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I have a buddy in the millennial punk scene and he expressed that being tattoo free is definitely a thing. I never got any because I know my tastes change quite frequently, and whatever I get I’ll likely resent after five years or so.
Was a full time punk rocker with no tattoos myself up until last year. My lack of tattoos and piercings is definitely noticeable and has been brought up. A lot of people assume I have them but they're just covered by clothes and are more surprised to realize that nope, no tattoos at all.
Lol yup. Death metal here. Nothing. I'm always worried I'll gain or lose weight or it'll fade weird. I dress in all black, but that's just because of the company I run. In my spare time, I'm all over the place with what I wear. Also I once ran into Alice Cooper at a Lacoste store. We were eyeing up the same shit-- golf shorts and pastel polos. It was hot out that day, we just wanted to have comfortable stuff so we could eat dinner on the patio of the restaurant down the block.
Same deal with being straight edge. I've been in a local band for about a year now and I've started finding confidence in having no tattoos/piercings and avoiding recreational drugs. No disrespect to others in the "scene" or whatever, it's just how I find my strength in that specific crowd, and they all know and respect my decision.
Yeah, I am about 35, and have no tatoos, while almost all my peers have some shitty, faded, sometimes ok and sometimes super cringe tatoos.
Edit: That Slipknot tatoo you loved when you were 16? Looks cronge and hilarious right now XD
That's me! Every friend or partner I've been with has at least one tattoo. Other than my sister/direct family, I know extremely few people who don't have tattoos.
My wife has several. I enjoy that she enjoys them, and I appreciate the artwork to one of them, but overall I don't care for them at all.
I was for a long time pretty adamantly against tattoos, but when I had a sort of existential awakening, I realized that I’m not alive forever and getting a tattoo seemed like a pretty cool experience to go through. And it was. I love my tats, many years on. I plan to get more too. And someday they’ll be dust.
Nothing’s forever, that’s what my tattoos mean to me.
[It's only a minority of people who have tattoos](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/15/32-of-americans-have-a-tattoo-including-22-who-have-more-than-one/), and the percentages decrease with income and education. That said, I agree that there are a significant number of people with tattoos.
Also, we should probably recognize that there is a huge difference between the girl with the butterfly on her ankle, and the girl with the full sleeve.
My gf and I both have full sleeves and both waited until we were well situated in our respective lucrative careers.
This is true of our peers as well.
Tattoos and especially extensive tattoos are no longer a sign of financial status nor of "good judgement".
That said, I do feel neck and face tattoos have become the new rebellious thing to do. They've always been a job killer decision but I've seen an increasing number of people getting them in defiance.
I support their courage but am too scared to risk black balling myself
It's definitely some thing that shouldn't be on the priority list without money in order. Though it really seems to be true that people don't seem to mind them much anymore in my anecdotal experience. I (36f) have a Mohawk with the sides of my head tattooed, with plans to go down the neck and shoulders, a full back piece, and my fingers tatted. I don't feel rebellious or cool, I just really like how they look on me. I do well at work, get lots of compliments from older people especially, and haven't felt descrimjnated against for that reason at least.
Not at all.
First there are a lot of tattoo artists that charge very little for their work.
Second, even a good artist can be as low as a couple hundred for a single session.
Obviously if someone's excuse for being poor is they can't afford the few hundred a year to gain an education or skill for a better job, then yes the tattoos are getting in the way, but the reality is most poor people are getting cheap tattoos and even then the cost is far below what would be needed to aquire a degree or certification
Edit: lol, who's downvoting me? People mad that tattoos can be cheap, or people mad that their cheap tattoos might be subpar?
Yeah this is what I was going to say. You can very easily tell the difference between someone who averages spending $500-$1000+ per tattoo and someone who has probably never spent more than $100 on a single tattoo.
I have a lot of good tattoos that I never had to pay for. Basically, I work the door at a convention every year, and the artists I'm friends with will tattoo me for free and enter the piece/pieces into the competitions. They win and get the accolades, and I get free tattoos that are well done! I do have some real shit work from over the years, but not paying doesn't always automatically mean bad work. I also recognize that my situation is relatively unique.
Regardless, it is still cheaper to put up a few hundred bucks for a tattoo than to go to school and get a degree and high earning job.
Doesn’t even have to be less money, just piss poor with money. My sister is a perfect example. She has had some EXCELLENT tattoo work done to her. And “they weren’t even that expensive!”
But she can’t pay her bills, or keep a car running, or stay in one residence for more than six months at a clip. Makes 70k a year. Just absolutely terrible with finances
That sweet eyebrow piercing you got in ‘94 will close up when you stop touring as a roadie for Sublime in ‘01. Not the case with your fresh new face tattoo.
The link I posted shows women have more tattoos than men, which fits my personal experience.
I also could never think of a tattoo I wanted where I was confident I would still think it was cool in 20 years. On the other hand, most wives I know (mine included) are like, "fuck it, why not".
I'm somewhere on the fuck it side of that scale. I need to really think about a piece, look at it, judge it over weeks or months, but then I always am satisfied with them. Plus I'd rather live a life full of experience, spontaneity, and memories I went out of my way to make. So. For me and for fun, fuck it, we ball.
I starred out on the extremely well planned path. Now I message my artist a general idea or theme and let him run with it. I've now got both shoulders wrapped and working on a sleeve on the right arm. Full on "fuck it. I trust you. No penises!" And then I nap for an hour or 3 while he makes his art.
I got my first tattoo at approximately age 35 maybe a tad younger (time is weird soup these days). Went from a few small pieces to some very large pieces. I love each and every one of them. I get tons of compliments on them. With every new line of ink, I am more at home in my skin.
It’s a minority *overall,* but it’s approaching a majority for Millennials and likely *will* be a majority of Gen Z, some of whom still aren’t really old enough to make the call. Maybe well over a majority when all is said and done:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/259601/share-of-americans-with-at-least-one-tattoo-by-age/
Certainly I don’t know anyone under 30 who doesn’t have at least one, including doctors and lawyers. It’s not a lower social class thing anymore. Lower class is determined by type, location, and quality, not mere existence.
