2008 and we still have men and women being judged every day for deciding to have something as simple as a tattoo inked on their body. Too large of a portion of America in particular, perceive tattoos as something “bad” or as a sign that the person getting them doesn’t have good judgment. The most typical stereotype of a male with tattoos is one of either a punk rocker or a criminal or a biker. Females that would lower themselves to be tattooed were either biker chicks, punk rockers and of course, have loose morals.
Men and women of various professional backgrounds now get tattoos regularly along with the average tattoo wearer. Tattoos cross all social and economic levels and shows no bias. It is simply used as a freedom of expression in an artist manner. Point blank, that is it. Unfortunately, individuals insist on reading more into it and that is where part of the continuing stigma comes to play. People don’t like to have their preconceived ideas mucked around. It was easier when guys with a tattoo either were in jail or were a biker. Women just weren’t tattooed if they were a “good” girl.
These stereotypes are extremely outdated and asinine now as even mothers and older people are being tattooed. Anyone and everyone are getting them, as there no longer is a “type” to get tattoos. Unfortunately, employers still have a say about the acceptability of tattoos if it is in their dress code. They can say no to visible tattoos as long as they are consistent across the board about it. If you have tattoos that can be covered up, you do have a better chance of being hired in corporate America. Tattoos should not affect your hiring status any more than your color, weight, race or anything else except your ability to do the job. Sadly, ask any over-weight person, or disabled, minority, etc. and those stigmas are still rampant as well.
One of the stereotypes that really pisses me off is the so called “tramp stamp.” Now I am a woman and I have tattoos but I didn’t get mine until I was 50 and no I didn’t get any on my lower back. I detest the notion though that just because a young, cute woman gets a tattoo on the lower part of her back, that it instantly means that she is advertising that she wants, is asking for, sex. She has every right to get this tattoo, just as every man has every right to place a tattoo anywhere he so chooses on his body without the sexist judgment. Now three guesses which sex probably came up with this stereotype? It is wrong and shame on the women that agree with it. Unless the tattoo blatantly states something obviously sexual, don’t read something into it.
These are examples of tattoos that fit these women perfectly and are extremely well done. Under no circumstances could they be considered “tramp stamps” and for people that are in the tattoo community to perpetuate this kind of misconception and stereotyping is wrong and just continues the stigmas that are attached to tattoos that we try and fight.
Photos and Tattoo Designs by Daemon Rowanchilde @ Urban Primative
Women should not be afraid of what anyone is going to think about them if they get a tattoo. You should not be judged based on your gender any more than a man is and you should be able to wear your ink as proudly as any man without judgment based on the placement of that ink any more than a man is.
I waited for a long time before getting one and even after my first tattoo. It took three years before I got brave enough to get my first tattoo that I couldn’t cover up and hide from the world. It feels good to go out now and not care what anyone else thinks about my ink. Because it is, my ink, and I got it for me and no one else and that is what took me all these years to learn. You have to tattoo for yourself, not because someone talks you into it, or because they say, “hey get this one, its cool.” You have to choose to tattoo because it is something that draws you to it. You have to choose your ink because it is something that you really want on you for the rest of your life, and hopefully, because it means something to you.
You are the one who decides if you can live with the stereotyping and the stigmas that go with getting a tattoo. They are there and we that have tattoos are shattering these quietly on a daily basis, just by having our tattoos and not being afraid to go out and be seen. Sometimes people look at you funny and you get to decide how you deal with it. I smile, glance at my tattoo and smile bigger then go on my way. Then I think about what and where my next tattoo is going and how that’s going to blow their minds even more and my smile, gets even bigger and they just made my day.
Posted by kathleen on July 17, 2008 at 4:49 am
Thanks for your comments about tatoos. I am a 40 year old woman and i never had a tatoo until last week I decided to get a tatoo on my hand and wrist area. The tatoo is black ink, and it is an Arabic phrase. I really liked the artists job, and wanted this for myself. However, after a week or so, I started feeling worried, and stigmatized
I am a high school teacher so I have to cover it at work….with dermblend or long sleeve…but i was having some doubts and thinking i should remove it, because people look at me strange….but what you said is exactly how i felt after getting it….it was my choice, my ink….and my decision.
