Mixed Messages
The Stereotypes of Tattooing
Emma Parker
Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Vanities
YouTube. The revival of skinny jeans. Captain Planet. iPods. Boy bands. Pokémon and yoyos. Of the many trends our generation has embraced, one that may not seem to have permeated society as far as others is the practice of tattooing. However, the number of tattoos amongst college students is steadily on the rise. According to the American Association of Dermatology, 36% of people aged 18-25 have at least one tattoo, as compared to only 10% of our parents' generation. A particularly interesting part of this phenomenon is tattooing in women. According to one study, the number of women with tattoos has quadrupled over the past 20 years, making the gender distribution of tattooing practically equal.
Why are our mindsets so different from those of our parents and our grandparents? One reason is because over time people's perceptions about "the norm" becomes different, and the generation that follows usually challenge previous opinions. Members of Generation Y - people born roughly between 1982 and 1995 - are typically seen as more culturally tolerant than previous generations. Studies show that Gen Yers are more accepting of people based on race, sexual orientation and sexual lifestyles, and this principle can be expanded to include people with tattoos. One researcher claims that up until the 1980s, in most social groups a tattoo was seen as a kind of stigma that soiled someone's identity. More recent studies show just how accepting of tattoos our generation is. One study called "Getting Inked" and conducted by Laura Menuel, showed that of 200 college students, tattooed and non-tattooed, most students agreed that tattoos were "mainstream" and lots of people had them.
With this open-mindedness comes a shift in the meaning of tattoos. Our generation does not necessarily correlate tattoos with criminality, lower social classes, naval careers or personality disorders like in the past. In a recent 2003 study, Jeff Schulz found that among 162 students enrolled in a freshmen level university, 75% of those who had tattoos said they made their decision to as a form of "self-expression." In a wide array of studies, other common reasons for getting tattoos were to communicate rebellion, define group membership, convey spiritual meaning, or mark life-changing events such as the death of a loved one. These studies show that tattoos have become a regularized means of peacefully expressing oneself and establishing an identity.
Interestingly, there are some remarkable differences between why men and women get - and don't get - tattoos. In one study called Tattoos and Piercing, Attitudes, Behaviors and Interpretations of College Students, Jenn Home found that of 400 undergraduate students who were studied, 25% of men and 28% of women reported having at least one tattoo. Of this entire population, the men were significantly more inclined to agree that "tattoos are symbols of resistance to our culture." Men also agreed that "tattoos are a statement of who I am" and that tattoos are important in establishing a group identity.
On the other hand, women were more likely to get tattoos as a statement of beauty and to get a tattoo in a hidden place. Of those women who chose not to get tattoos, almost two-thirds did so due to fear of the pain, as opposed to only one-third of men. Additionally, women were much more likely to believe that their parents would disapprove, that negative health problems could occur or that the meaning of their tattoo would negatively change over time. This study also showed that men and women view tattoos on the other sex differently. For example, women were more likely than men to believe that a tattoo on the other sex was "attractive."
What could account for these differences? Why are women more concerned with beauty over identity, and why are they more inclined to hide this identity? No studies have made any conclusive explanations for the rift between men and women in the realm of tattooing, but a few ideas have been tossed around. For example, historically, tattoos were seen as much more taboo for women, and perhaps this attitude continues today. Additionally, women's admittance and men's relative denial that pain would prevent them from a tattoo relates to larger societal pressures on men to be physically strong and the lack of expectations of women to withstand pain.
Despite these sexist attitudes towards modern tattooing practices in Western society, it's good to see that this art and form of self-expression is no longer associated exclusively with criminals and other rough behavior. Hopefully, if this trend continues, gender biased associations can also be eliminated-and if trends follow suit of previous generations, it'll only be a matter of time.
Why are our mindsets so different from those of our parents and our grandparents? One reason is because over time people's perceptions about "the norm" becomes different, and the generation that follows usually challenge previous opinions. Members of Generation Y - people born roughly between 1982 and 1995 - are typically seen as more culturally tolerant than previous generations. Studies show that Gen Yers are more accepting of people based on race, sexual orientation and sexual lifestyles, and this principle can be expanded to include people with tattoos. One researcher claims that up until the 1980s, in most social groups a tattoo was seen as a kind of stigma that soiled someone's identity. More recent studies show just how accepting of tattoos our generation is. One study called "Getting Inked" and conducted by Laura Menuel, showed that of 200 college students, tattooed and non-tattooed, most students agreed that tattoos were "mainstream" and lots of people had them.
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With this open-mindedness comes a shift in the meaning of tattoos. Our generation does not necessarily correlate tattoos with criminality, lower social classes, naval careers or personality disorders like in the past. In a recent 2003 study, Jeff Schulz found that among 162 students enrolled in a freshmen level university, 75% of those who had tattoos said they made their decision to as a form of "self-expression." In a wide array of studies, other common reasons for getting tattoos were to communicate rebellion, define group membership, convey spiritual meaning, or mark life-changing events such as the death of a loved one. These studies show that tattoos have become a regularized means of peacefully expressing oneself and establishing an identity.
Interestingly, there are some remarkable differences between why men and women get - and don't get - tattoos. In one study called Tattoos and Piercing, Attitudes, Behaviors and Interpretations of College Students, Jenn Home found that of 400 undergraduate students who were studied, 25% of men and 28% of women reported having at least one tattoo. Of this entire population, the men were significantly more inclined to agree that "tattoos are symbols of resistance to our culture." Men also agreed that "tattoos are a statement of who I am" and that tattoos are important in establishing a group identity.
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On the other hand, women were more likely to get tattoos as a statement of beauty and to get a tattoo in a hidden place. Of those women who chose not to get tattoos, almost two-thirds did so due to fear of the pain, as opposed to only one-third of men. Additionally, women were much more likely to believe that their parents would disapprove, that negative health problems could occur or that the meaning of their tattoo would negatively change over time. This study also showed that men and women view tattoos on the other sex differently. For example, women were more likely than men to believe that a tattoo on the other sex was "attractive."
What could account for these differences? Why are women more concerned with beauty over identity, and why are they more inclined to hide this identity? No studies have made any conclusive explanations for the rift between men and women in the realm of tattooing, but a few ideas have been tossed around. For example, historically, tattoos were seen as much more taboo for women, and perhaps this attitude continues today. Additionally, women's admittance and men's relative denial that pain would prevent them from a tattoo relates to larger societal pressures on men to be physically strong and the lack of expectations of women to withstand pain.
Despite these sexist attitudes towards modern tattooing practices in Western society, it's good to see that this art and form of self-expression is no longer associated exclusively with criminals and other rough behavior. Hopefully, if this trend continues, gender biased associations can also be eliminated-and if trends follow suit of previous generations, it'll only be a matter of time.
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Los Angeles Movers
posted 6/24/09 @ 9:02 AM PST
Tattoos have definitely become fairly mainstream in the past decade or so. It's not uncommon to see a couple tattoo shops on just one street, which shows that there must be a lot of demand for them. (Continued…)
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