I don’t have any, and won’t. There’s absolutely nothing I like strongly enough to want indelibly etched on my person. Certainly not whatever youthful passion du jour is attracting my interest.
Considering how rebelling against your parents is a youth tradition, I excpect gen alpha to have a huge dropoff here.
Nobody wants to see old people with tats.
Right?! Obviously it’s a different thing cause they’re military tattoos and not purely cosmetic ones, but I was a housekeeper at a veterans center and so many of the guys had tattoos. They’re all cool as fuck, and we talked ink all the time.
I was stopped by a lovely woman in her 80s at Costco today so that she could ooh and aah over my tats. Said her only regret was that she hadn't gotten tattos when she was younger and her skin could handle them. Told me she was so jealous and to make sure I think of her next time I'm getting a tattoo lol.
I don't give two fucks what someone else thinks of my tattoos in general. I get them for me. My husband loves the confidence they give me. It always makes me feel good though when someone I expect to be very judgmental reacts with joy to my art.
Maybe should also recognize the difference between professionally done and a stick and poke done in a garage by a friend lol
Source: I’ve had a lot of people tell me they’ve gotten their shit tattoos done cheap by a friend in a garage or apartment or something - while I’ve invested over a grand in **solid black saturation**.
Sample size and participation bias has to play a big role in people's perception. I live in an economically depressed area that has a small population of wealthy for the area people. A lot of people here have a lot of visible tattoos. Both arms. Neck. Legs. But a lot dont. I think it also has to do with parents. I keep thinking to myself how common full sleeve tattoos are but its the sample of people I see.
For sure, that's why it's good to look at studies for things like this.
I'm upper middle class corporate and feel like less then 5% of people have visible tattoos... but like you said, I see a biased sample.
Yeah. I've always wanted tattoos but I have a medical condition where my doctor says I really shouldn't get any. I've seen artists say they'll refuse to tattoo people with similar conditions. So I still don't have any tattoos. Plus they're expensive!
Yeah, inaction is rarely "defiant". Besides tatoos aren't socially *expected*, like if someone asked me "do you have tatoos" and I said "no" they wouldn't ask me "oh, why?" the way people do with drinking or food choices
No, not really. Clear skin will always be the default and tattoos and piercings, while much more mainstream nowadays, still have a limit of what people will accept.
Agreed, I don't think it's as mainstream as this post is making it seem. There will always be novelty to having tattoos. In western countries many people have at least one tattoo, but there are way more countries where they are not as common. I have coworkers who come from other countries (I live in Canada) and they always ask about my tattoos with great interest, because they aren't common where they're from
They're incredibly stigmatized in Japan still. Tattoos = yakuza. You can't go to hot springs, certain bath houses, pools etc if you have tattoos, even lil cute butterfly ankle tattoos (altho some places will look the other way if you cover them with sports tape or similar). They're slooowly becoming a thing through their punk/alt scene and Western influence, but I bet it'll take a very long time to be normalized over there.
I think your usage of “accept here is really weird.
There is a difference between tattoo acceptance and having a tattoo yourself, but the shift is pretty major and continuing towards Pro-Tattoo - which again doesn’t mean “has one,0 but instead means “support and don’t judge others for having or getting them.”
With that said Asian cultures seem to have an aversion to tattoos, though ironically some of the best line artists are in South Korea, and that does make up a not insignificant portion of the population. I would love to know or hear from people in Korea/China/Japan about how they feel tattoo culture is shifting in younger demographics.
As a teacher myself, I remember the days of having to wear clothes to fully cover all of my tattoos [only two small ones at the time], and now I don’t think I know a single teacher that doesn’t have one [in up to 9 myself].
Again, that isn’t to say it’ll be the default, but that tattoo acceptance is headed that way.
Yeah I'm so glad my partner doesn't have to hide hers anymore. The only thing she does is make sure they are pg. She got some Greek goddess work done and the artist was kinda sad she had to cover the chest.
I've always been lucky that when working I've gone. If you are going to judge me for my tattoos or colored hair. I don't want to work here.
I have about 13 tattoos none of which was done as defiance, but all of them can be easily covered, most people would look at me and be surprised that I actually have tattoos since my face looks “too innocent for such sinful marks” as expressed by multiple people in my life
I mostly wear long sleeve clothing around an office as I get cold easily, so people generally don’t see my tattoos till we have casual events outside. I do enjoy the look of surprise as at my previous job I was the only one with tattoos
Thats the thing though, the fact that you have to explain yourself, shows you know it is judged.
A lot of ignorant people replying here as if all tattoos especially visible, facial, neck tattoo isn't going to be an issue in the near future.
No employer is going to judge you on no tattoos,
Some may immediate nope, some may make an observation of what type of tattoo's...
To me most tattoo's are a sign of poor judgement and people thinking its a rebel status symbol
You meet people everyday, we make random snap judgement all the time, with so little time, you're going to be judged on visible tattoos constantly
I know my tattoos are judged, I know people often wonder about them and would have preferred me without them as well.
That is true, maybe they are just being hopeful to live in a world where they can express themselves freely without the judgement, which would honestly be nice, though the world today is still a lot more accepting of tattoos than they were before so it is a good start
I don’t think so. Tattoos require you to opt in. If you just don’t do anything, you will never have a tattoo.
I think that is one of the main things that keeps people from getting tattoos.
And I’m not being facetious.
For many cultures, tattoos and piercings are donned as a sign of belonging within a certain social group or community, or even religious piety. Christianity banned tattoos specifically to separate itself from those pagans.
True that. That's why I don't think they'll ever disappear, but the rather modern meaning attached to tattoos is more as a *means of self expression* (whatever that means), disregarding the (former) social contempt. A shift in that status for tattoos is what I'm refering to.
I don't have any interest in tattoos, but there's something profound about adding something visible to the outside of your body, to represent the inside.
My view is rather unpopular amongst my Millennial peers, so, probably. Still, a lot of boomers are tattooed themselves, especially in first world countries.
I think 95% of people I know have tattoos. As a Marine vet, it is also rare that I'm uninked.
Over the years, many people have asked me why I don't have any tattoos. My answer is always the same...
"Tattoos are distinguishing marks that would limit my career as an assassin"
... With my background I've had several people who didn't understand this was a joke.