Posted by delaney55 on July 17, 2008 at 5:46 am
Thank you for your lovely comment!
Yes, you should be proud of your tattoo and not ashamed as it is now a part of you and means something to you and the heck with anyone that doesn’t like it. You are a mature woman that made a choice for herself and that’s all there is to it.
If I helped you to feel more secure with your tattoo then I’ve done what I set out to do!
Posted by Soulstice on August 4, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I got my FIRST black ink tattoo on my ankle a week and a half ago and I was so excited about it and i still am and always will be. I’m 21 and the tattoo I got was a West African symbol meaning endurance and resourcefulness. Wearing it is a symbol of the struggles in my life that I’ve endured and I’m still going through. I have been able to grow as a strong independent woman through the hardest of times. This is a tattoo I’ve wanted for over a year. No one can ever take that love away and what it means to me. Every time I look at it I’m proud of myself and my accomplishments and know I will make it in this world. The tattoo is also in honour of my ancestors. As a Jamaican woman of Afrikan descent I never want to forget how far I and my people have come and still need to go in this world full of injustice, greed, and violence. It’s also tribute to my single mother whose strength has taught me to be in control of my own destiny. And I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. PEACE AND ONE LOVE to my tattooed friends.
Posted by Janette on September 10, 2008 at 4:21 am
Delaney,
I really enjoyed reading your article post. I was doing research for a school paper and came across yours. I have two tatts myself and am looking to get more. I find them very addicting. I have on one each calf. on my left calf i have a dreamcatcher with neutral colors and my most recent one on my right calf is my girl she is called caution girl. It is a female skull with pink hair and black and whit polka dotted bows. I just love her. I do find that when wearing shorts in stores that there are people who look but usually it is teenage girls whispering to their mom how cool my tatt is. I look at it this way, If all people in this world can do is talk about out people weather it be bcause they have tattoos or their hair is pink or they dress funny, then they have much bigger problems of their own. GREAT POST!!!!
Janette
Posted by delaney55 on September 10, 2008 at 4:30 am
I’m glad that you liked my post and I agree that if my tats are all people see of me then they need to talk to me and see who I am besides a woman with tats that doesn’t care if you don’t like them. Enjoy your tats and don’t worry about those that don’t.
Posted by Jessie on May 3, 2009 at 12:05 am
Delaney,
Thank you so much for posting up your article on stereotyping of tattoos. I’m doing an individual project work on tattoos and this really helped. (: I will be quoting you but of course I’ll cite your website in my reference list~! Thanks again so much. I’ll be looking forward to get a tattoo one day (mainly because I’m still underage now). It’s really frustrating with all the labels going around nowadays, so my article is also trying to prove to people that tattoos do not have to be associated with rebels/criminals e.t.c. So thanks again for your wonderful article!
-Jessie
Posted by delaney55 on May 3, 2009 at 12:56 am
I’m glad that you enjoyed this post and remember to get what you want where you want when you get your tattoo because it is your ink and you should love it and not be worried what other people are going to think or say. Those that matter won’t mind and those that do, you shouldn’t worry about. Your ink is just an expression of YOU and you should wear it proudly. :0)
Posted by hosting on May 3, 2009 at 10:36 am
thanks
Posted by Keleigh* on June 7, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hello,
I have been doing an essay for my Logic course. The paper is on stereotypes of stigmatized groups of people, one of them being people with tattoos. I have a lot of tattoos myself… I have high self esteem and don’t pay a lot of attention to what strangers say or think or do. But reading your article has brought some things to my attention about the way people reacted when I first started getting tattoos. My mother FREAKED OUT!! haha, even though I waited until I was 19. I have two little girls now, and my family has made such comments as “what are you going to do when your girls get older and want tattoos and piercings?”. My response has always been, “Let them!” I guess a lot of it is a generational gap. But the harsh facts are that there is still a large stigma placed on people with tattoos. Most people are required to cover their tattoos at work, and that just goes to show that employers don’t want the public to think that they would have people with tattoos working for them. Why Not?… haha, But I Just wanted to say thanks for your thoughts, and I’ll definitely be using some of this article in my essay!
