The significance of humorous tattoos.

Tattooing refers to the process of creating indelible designs and texts in the human skin by introducing a variety of dyes. It has found for millennia in a range of societies. The purpose of tattooing has ranged from marking individuals of significant social standing such as chieftains in Polynesia, to those who are regarded as outcasts such as prostitutes and criminals in Europe. In recent years tattooing has gained considerable popularity in the West including tattoos that have merely had a humorous content, either as an image or text. These types of tattoos often utilize natural body features such as the umbilicus, natal cleft, genitalia, breasts or scars, and may contain simple but explicit messages or suggest possible underlying mental disturbance. While the significance of these types of tattoos and the profile of individuals who have them is at present unknown further study could identify sociological and forensic features specific to this subgroup.