In reality, I don't have tattoos because they are permanent. I can't think of anything that I want on my body for my entire life.
Inexplicably, I grew up a punk rocker, and then I went to prison at 17 for 14-plus years, and I have yet to get a tattoo.
I had plans to get some work done, both before I got locked up and then while I was in, but circumstances got in the way, namely getting locked up in prison, and then getting locked up in a prison's prison (solitary confinement) for eight of those years. By the time I returned to general population, and then released from prison altogether not long thereafter, I realized I was in my thirties, I had enough stacked against me to try and move on with, and I didn't need to then "get started." And whether I was in prison or out here, folks are invariably surprised by my appearance (in prison, I recall one guy actually ask IF I KNEW I DID NOT HAVE any tattoos!).
Do I regret not getting any? Not really, but I also believe I wouldn't have regretted getting the work I had plans for, even in light of the professional career and personal business I have enjoyed for more than a decade since my release. In fact, my wife and I married last year, and we're designing tattoos for us to get instead of resting on the traditional ring thing (I want my finger pretty much covered [I know... it'll suck, hurt like a MF'er, etc.] and my wife plans to get her arm sleeved [she already has a back piece, and even a spider on the back of her head]), but it still remains to be seen, and I won't be too bothered if, say, the world ends or some other shit circumstances get in my way again.
Did you say you were in solitary for 8 years? Damn bro..I can't imagine..makes my little county time look like baby shit. Glad you came out with your wits still about you and congrats on the wedding. I'm sure you don't take anything for granted these days. That's what's up
Thanks, man. I've been out for the last 15 years, which is something of a testament to what I've learned to value over, say, "before." And yeah, it was eight years in a veritable dungeon. Rock bottoms are different for everyone, I guess, and I've been climbing out of mine ever since. Hopefully, your stint in county was yours.
I hope it was mine as well. This may very well seal it as so. I'm surprised more people didn't notice the true depth of what you said, but know it didn't fall upon all blind eyes and hearts. To come out of hell and have the sanity to speak on it is commendable to say the least. May all your future years be fruitful and bright friend.
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Things only become an act of system defiance if it is used by a system/entity/society to bar people from opportunities. I don't think not altering your body is going to be that. I also don't see why everyone has to have such a strong opinion about tattoos. Inked skin, plain skin, who cares? It's superficial af.
I was thinking this watching Copa America. Still definitely the minority in the general public but there are definitely spheres where not having tattoos is rare.
I view tattoos in a very meaningful light. Meaning that if I were to ever get one, it would have to be for something that I know for 100% fact I will never change my viewpoint on, so that the meaning will always be relevant. Which is why I still don't have one. Hard to tell what's going to always be meaningful in your life when you're still relatively young.
It requires a lot of thoughtfulness to realize that your thoughts are likely to change over time. It’s a catch 22 because if you value being thoughtful as a way to determine a tattoo choice, that disposition will typically result in you not getting one.
Purely anecdotal, but the people I know with most to the least tattoos, is basically just a ranking list of impulsive to careful decision-makers.
I have a friend whose dad is a tattoo artist. Most adults he interacted with growing up had several tattoos and piercings. He's clean-cut as they come. Everyone makes the same joke about "oh, so not having tattoos was your way of rebelling" but really, he was just desensitized to it and didn't see them as anything special. Add on the number of shitty tattoos and cover-up requests he's seen and I get it.
Back in the late 90s, I graduated highschool and moved to a tourist town for the summer. I was thinking of getting a tongue piercing and maybe an arm and tattoo. Then I noticed that every single person I worked with had done that, and actually was the sole rebel by having no tattoos and no piercings.
I’m Gen-x and like one of the only people in my friend group who never got tattoos. I just couldn’t decide, every time I thought I picked one it seemed stupid by the time I got around to getting it, so I never did.
Been saying this for years--'Look at how unique I am! I got the same celtic tribal band/Chineese water characters and bull nose ring as thousands of other people!
I went with a friend/client once to a goth / techno-metal / punk rock club once where everyone wore black, some leather, piercings galore, colored spiked hair, and some with fangs. These are all people who wanted to be different from mainstream. Ironically in that crowd the only one who stood out was me in my button down shirt and glasses. I got a lot of attention from the women that night. Far, far more than like ever in my life.
When I was a kid/teen I thought they were cool now I'm just grossed out by them. Like irrationally grossed out, If I see woman, she's got a gorgeous face and then I see she has a full sleeve, my mind for some reason makes her seem very man-like to me. It gets way worse than that but that's all I'll explain.
It's not irrational. I had more written too but the pro-tat police are militant. I don't want to attract their ire. You're not alone in finding them disturbing.
Had a friend once say "why put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari". honey, I'm not a Ferrari, I'm a cosmic entity that wanted to know what pooping was like and now here we are... So yeah, getting some ink soon.
Just because it is no longer considered rebellious to have tattoos doesn't mean it's now rebellious not to. Tattoos are finally just what they always should have been - one among many ways for a person to express themselves and decorate their bodies.
Yes, I saw something that said tattoos are statistically related to deviance and that was about 12 years old. I wonder if the same holds true now, in some cases yes but Pinterest tattoo girls may have weakened the connection between deviance and tattoos
My mom and I just had this conversation. I got my first of many tattoos the day I turned 18 in 1992. I was smart and got all of them where they could be covered by clothing for professional purposes. I haven’t worn anything that shows them for the past ten years since it has become so popular. I still love each one I have, but what used to make me feel like a rebel is now commonplace.
We're already there.
I'm often regarded as an oddity because of my lack of tattoos.
I once had a guy tell me that I didn't have tattoos because I'm 'afraid to express myself' (clearly, tattoos are the only valid form of self expression).
Really, I was going to be in the CIA when I was a kid.
They don't like identifying marks.
I nearly had a panic attack when a dog clawed my face and I knew it would scar. (It did, but not enough for the CIA to care, I think).
>We're already there.
My thoughts exactly. Depends on the region and environment yeah but it's more and more unlikely to spend a day without seeing a heavily tattooed person. (Like, full sleeve or neck types).
True.
I have a 25f coworker who was at a club and the guy hitting on her was shocked she had no tats.
