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Wanna see my ink? | Why ink? | Tatooine or Tattooing? | Carnivalesque | Inked and Inkers | Process and Pain | Have you had your cup o'culture today? | Feminization of Tattoo | The Future of the Tattoo

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"Exoticism [...] incsribes its object with an accultural illegibility, isolated from any coherence of origin."
~ Harriet Guest
"Curiously Marked: Tattooing and Gender Difference in Eighteenth-century British Perceptions of the South Pacific"
Written on the Body: The Tattoo in European and American History
Edited by Jane Caplan

Sideburn Tribal
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Unable to grow sideburns like Elvis...

Various forms of tribal tattooing and tattooing messages in such written languages as Kanji is increasing in popularity in Western society.  The downside to this is that many people who choose Kanji tattoos risk conveying a mistranslated message. 

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The word Tattoo was coined in the Eighteenth century by explorers of Tahiti, such as Captain James Cook.  It derives from the Tahitian word tatau, which is also the sound made by the tapping method of traditional hand tattooing. 

...and fascinated by tribal art...
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he chose tribal designs for his permanent sideburns.

Tattooing not only spans history, but cultures as well.  Over time, the tattooing of many cultures has diminished.  But such cultures as the Maori of New Zealond and Samoans (to name a couple) continues in their tribal art form, inspiring Western tatoo enthusiasts to go in search of similar tattoos.

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"The universality of tattooing is a curious subject for speculation"
Captain James Cook - 1779