). Many of my online respondents are Millennials and primarily exist in this tattoo subculture. I did though, have respondents from Generation X, Baby Boomer and Silent Generation. These generations saw tattoos as a foolish practice, delinquent and unprofessional. A few commented that those who currently have tattoos would regret their tattoos as they age. As the Millennials start to take charge the practice becomes more accepted. As for the mentioning of the word itself it is becoming increasingly common. I listened in everywhere I went for an entire week, keeping in mind how often tattoos were brought up in conversation. I found that I heard or read the word tattoo at minimum of five times a day. Online research confirms the notion that the usage of the word has been increasing, historically gaining a fast growth rate after the 1950’s