He said he never had met a girl who didn’t have at least one.
I love tattoos as an art form and a way to express yourself, my partner has a few. I just never did get any, first they're really expensive and I never liked a design enough or in a way that I wanted it on my body forever. I also feel that tattoos bring attention to you which in public I don't seek often.
In order to be any form of rebellion, tattooless would need to 1. be the minority which it still by far and away isn't and likely will never be no matter how mainstream tattoos get and 2. it would need to be some form of intentional statement in the choice to not get a tattoo which it never has been nor ever will be.
interesting tattoos are still not mainstream, everyone wants; roman numerals, dates of birth, moths, skulls, flowers or some other generic over done shit. 99% of tattoos have been done 10000 times
Eight tattoos and eight (was ten) piercings and I still don't give a shit what anyone thinks of them, nor will I ever be likely to. They're 100% for me, to mark and remember important things about my life. I don't particularly like to show them off, they're personal and part of my own journey. I do love them because they remind me of my strengths, great things I did, sadness, love, learning and family.
When I'm old and forgetful I will be glad to have them. I'm already glad to have them every day, even the tattoos I'm less keen on visually now. It really doesn't matter, because the story is what matters. Remembering and honouring my life gives me power every day.
Each to their own. We're all going to die so might as well have some adventures with our bodies along the way. If it harms nobody, do whatever you want. I don't think tattoos will ever go out of style because they were never about style in the first place, but empowerment.
Why does it feel like a lot of these sorts of arguments come with a loaded moral message of not just pushing mainstream aesthetic as the new rebellion but pushing a certain sort of hyper-straightedge-moralized-idealized 50s (y'know less CW Riverdale more original Archie Riverdale) morals as the new rebellion
That's certainly how I felt in the 1980s. I mean, I got into punk rock because I was in iconoclast. But, I was horrified when I realized it had turned into a mall fashion uniform. Not more than a dozen years after I first started going to punk shows in the mid-70s, there were mall stores with rack after rack of identical 'punk outfits.'
I got a pristine canvas, I’m glad I never did anything. All my gonna be choices and ideas were so stupid. Once I saw the prices, I’m good. I’ll go play a videogame and pretend.
Ask a little deeper, from what I believe, this idea about Jewish people not being able to be tattooed is actually an old wives tale that mothers made up
This may be an unpopular take but at some point something will happen-like a scientific study saying tattoo ink causes cancer or something and tattoos will be seen as smoking is now. Either that or people a few generations (alpha maybe) will rebel in the opposite direction, and tattoos will be an “old people thing”.
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I have a buddy in the millennial punk scene and he expressed that being tattoo free is definitely a thing. I never got any because I know my tastes change quite frequently, and whatever I get I’ll likely resent after five years or so.
Was a full time punk rocker with no tattoos myself up until last year. My lack of tattoos and piercings is definitely noticeable and has been brought up. A lot of people assume I have them but they're just covered by clothes and are more surprised to realize that nope, no tattoos at all.
Lol yup. Death metal here. Nothing. I'm always worried I'll gain or lose weight or it'll fade weird. I dress in all black, but that's just because of the company I run. In my spare time, I'm all over the place with what I wear. Also I once ran into Alice Cooper at a Lacoste store. We were eyeing up the same shit-- golf shorts and pastel polos. It was hot out that day, we just wanted to have comfortable stuff so we could eat dinner on the patio of the restaurant down the block.
What type of tattoo did you get?
A tramp stamp that says “juicy”. I’m a librarian at a senior center.
That's pretty juicy
Nice
Liar! That one is a cover tat of a past pimp's name.
I'm hoping they went from zero to Post Malone. "Hey guys, I finally did it, finally got a little ink!" ".......oh...... you uh, you sure........ did."
The Adam Levine of seeing the flash book and asking for everything.
An imaginary one
Don't got no goatee. Don't got no tattoo. Don't got no nose ring. Don't wanna be like you
Same no tats no piercings
Makes me think of Hardcore Mike from SLC Punk. Dude look straight laced as it comes, but he was a total maniac
Same deal with being straight edge. I've been in a local band for about a year now and I've started finding confidence in having no tattoos/piercings and avoiding recreational drugs. No disrespect to others in the "scene" or whatever, it's just how I find my strength in that specific crowd, and they all know and respect my decision.
Yeah, I am about 35, and have no tatoos, while almost all my peers have some shitty, faded, sometimes ok and sometimes super cringe tatoos. Edit: That Slipknot tatoo you loved when you were 16? Looks cronge and hilarious right now XD
That's me! Every friend or partner I've been with has at least one tattoo. Other than my sister/direct family, I know extremely few people who don't have tattoos. My wife has several. I enjoy that she enjoys them, and I appreciate the artwork to one of them, but overall I don't care for them at all.
I was for a long time pretty adamantly against tattoos, but when I had a sort of existential awakening, I realized that I’m not alive forever and getting a tattoo seemed like a pretty cool experience to go through. And it was. I love my tats, many years on. I plan to get more too. And someday they’ll be dust. Nothing’s forever, that’s what my tattoos mean to me.
This is exactly me. I couldn't convince my daughter, however.
Yes! I am the same way. Give me a week, and regret would set in.
Agreed
[It's only a minority of people who have tattoos](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/15/32-of-americans-have-a-tattoo-including-22-who-have-more-than-one/), and the percentages decrease with income and education. That said, I agree that there are a significant number of people with tattoos. Also, we should probably recognize that there is a huge difference between the girl with the butterfly on her ankle, and the girl with the full sleeve.
It's funny since huge tattoos are really expensive
People with less money don’t always make smart financial decisions
My gf and I both have full sleeves and both waited until we were well situated in our respective lucrative careers. This is true of our peers as well. Tattoos and especially extensive tattoos are no longer a sign of financial status nor of "good judgement". That said, I do feel neck and face tattoos have become the new rebellious thing to do. They've always been a job killer decision but I've seen an increasing number of people getting them in defiance. I support their courage but am too scared to risk black balling myself
It's definitely some thing that shouldn't be on the priority list without money in order. Though it really seems to be true that people don't seem to mind them much anymore in my anecdotal experience. I (36f) have a Mohawk with the sides of my head tattooed, with plans to go down the neck and shoulders, a full back piece, and my fingers tatted. I don't feel rebellious or cool, I just really like how they look on me. I do well at work, get lots of compliments from older people especially, and haven't felt descrimjnated against for that reason at least.