Keleigh*
Posted by delaney55 on June 7, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Keleigh,
As an “older” woman with ink it is interesting to see how people receive me especially since my own grown children don’t have any tattoos! I am the same person I was 20yrs ago except that I have a better understanding of the prejudice that inked people go through and have become a vocal advocate for tattoo rights. My daughter is expecting and I will be the grandma with tats and that’s fine with me! :0)
Posted by Missy on June 17, 2009 at 11:36 am
I enjoyed reading your take on tattoos. However, I don’t care for them myself. My bible trained conscience won’t allow me to ink up my body like that. Even though some of them are very creative, I think it should be put on canvas and not skin. Some of your statements lead me to challenge because you stated that you smile when you get funny looks. A statement like that says that somehow you (and many others who are tattooed) are in need of attention. Almost like you are saying: “Let’s give them something to talk about”. Everyone has a story and choose to tell it in different ways. But writing on the precious gift of your body that has been given to you (whether you believe in God or not, the fact still remains that He gave us all our bodies and the life within it)is equal to defilement.
Let me explain this way: If the buildings in a neighborhood were all covered with graffiti, that community would be looked at as degenerate and low. As a matter of fact, many people may avoid that community because of its appearance. If the residents and business owners of that community cared enough to clean it up, one of the main things they would do is paint over the graffiti. This is because it tends to down-grade the community’s worth. Similarly, this is what happens when a person chooses to mark themselves. Your worth may be high, but the presence of your body “graffiti” may convey otherwise. After all, go to any high class neighborhood…you won’t see any graffiti.
Posted by delaney55 on June 17, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Have you seen some of the depressed neighborhoods that are dressed up by graffiti art done by true artists? Banksy is one of the greatest graffiti artist out there and people would love for him to put his work on their buildings and would never paint over it. Art is in the eye of the beholder. Spray painted slogans and names are not art in my eyes nor is that type of tattoo. But beautiful drawings whether on skin or canvas is. I cannot believe that God really cares if we have ink on our skins or not. If you want to take the reason for anti-inking to an extreme, aren’t women or men that have pierced ears and wear earrings defiling their God given bodies? You can always take these type of comparisons way beyond acceptable norms. No, my ink and my pierced ears are not defiling my body.
And as to my smiling? It is not because I am screaming for attention. My tats are not “in your face” and most people don’t even notice them. I smile because I really don’t care what the general public thinks about me and my ink. I am secure in who I am and where I come from. I smile because if my ink I have now throws people into a tizzy then what will they think when I get more? See, I feel it is their problem, not mine since my family (who only really matter) is fine with me and my ink. And sometimes “high class” is over rated. I am not “low class” and lots of professional people now have ink. The stigmas of tattoos are finally being changed and that’s a good thing.
Posted by kevin James on July 19, 2009 at 7:45 am
I think your article is very interesting, but here’s a different take. I was assigned to do a study on the art of tattoos. Because I grew up in the inner city, ink was in full fashion. You had the crips and bloods, the Latin Kings, the white aerian brotherhood, and the biker hells angel types. Trust me walking home after school,( i should say running) was always an adventure growing up. These guys and the girls too all had their ink on and they always wrecked havoc on anyone or everyone, it didn’t matter. I was in the minority not having any ink. I was the freak, not them. I can’t tell you how many times I was encouraged to get some ink but I never wanted to be like them so I never got one.
It became very clear that I didn’t have to worry about the guys who looked all american, just the ink crowd.That’s where the perception, a negative one at that, comes from. So please understand the reasoning…plus if you go to any state jail,mostly all the hard criminals have them. I know, I visit my brother every 2 weeks. I see them all. And get this, guys who come in and have what they call faggot or desinger tatoos, they jump on them because they don’t consider them worthy to have the ink. As far as pre-judging people please understand and take this from the heart, the crip, bloods, Latin Kings, and the bikers have a reason for the tats…you should check on why…you’ll be amazed. I”ll end it with this episode at an emergency room. A couple of bikers were there and one of them was in deep pain, something with his stomach. A guy walked briskly through the doors. He had on a white shirt and nice pants but you can see his tats on the neck and arms. His ink indicated he was a Latin King. One of the bikers asked me who he was. I said he was the doctor(he wasn’t, i was kidding) The biker looked at me and said, no way, I want my doctor to look like him. He pointed to a doctor, who looked like a doctor on General hospital. It really made me think how he didn’t want one who looked like him.
