Inside U.K. It'S Everywhere: Brits Take To Tattoos, Pierces By STEVE HILL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
入れ墨とピアスが大流行 今イギリスでは、若者の間で、タトゥーやピアスなど、過激なファッションが大流行。ブレイクの理由ははっきりしませんが、歌手やスポーツ選手など、有名人がしていることが一因かもしれません。大人たちからは「不衛生だ」と懸念の声が出ていますがーー

What do Spice Girl Mel C, All Saints' Melanie Blatt, American singer/actress Cher, British tennis ace Tim Henman and Barbie all have in common?

They're all big stars, of course, here and abroad, with healthy bank balances to match. And they all sport the latest fashion accessory — a tattoo.

Not so many years ago, tattoos were generally worn only by sailors, soldiers and political extremists anxious to make a very public and aggressive statement. They were also popular with prison inmates, who would often have the words LOVE or HATE marked into their fingers.

But these days you don't have to look far — particularly now that summer is approaching, and people are wearing less clothing and exposing more skin — to see someone with an eye-catching design permanently etched into their body.

The top 10 favorite tattoos include fairies; suns, moons and stars; little devils; butterflies; and tigers. Many people also go for a band that completely encircles the neck or an arm. Such designs are a part of ancient New Zealand Maori and South Sea Islander tattoo culture. The practice itself is thought to extend far back into the mists of time.

Why tattoos should have become so popular after being out of fashion for so long is not clear, particularly after all the reports in the 1980s and early '90s telling people about the possibility of HIV infection from dirty needles.

But the trend is obvious. Tattoo shops, once hidden away in back streets, now appear in town and city high streets, and business booms, though some owners are still wary about press attention.

I visited one such man — his arms covered with various designs — in my hometown of Bristol. He spoke to me in a tone of voice clearly aimed at discouraging discussion and declined to speak to me or to allow any photographs to be taken on the premises. Why he should be so sensitive I was not sure. But the attitude he showed — in front of a shopful of customers, I should add — is a clear sign that going to have a tattoo is not yet quite the same as going to get a haircut.

Bodypiercing is also proving popular, as more and more youngsters decide that they want to join the crowd and get nose rings, studs in their tongue — following the example of Zara Phillips, the teenage daughter of Princess Anne -- studs in their navels or rings through their eyebrows.

But not everyone is happy. David Clark, a member of parliament in northeastern England, recently called for a new law to prevent children under the age of 16 from getting their bodies pierced without parental consent. He was reacting to a complaint from one of his constituents whose 13-year-old daughter had a nipple pierced.

Clark said: "What adults do to their own bodies is up to them. But there should be reasonable protection to ensure that this does not happen to minors (children)."

Government ministers have said they are intending to introduce new laws under which hygiene checks would be carried out on all studios where tattooing takes place. But there are no plans to limit the age at which an in creasing number of teenagers are making an essential fashion statement.

There is also growing concern from local council authorities, who say people should run careful safety checks when deciding to follow fashion. The authorities urge piercing enthusiasts to check that body-piercers are registered and adhere to strict standards of hygiene.

In fact, many tattoo artists have a voluntary code of conduct, which includes a "no hands no face" policy and requires customers to be 18 years or older. Scars, painful infections and abscesses can result if correct procedures are not followed, and it is possible for blood-related diseases, from venereal disease to hepatitis, to be passed through inadequately sterilized needles and instruments.

The pain involved in getting a tattoo or having a tender spot on your body pierced has not deterred the many people who want to follow the trends.

But fashions are already changing. Jewelry for teeth, already popular in the United States and Japan, is now starting to catch on here. Twinklers, small jewelry pieces that are professionally glued to teeth, are the latest craze to attract the attention of teenagers. Also growing in popularity is a new body art from that involves branding and cutting the skin.

Scart — a combination of scar and art — involves burning, branding and cutting patterns into one's skin.

As with tattoos, one major problem is what happens when fashion changes or when Debbie, the woman you thought you would love forever and whose name you had etched into your arm, decides to run off with another man. Removing a tattoo can be extremely expensive and very painful. And there is no guarantee that the skin will return to its original condition.

Shukan ST: June 18, 1999

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