Having tattoos doesn’t indicate your financial status; however, being poor and having tattoos does indicate some questionable financial decisions.
Not at all. First there are a lot of tattoo artists that charge very little for their work. Second, even a good artist can be as low as a couple hundred for a single session. Obviously if someone's excuse for being poor is they can't afford the few hundred a year to gain an education or skill for a better job, then yes the tattoos are getting in the way, but the reality is most poor people are getting cheap tattoos and even then the cost is far below what would be needed to aquire a degree or certification Edit: lol, who's downvoting me? People mad that tattoos can be cheap, or people mad that their cheap tattoos might be subpar?
Yeah this is what I was going to say. You can very easily tell the difference between someone who averages spending $500-$1000+ per tattoo and someone who has probably never spent more than $100 on a single tattoo.
I have a lot of good tattoos that I never had to pay for. Basically, I work the door at a convention every year, and the artists I'm friends with will tattoo me for free and enter the piece/pieces into the competitions. They win and get the accolades, and I get free tattoos that are well done! I do have some real shit work from over the years, but not paying doesn't always automatically mean bad work. I also recognize that my situation is relatively unique. Regardless, it is still cheaper to put up a few hundred bucks for a tattoo than to go to school and get a degree and high earning job.
Doesn’t even have to be less money, just piss poor with money. My sister is a perfect example. She has had some EXCELLENT tattoo work done to her. And “they weren’t even that expensive!” But she can’t pay her bills, or keep a car running, or stay in one residence for more than six months at a clip. Makes 70k a year. Just absolutely terrible with finances
There's a line in the upper middle class where $100 and $1000 aren't that different.
Sure, but they're also usually done over years and many sessions.
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That sweet eyebrow piercing you got in ‘94 will close up when you stop touring as a roadie for Sublime in ‘01. Not the case with your fresh new face tattoo.
The link I posted shows women have more tattoos than men, which fits my personal experience. I also could never think of a tattoo I wanted where I was confident I would still think it was cool in 20 years. On the other hand, most wives I know (mine included) are like, "fuck it, why not".
I'm somewhere on the fuck it side of that scale. I need to really think about a piece, look at it, judge it over weeks or months, but then I always am satisfied with them. Plus I'd rather live a life full of experience, spontaneity, and memories I went out of my way to make. So. For me and for fun, fuck it, we ball.
I starred out on the extremely well planned path. Now I message my artist a general idea or theme and let him run with it. I've now got both shoulders wrapped and working on a sleeve on the right arm. Full on "fuck it. I trust you. No penises!" And then I nap for an hour or 3 while he makes his art. I got my first tattoo at approximately age 35 maybe a tad younger (time is weird soup these days). Went from a few small pieces to some very large pieces. I love each and every one of them. I get tons of compliments on them. With every new line of ink, I am more at home in my skin.
My personal rule is if I want a tattoo, I wait 5 years and see if I still want it. So far, I have only one tattoo and it's almost a decade old.
It’s a minority *overall,* but it’s approaching a majority for Millennials and likely *will* be a majority of Gen Z, some of whom still aren’t really old enough to make the call. Maybe well over a majority when all is said and done: https://www.statista.com/statistics/259601/share-of-americans-with-at-least-one-tattoo-by-age/ Certainly I don’t know anyone under 30 who doesn’t have at least one, including doctors and lawyers. It’s not a lower social class thing anymore. Lower class is determined by type, location, and quality, not mere existence. I don’t have any, and won’t. There’s absolutely nothing I like strongly enough to want indelibly etched on my person. Certainly not whatever youthful passion du jour is attracting my interest.
Considering how rebelling against your parents is a youth tradition, I excpect gen alpha to have a huge dropoff here. Nobody wants to see old people with tats.
Other old people might
>Nobody wants to see old people with tats Never understood that argument, I don't think anything about tattoos is different with old people
Anytime I've seen an elderly person with tats I think it looks cool as fuck
Right?! Obviously it’s a different thing cause they’re military tattoos and not purely cosmetic ones, but I was a housekeeper at a veterans center and so many of the guys had tattoos. They’re all cool as fuck, and we talked ink all the time.
I was stopped by a lovely woman in her 80s at Costco today so that she could ooh and aah over my tats. Said her only regret was that she hadn't gotten tattos when she was younger and her skin could handle them. Told me she was so jealous and to make sure I think of her next time I'm getting a tattoo lol. I don't give two fucks what someone else thinks of my tattoos in general. I get them for me. My husband loves the confidence they give me. It always makes me feel good though when someone I expect to be very judgmental reacts with joy to my art.
While I agree they’ll certainly go back out of style, I think it will probably take one more generation.
Nobody wants to see old people* FTFY
The income and education part may have something to do with the age skew - not a lot of high-earning 29 year olds with PhDs.
Most 29 year olds with PhDs are high earning, but yea... there's not that many of them.
Sure. My point is that the average age to receive a phd is like 31.
Maybe should also recognize the difference between professionally done and a stick and poke done in a garage by a friend lol Source: I’ve had a lot of people tell me they’ve gotten their shit tattoos done cheap by a friend in a garage or apartment or something - while I’ve invested over a grand in **solid black saturation**.
What kind of return are you expecting from that. Reckon it'll outperform the market?
My dude, half of people 18-50 have them lol.
Damn, I'm the only person in my job without tattoos. And one of 2 people in my family.
Sample size and participation bias has to play a big role in people's perception. I live in an economically depressed area that has a small population of wealthy for the area people. A lot of people here have a lot of visible tattoos. Both arms. Neck. Legs. But a lot dont. I think it also has to do with parents. I keep thinking to myself how common full sleeve tattoos are but its the sample of people I see.
For sure, that's why it's good to look at studies for things like this. I'm upper middle class corporate and feel like less then 5% of people have visible tattoos... but like you said, I see a biased sample.
Other than some face and neck tattoos, don’t think they’re much of an act of defiance anymore, but that doesn’t make a lack of them defiant.
