Kelly Rothenberg

Seeking to better understand how tattoos function in society, researcher Kelly Rothenberg interviewed fourteen people-some tattooed, others not-at Florida State University in 1996. Rothenberg discovered a subculture marked by negative lore and extreme individualism, a "folk group" that is often viewed in opposition to mainstream society. She also discovered, however, that the popularization of tattoos in the media and among celebrities has begun to relax the characterization of the practice as taboo. Rothenberg summarized her interviews in the following article for Body Modification Ezine.

"Everybody wants to see the pictures, and yet nobody wants to see them." Ray Bradbury-The Illustrated Man

THERE USED TO BE A TIME, BACK IN THE DAYS OF P.T. Barnum, when circuses traveled from town to town. There were always crowds for the usual sights-the elephants, the clowns, the strongman, et cetera-but it...