美国国家公共电台 NPR For Those With Darker Skin, Finding The Right Tattoo Artist Can Be A Struggle

For Those With Darker Skin, Finding The Right Tattoo¹ Artist Can Be A Struggle

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Tattoos³ have long ceased to be the mark of a rebel. Nearly half of all millennials have a tattoo, according to a 2016 Harris poll. And even though tattoos have become more common, many with darker skin struggle to find tattoo artists who know how to work on their skin types. As NPR's Parth Shah reports, different skin tones call for a different tattooing⁴ technique.

PARTH SHAH, BYLINE⁵: Getting a tattoo can be nerve wracking. But Osuna Afrik (ph) is no newbie.

OSHUN AFRIK: This is my 35th tattoo.

SHAH: Afrik lounges on the sofa at Pinz and Needlez Tattoo shop in Washington, D.C. While she sips⁶ her morning coffee, shop owner Christopher Mensah is busy sketching⁷ out Afrik's 35th tattoo. Afrik has dark brown skin. For the tattoo to show up on her, Mensah says the design needs to be big and bold.

CHRISTOPHER MENSAH: Let's say if somebody came in and got - and they wanted to get a tattoo of a heart with, you know, an initial in it the size of a dime⁸, something that's a dime size that you may do on white skin you may have to do a quarter or half-a-dollar size on dark skin.

SHAH: Mensah says he's heard a lot of myths about working on dark skin. Some clients think there's a special kind of ink for dark skin - there isn't. And it's not just customers with misconceptions. He says it's other artists, too.

MENSAH: The times that I was working in white tattoo shops, what I would hear a lot was dark skin is more difficult to tattoo. However, from my experience, I just think it's softer.

SHAH: What do you mean by that.

MENSAH: When I say it's softer, we tend to keloid more and scar.

SHAH: A keloid is a raised scar, and people with African ancestry⁹ are much more likely to get keloids in response to a tattoo.

AFRIK: My keloids are very small, though, compared to some other people I've seen.

SHAH: Afrik says when she's searching for a tattoo artist, she studies their portfolio¹⁰ and pays attention to who they've tattooed¹¹.

AFRIK: If you see only light-skinned people or - or white skin, I don't want to - because I don't know how they're going to work with my skin, so - I'm a little darker.

TYLER BREWER¹²: Tattooing dark skin opposed to light skin or any difference in skin type is a different world.

SHAH: That's Tyler Brewer, who works at Kensington Tattoo in Maryland. Brewer is white and says artists should learn how to tattoo all skin types. But he says he's met people who feel otherwise.

BREWER: I have seen artists pretty much give the blow-off to clients because they were different, different being a different color. I think people rationalize their racism¹³ in tattooing and their lack of ability.

SHAH: Back at Pinz and Needlez, artist Christopher Mensah is eagle-eyed and focused on Oshun Afrik's left forearm. Mensah says the lack of information available for dark-skinned people seeking tattoos is linked to the lack of people of color working in the business. He says there wasn't a community for him when he started tattooing 20 years ago.

MENSAH: At the time, there weren't many - well, I didn't see any black tattoo artists.

SHAH: Afrik says the community is growing. Most of her tattoos have been done by people of color. After sitting for an hour in the hot seat with Mensah, tattoo number 35 is finished. It's a Sankofa bird, an Adinkra symbol that translates to go back and get it.

AFRIK: I'm so excited to show it off, I'm not putting my jacket on. I'm going to go - I'm going to walk around the city with a tank top in November. I am (laughter).

SHAH: Not so fast, though. Before she leaves the shop, Mensah bandages her forearm so it doesn't get infected. She'll have to wait a few hours before she can show off her new tattoo. Parth Shaw, NPR News.

1 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tattooing   

n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• tattooing and body piercing 文身和穿体装饰
• On earth most work of the absolute shy cattle ^s skin-tattooing world! 地球上最牛的纹身绝对惊世之作！ 来自互联网

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

8 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

9 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

10 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

11 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

13 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。