parent2noles

^ You folks crack me up.

NorthMinnesota

I don't mind tatoos...just haven't seen any that I like. On the other hand DH is CEO of a large company and would never hire anyone who has a tatoo/piercing that shows regardless of ability. His prejudice, his perogative. Visible tatoos are controversial in certain parts of the country. If you are prepared for that...gp for it!

dis-grace

Where I grew up, I would guess over half of people between 18 and 35 had tattoos. I am not sure if this means I just lived in a very trashy place, or if it means that tattoos are less trashy there than in other places.

MidwestMom2Kids_

Six-year-old paper from the pediatric literature -

Roberts T and Ryan S. Tattooing and high-risk behavior in adolescents. Pediatrics 2002; 110: 1058-1063

In adolescents:
Tattooing significantly associated with older age, living in a single-parent household, lower socioeconomic status, and peer substance misuse
Tattooing associated with reported sexual intercourse, substance misuse, violent behavior, and school problems

HisGraceFillsMe

Elaboration needed?

Hunt

The paper is six years old; not the subjects or the authors.

emeraldkity4

The paper is six years old; not the subjects or the authors.


thank goodness

HisGraceFillsMe

Exactly. Think about how much social etiquette has changed in the last six years. We had just exited out of the 90's, the "dark ages" of tattoos and piercings, if you will.

Maybe I'm biased because I live in southern California, but tattoos and piercings are very rarely thought of as "trashy" here.

pietrasanta

Please dont speak for all of Socal. Tatoos are considered pretty lowbrow here in Pasadena where
"tasteful tatoo" is an oxymoron.

emeraldkity4

Google maps gave me 4,293 hits for tattoo addresses near Pasadena CA

I wonder how big the club is that considers them low brow

And tattoos used to be counterculture. Times have changed in those respects, but the unkindness toward unattractive or different people remains a cultural constant.

HisGraceFillsMe

^Exactly.

In most of SoCal (at least the parts I've been to), tattoos and piercings aren't really looked down upon. I don't have a tattoo, but my nose is pierced, and I've never had anyone treat me any differently because of it.

Now my Drama Teacher did ask me to take it out when we did Fiddler on the Roof, but all the girls were required to wear no jewelry because all the people were supposed to be poor and jewelry speaks to wealth.

Hunt

Don't be confused between what people DO think about tattoos and what you believe they SHOULD think.

emeraldkity4

I think that statement is equally applicable to opinions on both side of the issue

dis-grace

I agree with HisGraceFillsMe that tattoos are becoming more and more normal and, if I'm correct, those who find them to separate their owners into a distinct group with certain features are a dying breed. I *think* (and may be totally wrong) that tattoos will NOT go out of fashion; rather, I think that so many people will get them that it will become as commonplace as ear piercing, and that this sort of discussion won't be possible to have anymore in forty years.

HOWEVER... it's true that, for the moment, tattoos will still be judged. And even though I have one myself and do not judged a tattoo merely by the fact that it's ink on skin, I *do* find myself judging *certain* tattoos... whether or not that's valid. The same way I will think someone's a bit out of it if they haven't yet realized that dark lip-liner with light lipstick is so freakin ugly I want to poke my eyes out with a fork when I see it. My assessment means nothing about the person's character, but it means that I do make an assumption about said person's judgment concerning the appropriateness of all body ornamentation - and frankly, their lack of judgment is likely permanent. Even though their makeup will wash off tonight, they'll likely put it back on every morning until they're in a nursing home.

Erg... the point I'm trying to make is that we all judge, valid or not, and that... at some point... it's not THAT big of a deal if WE are judged. I'd rather be a potentially trashy looking, smart, happy, kind person who is AWARE ENOUGH of people's judgments to hide my tattoo on a job interview than a classy-looking but rather dim and mean-spirited person. I'm not saying people come in those two categories only, but rather that the latter adjectives are much more important than the former in the Grand Scheme of Life etc.

Hunt

I predict that this whole conversation will change in a few years, because technology will change. There will be tattoos that can be easily removed, and even tattoos that can be rendered visible and invisible at will. Or tattoos that dynamically change color, or even shape.