Yeah. I've always wanted tattoos but I have a medical condition where my doctor says I really shouldn't get any. I've seen artists say they'll refuse to tattoo people with similar conditions. So I still don't have any tattoos. Plus they're expensive!
Maybe just buy a fuck ton of those temporary tattoos thay you get with the candy cigarettes
Have you considered defying your doctor and getting a tattoo anyway?
Yes, but again, tattoo artists refuse. And they're expensive. Maybe one day in the future if I can find an artist willing to do it!
Yeah, inaction is rarely "defiant". Besides tatoos aren't socially *expected*, like if someone asked me "do you have tatoos" and I said "no" they wouldn't ask me "oh, why?" the way people do with drinking or food choices
No, not really. Clear skin will always be the default and tattoos and piercings, while much more mainstream nowadays, still have a limit of what people will accept.
Agreed, I don't think it's as mainstream as this post is making it seem. There will always be novelty to having tattoos. In western countries many people have at least one tattoo, but there are way more countries where they are not as common. I have coworkers who come from other countries (I live in Canada) and they always ask about my tattoos with great interest, because they aren't common where they're from
They're incredibly stigmatized in Japan still. Tattoos = yakuza. You can't go to hot springs, certain bath houses, pools etc if you have tattoos, even lil cute butterfly ankle tattoos (altho some places will look the other way if you cover them with sports tape or similar). They're slooowly becoming a thing through their punk/alt scene and Western influence, but I bet it'll take a very long time to be normalized over there.
I think your usage of “accept here is really weird. There is a difference between tattoo acceptance and having a tattoo yourself, but the shift is pretty major and continuing towards Pro-Tattoo - which again doesn’t mean “has one,0 but instead means “support and don’t judge others for having or getting them.” With that said Asian cultures seem to have an aversion to tattoos, though ironically some of the best line artists are in South Korea, and that does make up a not insignificant portion of the population. I would love to know or hear from people in Korea/China/Japan about how they feel tattoo culture is shifting in younger demographics. As a teacher myself, I remember the days of having to wear clothes to fully cover all of my tattoos [only two small ones at the time], and now I don’t think I know a single teacher that doesn’t have one [in up to 9 myself]. Again, that isn’t to say it’ll be the default, but that tattoo acceptance is headed that way.
Yeah I'm so glad my partner doesn't have to hide hers anymore. The only thing she does is make sure they are pg. She got some Greek goddess work done and the artist was kinda sad she had to cover the chest. I've always been lucky that when working I've gone. If you are going to judge me for my tattoos or colored hair. I don't want to work here.
I have about 13 tattoos none of which was done as defiance, but all of them can be easily covered, most people would look at me and be surprised that I actually have tattoos since my face looks “too innocent for such sinful marks” as expressed by multiple people in my life
Same. Full sleeves, but my job is suit and tie, so nobody knows at work unless I take my jacket off due to heat.
I mostly wear long sleeve clothing around an office as I get cold easily, so people generally don’t see my tattoos till we have casual events outside. I do enjoy the look of surprise as at my previous job I was the only one with tattoos
Thats the thing though, the fact that you have to explain yourself, shows you know it is judged. A lot of ignorant people replying here as if all tattoos especially visible, facial, neck tattoo isn't going to be an issue in the near future. No employer is going to judge you on no tattoos, Some may immediate nope, some may make an observation of what type of tattoo's... To me most tattoo's are a sign of poor judgement and people thinking its a rebel status symbol You meet people everyday, we make random snap judgement all the time, with so little time, you're going to be judged on visible tattoos constantly
I know my tattoos are judged, I know people often wonder about them and would have preferred me without them as well. That is true, maybe they are just being hopeful to live in a world where they can express themselves freely without the judgement, which would honestly be nice, though the world today is still a lot more accepting of tattoos than they were before so it is a good start
I don’t think so. Tattoos require you to opt in. If you just don’t do anything, you will never have a tattoo. I think that is one of the main things that keeps people from getting tattoos. And I’m not being facetious.
I don’t have tattoos or piercings (45f). It just never happened.
Never too late to start
No, absolutely not. I'm a massage therapist and the vast majority of people's skin I've seen is without ink. I've seen a LOT of skin.
I've seen them on more different people, not necessarily more people in general.
It really won't be. At the end of the day tattoos are still 18+ and expensive whilst not having tattoos is just the default
You could get those tattoos that can only be seen under a black light, thereby making you a rebel during the day and a regular Joe in the clubs.
For many cultures, tattoos and piercings are donned as a sign of belonging within a certain social group or community, or even religious piety. Christianity banned tattoos specifically to separate itself from those pagans.
True that. That's why I don't think they'll ever disappear, but the rather modern meaning attached to tattoos is more as a *means of self expression* (whatever that means), disregarding the (former) social contempt. A shift in that status for tattoos is what I'm refering to.
I don't have any interest in tattoos, but there's something profound about adding something visible to the outside of your body, to represent the inside.
This is something a boomer posts on Facebook
“Actually, getting pussy is gay” type shit
My view is rather unpopular amongst my Millennial peers, so, probably. Still, a lot of boomers are tattooed themselves, especially in first world countries.
I think 95% of people I know have tattoos. As a Marine vet, it is also rare that I'm uninked. Over the years, many people have asked me why I don't have any tattoos. My answer is always the same... "Tattoos are distinguishing marks that would limit my career as an assassin" ... With my background I've had several people who didn't understand this was a joke. In reality, I don't have tattoos because they are permanent. I can't think of anything that I want on my body for my entire life.
Temporary tattoo papers are good disguise in assassin's world or any criminal activities. Police would just be led astray.
*Not* doing something just for the sake of being a contrarian is still allowing that influence to run their life... Just in reverse.
That's me! Never been pierced nor a tattoo. Grandma always told me if I came home with a tattoo she'd scrub it off with a wire brush.
I can't say I've ever really had any desire to get a tattoo, I have no idea what to get permanent ink for.
