Perhaps related to what @twojarslave said, and referring to a favorite author, Dr. Stephen Baskerville, has repeatedly said there is a time when the young-male tendency for rebellion should go. Because of the fatherless epidemic in the USA there appears to be an arrested development amongst many men, and they stay in a rebellious mode all the into middle age. I think ongoing (it doesn’t end for some) tattooing is part of that for some.
I think others truly love them and/or are addicted to them.
No, they wouldn’t. But people who are that scary aren’t usually the sort that pro-social people want to be around, sort of like how in my previous post I said I don’t want to be near people who project some axe to grind and the conditioning for tattoos I spoke about.
There’s definitely a strong correlation between daddy issue women and tattoos, at least in my experience. There’s also a strong correlation between almost every woman I’ve seriously dated and at least one tattoo, only one of who had daddy issues. In fact, there’s a very strong correlation between tattoos and people.
That may explain some of it in some men (and women), but they are way too popular and prevalent now. It’s almost like a tattoo marketing campaign has somehow taken hold of people the same way those fantastic tobacco ads with Camel Cash and Marlboro miles got ahold of me, with the help of the addictive drug in their product, of course. Cigarettes were my early age reckless indulgence, but I’ve quit for long enough now that my lung function is restored. Chalk one up for my childhood vice, but it’s entirely possible that quitting smoking sucks just as bad as tattoo removal. Does anyone here know?
Image search result of “Hell’s Angel Tattoo”. I don’t know that man, but his look and style is not unusual for that motorcycle club.
Since the topic is “generational perspectives” I will offer my take, though I suppose many will disagree, possibly, even my generation.
I became aware of the power of fashion on people who were looking for social acceptance since the early 1960’s. At that time tattoos were most likely found on merchant marines, and a few US Navy men, and very few others.
As the years went by I noticed, what was once a fashion “must have” became out of fashion all together, and could even be called out publicly. But on the plus side, all you had to do was not wear it and problem solved. New fashions went in and out period after period. On my salary I had a choice to either keep in step with fashion or compete in bodybuilding. Lucky for me it was an easy choice, being a mathematics geek (another thread), I had little pull to look in fashion. But what was burnt in my mind was that no fashion no matter how popular lasts.
So, it seemed to me that a person would have to be totally devoid of fashion sense if they got a permanent tattoo. I must admit that “fashion” has lasted far beyond my expectations.
I should add that I would never consider a tattoo for a number of reasons, e.g., unnecessary expense, bodybuilding, religious belief, unappealing appearance IMO.
You’re right fashions come and go but I don’t think there has been one past generation that had people making themselves as off-putting as those in those photos as the rate they are now. Being a self-admitted YT and podcast junkie (mostly in car), I’ve heard and read about the topic, “Why are people making themselves ugly?” more than once.
Dyed hair in unusual colors on women has become popular now too. Faux hawks on women seemed to gain traction for some time.
The starter pack for many women at my former gym was:
Every American parent for the last 150 years probably held this sentiment when looking at the young people pushing the boundaries of social acceptance. I’m guessing much of the world does as well.
A more objective statement would be that humans may be presently going to the greatest lengths in history to change their natural appearance.
Hunnic skull elongation comes to mind here as more extreme than Tekashi 69 or any other pop-culture stand-in’s body modifications, simply because it must be done to an infant who has no say in the matter. At least those freakishly elongated skulls had some utility on the battlefield. Dope-smoking, alien-looking horse archers with tattoos, body piercings and dental engravings caused a lot of problems for the “establishment conservatives” of their era, aka the Romans.
I was going to respond to this post no matter what, because I had a slip of the thumb while scrolling and accidentally flagged it. I think I was able to cancel that action out, but I’ve never flagged a post so I’m not sure how that works. But then, I read this:
If you don’t mind me asking, what religious beliefs do you hold that you feel don’t allow you to get a tattoo, not that it seems you’d want to either way? Doesn’t have to be very detailed, and I don’t mean to derail the thread, I’m just curious. I’m assuming Christian? (Not attacking you for that, I am one as well.)
How do we all feel about them lower back “tramp stamp” tattoos that lots of girls used to/maybe still get? I’m in my mid-30s and when I was a teenager it seemed to be a trend that all the mid to late teenage girls would get on holiday or something to appear rebellious or to say “I’m sexually active”.
I always found it funny that they’d get something like a butterfly there to express some sort of clean, natural purity despite us both knowing it’s only the butthole being looked at.
Interesting point - honestly haven’t heard a Christian mention this in a long time. I am a Christian too, and I believe there are a number of Leviticus-based commands that are not repeated in the NT (like 19:28 and 19:27 about shaving your beard), and therefore I don’t abide by them. But open to being proven wrong…not that I can do anything about the ones I’ve got already
If you start another thread I will go into great detail. I don’t want to head down a bunny trail here. Though, I will state that I am not a legalist. It isn’t a matter of “allow”. It is more of a model to follow. I have been a student of the Bible for the last 30+ years.
I am in a position where some of my companies customers are foreign nationals. In some of those places tattoos are still generally only worn by organized crime members and frowned upon. Therefore, I won’t get anything that can’t be covered by a long sleeve shirt and pants.
Tattoos tend to be permanent records of temporary moods. The decision to make such an indelible mark tends to be an indication of impulsivity and poor judgment. There are probably exceptions.
I think in general text tattoos have a high probability of being regretted. That Tyler Durden quote might have been pretty cool at 25, but now it is a bit cringe. I would absolutely avoid anything like someones name or religious content.
