Who Is Most Likely To
Get Tattoos?
While tattoos have been gaining a widespread appeal and
acceptance during the last couple of decades, they are still
more popular with some people than with others. No longer
seen as something which is limited to small segments of the
population, nevertheless they are still not embraced by
everybody. For many, they are great forms of
self-expression; to others, they are as taboo as they've
always been. Like most aspects of American life, it's
often a matter of one likes them very much or one dislikes them
intensely; there is rarely any middle ground. While
preferences toward specific styles of tattoos differ very much
between individual persons, the opinions on them rarely
change.
One group which has grown fond of tattoos is the younger
generation. This is so much true that these days most
areas which have colleges and universities also have at least
one tattoo studio nearby. For many in the younger crowd,
visiting the tattoo studio is as much a social experience as it
is about the artwork. Comparing notes about which designs
they like, the costs, and even the tattooing process itself is
often done with one or more friends. The popularity of
tattoos amongst young people also extends to high schoolers,
many of whom are not old enough to legally acquire a
tattoo. Some get around this by dangerously attempting
their own tattoos with homemade equipment; others go to
nearby states where it is legal for artists to tattoo minors if
they have their parent's presence and consent.
On the opposite end of the spectrum you will find members of
the older generation who sometimes use tattoos to either
recapture or attempt to hold onto their youth. It's
questionable as to whether those in this category do so for the
artwork itself, or more for the environment of the tattoo
studio, as most studios are clearly designed for the younger
generation. You can find quite a few older folks leafing
through books of tattoo stencils alongside the younger crowd
who are twenty or thirty years younger than themselves.
This type of situation is at its oddest when the tattoo studio
also doubles as a piercing parlor.
Certain groups also go for tattoos. While the practice
used to be considered the arena of bikers and others of that
element, they still hold quite a monopoly on the subject.
It is unlikely that you will ever find someone whose primary
concern in life is his motorcycle who does not hold to the
age-old tradition of acquiring tattoos to symbolize his
number-one passion. The person may have one tattoo or
many; he may have done the artwork himself with a
homemade machine or even plain needles, or he may have spent a
considerable amount of money to have his tattoos done
professionally; but whatever form the tattoos take, it is
almost guaranteed that he will have them.
People who have spent time in jail or prison also have the
common factor of tattoos. While these tattoos are almost
always recognizable as being crude replicas of art, this fact
is mostly due to the tattoos being done by such unsanitary
means as using cigarette ashes instead of tattoo ink and
whatever may be handy instead of sterile professional tattoo
needles. For anyone who is at all familiar with tattoos,
it is not difficult to recognize the difference between one
which was done by a licensed tattoo artist and one which
someone did on himself while incarcerated.
These days you can find tattoos on every segment of the
American population, nearly everywhere in America. While
young adults, convicts and bikers are usually most noticeable,
tattoos show up or are hidden on everyone from businessmen to
farmers to housewives. They have become a part of
American life.
|