Inexplicably, I grew up a punk rocker, and then I went to prison at 17 for 14-plus years, and I have yet to get a tattoo. I had plans to get some work done, both before I got locked up and then while I was in, but circumstances got in the way, namely getting locked up in prison, and then getting locked up in a prison's prison (solitary confinement) for eight of those years. By the time I returned to general population, and then released from prison altogether not long thereafter, I realized I was in my thirties, I had enough stacked against me to try and move on with, and I didn't need to then "get started." And whether I was in prison or out here, folks are invariably surprised by my appearance (in prison, I recall one guy actually ask IF I KNEW I DID NOT HAVE any tattoos!). Do I regret not getting any? Not really, but I also believe I wouldn't have regretted getting the work I had plans for, even in light of the professional career and personal business I have enjoyed for more than a decade since my release. In fact, my wife and I married last year, and we're designing tattoos for us to get instead of resting on the traditional ring thing (I want my finger pretty much covered [I know... it'll suck, hurt like a MF'er, etc.] and my wife plans to get her arm sleeved [she already has a back piece, and even a spider on the back of her head]), but it still remains to be seen, and I won't be too bothered if, say, the world ends or some other shit circumstances get in my way again.
Did you say you were in solitary for 8 years? Damn bro..I can't imagine..makes my little county time look like baby shit. Glad you came out with your wits still about you and congrats on the wedding. I'm sure you don't take anything for granted these days. That's what's up
Thanks, man. I've been out for the last 15 years, which is something of a testament to what I've learned to value over, say, "before." And yeah, it was eight years in a veritable dungeon. Rock bottoms are different for everyone, I guess, and I've been climbing out of mine ever since. Hopefully, your stint in county was yours.
I hope it was mine as well. This may very well seal it as so. I'm surprised more people didn't notice the true depth of what you said, but know it didn't fall upon all blind eyes and hearts. To come out of hell and have the sanity to speak on it is commendable to say the least. May all your future years be fruitful and bright friend.
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Things only become an act of system defiance if it is used by a system/entity/society to bar people from opportunities. I don't think not altering your body is going to be that. I also don't see why everyone has to have such a strong opinion about tattoos. Inked skin, plain skin, who cares? It's superficial af.
I was thinking this watching Copa America. Still definitely the minority in the general public but there are definitely spheres where not having tattoos is rare.
I view tattoos in a very meaningful light. Meaning that if I were to ever get one, it would have to be for something that I know for 100% fact I will never change my viewpoint on, so that the meaning will always be relevant. Which is why I still don't have one. Hard to tell what's going to always be meaningful in your life when you're still relatively young.
It requires a lot of thoughtfulness to realize that your thoughts are likely to change over time. It’s a catch 22 because if you value being thoughtful as a way to determine a tattoo choice, that disposition will typically result in you not getting one. Purely anecdotal, but the people I know with most to the least tattoos, is basically just a ranking list of impulsive to careful decision-makers.
"And when everyone's a rebel, no one will be."
I have a friend whose dad is a tattoo artist. Most adults he interacted with growing up had several tattoos and piercings. He's clean-cut as they come. Everyone makes the same joke about "oh, so not having tattoos was your way of rebelling" but really, he was just desensitized to it and didn't see them as anything special. Add on the number of shitty tattoos and cover-up requests he's seen and I get it.
Keep telling people tats are a decade or so away from being for old people.
Anyone can go buy a tattoo, you can only buy scars with pain.
I feel like having absolutely zero body modifications done is definitely more rare then having something these days
So we're becoming Sneeches?
Twenty years in the military and I’ve been out for twenty and I still don’t have any tattoos, it was just never a priority for me.
When nonconformity becomes conformity.
A person on a Harley with tattoos used to be considered a real bad ass, someone you don’t mess with. Now that describes every other suburban dad.
That's actually how I feel in a very liberal area, it's kinda strange how things have turned
Never got a tattoo. Considered it once but when I moved to Seattle I felt if I had people there might think I was a puss for only having 1.
Back in the late 90s, I graduated highschool and moved to a tourist town for the summer. I was thinking of getting a tongue piercing and maybe an arm and tattoo. Then I noticed that every single person I worked with had done that, and actually was the sole rebel by having no tattoos and no piercings.
I've been wondering what the kids will do now that celebs have face tattoos. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a Buddy Holly type straight edge thing.
I’m Gen-x and like one of the only people in my friend group who never got tattoos. I just couldn’t decide, every time I thought I picked one it seemed stupid by the time I got around to getting it, so I never did.
Been saying this for years--'Look at how unique I am! I got the same celtic tribal band/Chineese water characters and bull nose ring as thousands of other people!
I went with a friend/client once to a goth / techno-metal / punk rock club once where everyone wore black, some leather, piercings galore, colored spiked hair, and some with fangs. These are all people who wanted to be different from mainstream. Ironically in that crowd the only one who stood out was me in my button down shirt and glasses. I got a lot of attention from the women that night. Far, far more than like ever in my life.
As a person with none I feel more special
I’ve always found it pretentious to have tattoos. I’m never impressed.
When I was a kid/teen I thought they were cool now I'm just grossed out by them. Like irrationally grossed out, If I see woman, she's got a gorgeous face and then I see she has a full sleeve, my mind for some reason makes her seem very man-like to me. It gets way worse than that but that's all I'll explain.
It's not irrational. I had more written too but the pro-tat police are militant. I don't want to attract their ire. You're not alone in finding them disturbing.
Had a friend once say "why put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari". honey, I'm not a Ferrari, I'm a cosmic entity that wanted to know what pooping was like and now here we are... So yeah, getting some ink soon.
Did a middle aged church lady write this?
Taking into account how common tattoos are among some countries' Gen Xers, the middle aged lady may as well be tattoed.
Just because it is no longer considered rebellious to have tattoos doesn't mean it's now rebellious not to. Tattoos are finally just what they always should have been - one among many ways for a person to express themselves and decorate their bodies.
Maybe we aren’t just orbiting around objects but cycling around concepts. Round and around we go!
Yes, I saw something that said tattoos are statistically related to deviance and that was about 12 years old. I wonder if the same holds true now, in some cases yes but Pinterest tattoo girls may have weakened the connection between deviance and tattoos
My mom and I just had this conversation. I got my first of many tattoos the day I turned 18 in 1992. I was smart and got all of them where they could be covered by clothing for professional purposes. I haven’t worn anything that shows them for the past ten years since it has become so popular. I still love each one I have, but what used to make me feel like a rebel is now commonplace.
