Many adults believe that teenagers who desire to get tattooed as a sign of youthful rebellion. In Andres Martins essay, "On Teenagers and Tattoos," he successfully challenges that common myth with insight on how teens feel about tattoos. They don't get them for rebellion against authority; they get them to show individuality and to display something that is important to them. Martin supported all of his claims with reasons and evidence.
In the second paragraph in the essay, the author states that for adolescents, piercings or tattoos may be seen as personal and beautifying statements, but parents might see them as opposition towards them, giving the view of what both sides think of tattoos. He then goes on to claim that, "Tattoos and piercing can offer a concrete and readily available solution for many of the identity crises and conflicts normative to adolescent development" (Martin 1). This is a good claim because he is not saying that in every case teens get them to help with identity, but it "can  be a reason behind it. This is a solid claim, not leaving much room for someone to challenge him in this argument with a different example of a teen doing it strictly for rebellion. The author later goes on to give us reasons to support his claim.
He goes on to tell the story of a 13 year old boy who has a tattoo, that isn't only cool to look at, but has a very powerful meaning behind it. The kid has a tattoo of cards because his dad belonged to a motorcycle gang and he died and it was important to his father so on the fifth card he has his dad's birth and death date on it. This is a good reason because it targets your emotions, and any human with a heart couldn't tell a kid with a dead father that his tattoo is stupid. He also gives evidence by saying "The case vignette also serves to illustrate how tattoos are often the culmination of a long process of imagination, fantasy, and planning that can start at an early age" (Martin 2)...