The number of people getting tattoos seems to be on the rise. According to the most recent Harris Poll, conducted in the summer of 2007, approximately 40% of Americans ages 25 to 40 have at least one tattoo, up from 3% 20 years ago (Hawkes, Senn, & Thorn, 2004 ). The growing popularity of tattooing is evident when comparing these findings to Life magazine's 1936 estimate that 10 million Americans, or approximately 6% of the population, had a tattoo (Swan, 2011). According to Kang and Jones (2007), tattooing is especially popular among teenagers and college students. At a time when young people are seeking to assert their independence, tattoos can provide a way to ground a sense of self in a seemingly changing and insecure world. Tattooing has a long history; Tattooing was thought to be an ancient Egyptian practice dating back to around 2000 BC (Nadler, 1983). It was brought to the New World in 1769 by sailors returning from voyages in the South Pacific (Post, 1968; Sanders, 1991). Thereafter the practice of tattooing became more widespread and socially acceptable in the Western world (Sanders, 1991). In ancient times, tattooing was a projection of Jungian psychological elements, which was used to project onto sacred symbols, onto oneself as manifestations of self-expression coinciding with a decline in traditional religious adherence (Mercury, 2000). of a story like that of tattooing. It was practiced by the Egyptian pharaohs, the Mayans and the Romans (Armstrong, 1996). Piercing is sometimes studied in conjunction with tattooing, in part because people with tattoos often have piercings (Buhrich, 1983; Frederick & Bradley, 2000). For women, ear piercing has become a widespread practice, but piercing the eyebrows, nose, cheeks, or other areas seems to symbolize a person's disaffection from society, much like tattooing (Sanders, 1988). Regarding piercings, 69.7% of women compared to 28.2% of men reported having them (Huxley & Grogan, 2005). The gender difference was significant. One way for a woman to be naughty or cross the line or develop a sexual identity is to have a piercing: belly button, nipple, and nose (Saunders & Armstrong, 2005). Piercing can also draw attention to areas that the woman wants to draw attention to. Risky piercing can increase the desire to use the piercing for sexual attention. It may be that women may be pierced more for reasons of rebellion and men may be pierced more for reasons of personal identity (Caliendo, Armstrong and Roberts, 2005).