Posted by Brittany on November 19, 2009 at 7:57 am
I am actually still quite young, only twenty one, and because of that people tend to view my decision to get ink as a form of rebellion or something I will regret. For me, tattoos are a form of self expression that I will never regret because they will always tell a story of who I was at that point in my life. I currently have about a third or more of my back tattooed in a design that also curls down and around to cover my hip and part of my upper thigh. Despite having two tattoos of her own, my mother cried when I came home with the original design. I am not someone people expect to have a tattoo. I do not smoke, drink, do drugs and I have only had one boyfriend. At the moment my tattoos barely show in anything other than a swimsuit or a tank top.
Reading your article inspired me because i have been trying to make a decision about whether to get the half-sleeve I want or not. I struggle against those stereotypes because while I know that I will love my tattoo, the weight of society’s opinions bears down on me. I have no desire for people to look at me like trash or not hire me because of a personal decision I made in how to express myself. However, I am not going to let that hold me back. In the end, the decision will be mine as will the pride of wearing it. I, personally, find tattoos extremely attractive when well-done. (I’m such a tattoo snob, haha!) but I have also noticed that I wouldn’t really be drawn to people without tattoos because of, perhaps, a stereotype against them by people with tattoos. I do not want someone who hasn’t had that experience treating my art as some sort of bizarre oddity or a strange fetish.
I think there are reasons that all stereotypes began and there is some truth in them. It is unfortunate, because even if the person that fits the stereotype is rare, just seeing that one person can reinforce those negative stereotypes. I know many people with tattoos, small and large, and I know that most women end up getting small tattoos, or “tramp stamps” because they are easily hidden and while they want ink, they are afraid to commit in the way I did for fear of what other people will think.
I believe that these bodies are ours in life and whatever else may happen afterward, it is our decision what to do with the time we have.
Missy: I have dealt with people with your view point for years and I think everyone has a right to their opinion; I respect the way you stated yours. Consider this, though. God loves everyone and in the end it is his decision as to how someone is rewarded or punished for living their life. Perhaps your goal should not be judging people with ink, but rather working to bring them closer to God. It is that attitude, one where I would be looked down on on some level, that pushed me away from the church. If you continue to think of tattoos as low class or delinquent, then you could be missing out on the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and also be reinforcing their ideas that they wouldn’t be accepted in a religious environment.
My Nana handled the situation in a similar way. She does not approve of tattoos and finds them distasteful, but she always wants to see mine and constantly reminds me that it is my decision what I do with my body and that she will love me either way.
As for the asking for attention bit, I think it is unfair to judge people with ink by a different standard than others. People with tattoos are no more asking for attention than someone with an obnoxious t-shirt, someone attempting to dress at the height of fashion, or someone dressing in something revealing. All of these people have attention drawn to them in some ways and they enjoy that on some level, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that their purpose was to draw attention. You would be surprised to know that many people in your life could have tattoos and you’d never know about it unless you saw them naked. No one person can speak for all people with tattoos because every single person is an individual. While some may be begging for attention, others may have a tattoo that only they know about and still others may simply not care about reactions in general. I admit, I love getting compliments on my ink, but even if no one ever saw them, I would still feel the same way. A compliment is a compliment and nice to hear. However, often people with tattoos enjoy shocking others with them, and part of this is a defense mechanism build up against people who have judged them in the past.
Just consider that not everyone is cut form the same cloth and you should never judge an individual by anything other than their personality. You never know what you could be missing out on.
Posted by Melanie on November 13, 2009 at 12:36 pm
tattoos are for hookers
Posted by delaney55 on November 15, 2009 at 9:27 am
You are entitled to your opinion but I have 5 tattoos and have never been nor will ever be a hooker so I guess there is some fallacy in that statement. If you don’t like tattoos – don’t get one.