Tattoos, graffiti and loud music are three things that make American culture great. For many, these three elements are the very fabric of what we call our American culture. At least, that’s what Josh Mackay thinks.

“What culture do we have in America today?” he asked. “What contribution do we make to the aesthetic of the world?” Co-owner of Fat Lip Tattoo Shop near the Short North, Mackay firmly believes that, for many people, tattoos, loud music and graffiti are all they have.

According to a Pew Research Center study conducted in 1996, 36 percent of Americans ages 18 to 25, and 40 percent of those ages 26 to 40 have a tattoo. With nearly two out of every five Americans under the age of 40 going under the needle at least once in their life, it seems that this generation has become more accepting of body art.

According to Wikipedia, body art had its origins in Polynesia, with the discovery of the “tatau” by 18th Century European explorers. The Polynesian practice became popular among sailors and gradually made its appearance into Western society.

Mackay said his most requested tattoo is a star that is made up of many smaller triangles. “It is called the nautical star,” he said. “Sailors used to navigate by the stars and would tattoo stars on both shoulders, so as to never be lost at sea.”

Mackay says most of his customers are students. “Since we opened last year we have inked more than 2,000 people, of which most have been Buckeyes” he said. Mackay said these people are a part of the Fat Lip extended family. “We hold parties and give away free tickets to music concerts,” Mackay said. “Our goal is to affect people’s lives, even if it is in the smallest way.”

Tattoos symbolize different things to different people. They have served as rites of passage, marks of status and as symbols of spiritual devotion. Brook Haygood, a bartender at Lucky’s Stout House, said tattoos symbolize important events. “The one I am getting right now reminds me of key moments in my life that are of great importance to me,” she said.

Tattoos can also be used to remember loved ones that have passed away, as decorations of bravery, sexual lures and even as marks on slaves and concentration camp survivors. Haygood said there is nothing taboo about tattoos nowadays. “Who gives a damn what other people think,” he says. “It is certainly worth something to get noticed.”

The prevalence of women in the tattoo industry is another reminder of how American culture is rapidly evolving. Former lawyer and current Ph.D. candidate Laurel Gleason said people develop a sense of empowerment when they get tattoos. “I made a decision and I followed through with it,” Gleason said. “It is a manifestation of my own empowerment to be strong-willed in that way.”

Gleason says her tattoos reflect who she is as a human being. She considers herself to be colorful, playful and the type of person that does not take herself too seriously. With a keen attention to detail, Gleason’s body art is composed of detailed paintings on her arms by the artist Mark Ryder. “You have to look at it for a while to notice the hidden details,” she says, pointing to a bee concealed deep within a tattoo that covers her arm. “That is what I like most about my tattoos.”

Mackay said that what he does is in a sense spiritual surgery. “A tattoo is a way to change another person’s appearance externally,” Mackay said. “This is done so that they can feel better about themselves internally.”

Tattoos, just like breast implants, tummy-tucks and Botox, improve self-esteem through self-image.

To some people, Mackay says, the pain caused by the needle is a cathartic method of penance. “Pain is something you must experience in order to understand,” Mackay said. He said that enduring the punishment of the needle brings meaning to person that gets the tattoo.

Mackay said that the tattoo business is a sex-based industry above anything else. “Face it, people get tattoos because they have sexual appeal,” he said. Haywood agrees: “That is one of the main reasons people get them, they make you look sexier.” When it all comes down to it, the whole thing is really all about sex.