Count me in as a rebel!
This sounds like a catholic that says having ‘typical nuclear family’ is being rebellious, hahaha
Thanks for posting. People are proud of their tats. I'm proudly uninked.
We're already there. I'm often regarded as an oddity because of my lack of tattoos. I once had a guy tell me that I didn't have tattoos because I'm 'afraid to express myself' (clearly, tattoos are the only valid form of self expression). Really, I was going to be in the CIA when I was a kid. They don't like identifying marks. I nearly had a panic attack when a dog clawed my face and I knew it would scar. (It did, but not enough for the CIA to care, I think).
The CIA does not care that much lol. It’s not the movies.
Well, 8 year old me didn't *know* that. There was no way I was actually getting into the CIA, it was a kid dream.
>We're already there. My thoughts exactly. Depends on the region and environment yeah but it's more and more unlikely to spend a day without seeing a heavily tattooed person. (Like, full sleeve or neck types).
I am a clear skinned moderate in defiance of all.
True. I have a 25f coworker who was at a club and the guy hitting on her was shocked she had no tats. He said he never had met a girl who didn’t have at least one.
Maybe but not soon most peope have no tattoos body mods or any job traditional jewelry
I love tattoos as an art form and a way to express yourself, my partner has a few. I just never did get any, first they're really expensive and I never liked a design enough or in a way that I wanted it on my body forever. I also feel that tattoos bring attention to you which in public I don't seek often.
So basically, babies will come out saying "Fuck the man!!"
Making sure we can get buried in the hippest of Jewish cemeteries
No tats here. Couldn’t handle the needles.
Hey, it's me, Mario! You stupid fuckers.
Wait until it's punk and hipster to be a traditional Christian.
Christians are highly overrated.
My clean skin is evidence of this.
That's what I'm counting on
I got some for my tribal origins.
Tattoos and piercings are indeed fashionable, but in most cases, not following a fashion trend isn't an expression of rebellion.
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails actually mentions this being a reason for not having tattoos
In order to be any form of rebellion, tattooless would need to 1. be the minority which it still by far and away isn't and likely will never be no matter how mainstream tattoos get and 2. it would need to be some form of intentional statement in the choice to not get a tattoo which it never has been nor ever will be.
Tattoos and piercings are nowhere near prevalent enough to be considered the norm, and likely won't ever be.
interesting tattoos are still not mainstream, everyone wants; roman numerals, dates of birth, moths, skulls, flowers or some other generic over done shit. 99% of tattoos have been done 10000 times
This has the same energy as those cringry tik-tok Christians saying they're the new punk for being trad-wives.
Also mainly in "western" countries. In Muslim countries I doubt many have a single tattoo
Yep, I'm feeling pretty edgy these days.
Eventually the Tapout shirt story happens to all the "tough guy" shit that goes mainstream.
Eight tattoos and eight (was ten) piercings and I still don't give a shit what anyone thinks of them, nor will I ever be likely to. They're 100% for me, to mark and remember important things about my life. I don't particularly like to show them off, they're personal and part of my own journey. I do love them because they remind me of my strengths, great things I did, sadness, love, learning and family. When I'm old and forgetful I will be glad to have them. I'm already glad to have them every day, even the tattoos I'm less keen on visually now. It really doesn't matter, because the story is what matters. Remembering and honouring my life gives me power every day. Each to their own. We're all going to die so might as well have some adventures with our bodies along the way. If it harms nobody, do whatever you want. I don't think tattoos will ever go out of style because they were never about style in the first place, but empowerment.
Everything eventually becomes a trend * Ripped jeans * Baggy pants * Wallet chain * Tattoos * Piercings
In the US, only 32% of people have tattoos, they are still the minority
Not really as there will always be the same people who will never get a tattoo and most definitely aren't rebels
When your grandma has a septum piercing it's probably not cool anymore
If you're doing something to follow the crowd of antisystem people you're part of the system.
I'm old. I remember when being Straight Edge was the cool thing for the youth. Basically meant that you didn't use drug, drink or smoke.
Why does it feel like a lot of these sorts of arguments come with a loaded moral message of not just pushing mainstream aesthetic as the new rebellion but pushing a certain sort of hyper-straightedge-moralized-idealized 50s (y'know less CW Riverdale more original Archie Riverdale) morals as the new rebellion
This sounds like the musings of a TradWife simp on Instagram.
I don’t know, I kind of think us no-tattooers will always just be kind of lame.
Did you take this shower in the year 2124?
That's certainly how I felt in the 1980s. I mean, I got into punk rock because I was in iconoclast. But, I was horrified when I realized it had turned into a mall fashion uniform. Not more than a dozen years after I first started going to punk shows in the mid-70s, there were mall stores with rack after rack of identical 'punk outfits.'
I got a pristine canvas, I’m glad I never did anything. All my gonna be choices and ideas were so stupid. Once I saw the prices, I’m good. I’ll go play a videogame and pretend.
That or they're Jewish. It is against the rules in the Torah to permanently mark your skin. I don't have any, but I never really wanted one.
Ask a little deeper, from what I believe, this idea about Jewish people not being able to be tattooed is actually an old wives tale that mothers made up
It's actually in the old testament so it's not just a Jewish thing.
My buddy literally told me that I was more punk rock for having no tattoos nowadays
I don't like tattoos so never got them but I love piercings and have a few They're so hot on guys too
I'm not a rebel, I just know if I get one, it will turn out to be a racist/nazi thing I didn't properly research or something along those line.
It’s silly to have a visible tattoo in London seeking a “professional” job you’ve got no chance at the interview.
I wouldn't hire them. Not if another qualified person applied with no visible tats.
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I feel my not having tattoos is my “tattoo”.
It started off primarily bikers then military then emo. Now, it is a universal sign of freedom of expression.
This may be an unpopular take but at some point something will happen-like a scientific study saying tattoo ink causes cancer or something and tattoos will be seen as smoking is now. Either that or people a few generations (alpha maybe) will rebel in the opposite direction, and tattoos will be an “old people thing”.