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Research Proposal for People with Tattoos Project

Kaley Foley

ENC 1102 Composition II

Professor Gomrad
February 27, 2015

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Introduction
The subculture I decided to research was people who have tattoos.
Through my research I will have discovered that the members of this
subculture are most often looked down upon on society and are believed to
be of lower education. The members of this subculture include any person of
any age with a tattoo large or small. As of December of 2013, there were
about 45 million Americans who have at least one tattoo, since 2013 that
number has immensely grown, as the annual amount of money Americans
spend on tattoos is $1.65 billion. People from all ages, usually starting at 18
going to however old one wish, can have a tattoo. I, personally, am apart of
this subculture and proud to be, as I do not believe that I fit the stereotypes
said about the culture of people with tattoos. Being a part of this subculture
will help me gather information, societys views on people with tattoos, and
discuss the problems that this subculture faces.
Issues Faced by People with Tattoos
The members of this certain subculture face many problems and
stereotypes society puts them with. Sadly, society believes that tattoos
belong to people of lower class, thugs, or gang affiliations. While some
people with tattoos may in fact fit those stereotypes not all tattooed people
belong to those categories. Some people that have tattoos have them in
spots where they are usually hidden and no one knows about it. Then, even
though that person does belong to the people with tattoos culture, society
sees that person as a normal and throws away the stereotypes they believe.

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Another extremely disrespectful stereotype people with tattoos face is
that people believe that they are of lower intelligence. With that, society
believes that people of this culture belong in unskilled professions and that
they will never obtain a real, professional job. Societys understandings of
people with tattoos are that they must have had a troubled past, make poor
life decisions, and often times rebellious.
Tattoo stereotypes also affect ones gender and age. When a female
shows that she has tattoos, or body ink, she is said to be promiscuous and
rebellious in nature. Especially if the females tattoo is on her lower back,
society has named this The Tramp Stamp. When a male is seen with tattoos
on his body he is said to be a lower class citizen, made poor life decisions,
and are somewhat of a rebel or a thug. As the legal age to get a tattoo is 18,
many young adults feel the need to get a tattoo when they become an adult
as a rite of passage, they believe it shows they are grown and can make
their own life decisions. While these are usually rash decisions, the tattoos
these young adults are getting, they are often not thought out and
sometimes end up regretting getting the tattoo.
Trying to completely resolve how society views people with tattoos is
nearly impossible. As there are always those people who will only believe
what they were once taught and have a very closed mind. Although,
changing the view of tattooed people can be done by opening peoples mind
and realize that yes, at one time maybe tattoos did define thugs and gang
affiliations. However, the times have now changed, people get tattoos for a

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bunch of different reasons. For example, I got mine as a message I believe in
and a remembrance of one of my close friends who lost their life. Now days,
anyone can have tattoos, teachers, doctors, engineers, any one in any
profession.
Plan and Schedule
I plan to develop this research in a couple different ways for the best
and most varied feedback. I will begin my research by first, just looking up
the known stereotypes society places on people with tattoos. Here I will also
find who the members of this subculture are. Being a member of this
subculture, I am able to communicate with both people who are also a part
of this group and ones who do not belong in this subculture. As this is such a
largely populated group of people, there are many different groups you can
be a part of, such as for different types of designs, languages, sizes, or
places of ones tattoos. The way of communication through the subculture of
people with tattoos use is online through blogs and online groups. Please
refer to Appendix 1: Schedule for Subculture Project for more comprehensive
details.
Graphical Elements
I plan to add in graphical elements to support my credibility and more
appealing to the eye. The images I plan to include in my proposal are charts
representing the percentage of people who have tattoos and people who do
not have tattoos, the ages of people with tattoos, and a table of the
demographics that represents the culture of people with tattoos. I will also

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add an image of a person showing their tattoos in one picture, a picture in
which society labels this man as a thug, and the same man in another
picture wearing a doctors coat. This image proves against the stereotype
that people with tattoos will never get a real job and have a lower level of
education.
Writing Process
The final project will take a lot reviewing of the proposal in order for the
best outcome of the way society views people with tattoos. In order to get
my final project the closest I can to perfection, I will start off by researching
my subculture and all their traits, stereotypes, and demographics. Next I will
start planning how my proposal will come out, following planning I will begin
writing the actual proposal. After finishing the proposal I will review it myself
before I turn it in. Once I have completed my proposal I will commence
towards my final project. For my benefit, I will go to the University Writing
Center for their educated opinion on one of my drafts. This will be done
before the 24th of March. This will be done to better my final project. After the
Writing Center I will review and see any changes that need to be made.
Finally, I will make all the finishing touches and make sure that all my
revisions and editing is complete in my final project.
Resources
In order to fully grasp the subculture of people with tattoos, I will need
to conduct research and come in contact with resources. Here I will conduct
an Internet search where I will find information on the members involved in

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this subculture and societys views, this will consist of articles, blogs, or
videos. From my gathered information I will create a set of survey questions
as well as a set of interview questions. I plan to survey and interview people
of all ages, with and without tattoos to get an accurate feedback from
society. Through my surveys and interviews I can see first hand what society
really does believe about people with tattoos. As I am a part of this
subculture, the people I interview and give the surveys to will not know that I
have a tattoo, as it will be hidden during the entire process. Some sample
survey questions I will ask will include the following: Individuals with tattoos
will never get a real job, and People with tattoos do not have a high level of
education. The people taking these surveys will answer with either: Strongly
Agree, Agree, Neither, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. While some sample
interview questions will include: Why do you think people get tattoos? and
Do tattoos define you, why or why not? By running these surveys and
interviews I will be able to get a better mindset on how to better address the
problem of how society views the subculture of people with tattoos.

Conclusion
I chose to research the subculture: people with tattoos because I am a
part of that group. I always heard the stereotypes of a long time ago and I
was curious to see if some of those beliefs are still around today. Through my
research for my final project I have learned how society views people who
have tattoos, the stereotypes that go along with this group, the members

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that belong to the subculture and their demographics. I will gather my
information through Internet searches, surveys, and interviews to best see
the main problem that people with tattoos face, the way people with tattoos
are viewed as to the people without tattoos.

Appendix 1: Schedule for Subculture Project

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