Tattoos: Cultural Shifts and Commercialisation

The whole process that surrounds the act of acquiring a tattoo has been of great interest in television, documenting the growth of the practice in western culture. Programmes including LA ink, London Ink, my tattoo obsession, tattoo fixers to mention a few, have all contributed to the commercialisation of the practice and bringing it to a wider audience. In the past women tattoo artists were simply a handful of people, now talented tattoo artists such as Kat Von D, who has her own reality show, a tattoo shop and ironically a foundation to cover tattoos.

Although there has been an increase in tattooing the demand for removal has also increased (Kirkby et al 2009) and this has led some to believe tattoos are simply a fashion fad and its permanence

and commitment has become less significant. However Tattooing involves a certain amount of planning and after care, even if was an impulsive decision the individual has to find an artist decide what they want and undergo physical pain to achieve the outcome. By this view tattooing can be viewed as more than simple accessories (Sweetman 1999)

Although the popularity of the practice has increased, there is still some stigma against women with tattoos and they are still perceived as negative (Armstrong,1991, Degelman and Price, 2002 and Hawkes et al., 2004 Resenhoeft et al., 2008).Individuals with tattoos especially women are more likely to be seen as deviant, lacking good judgment, possessing low self-worth, self-destructive, and being risk takers.

As well as heavy drinkers, sexually promiscuous and less attractive. Also compared to self-ratings, non-modified individual’s rated tattooed participants more negatively on personality (Forbes, 2001; Martin, 1997, Jefferys, 2000, Swami & Furnham, 2007). Undergraduates rated tattoo wearers lower on credibility, competence, character, and sociability (Seiter & Hatch, 2005). Women are likewise rated as more sexually uninhibited and less motivated, honest, religious, intelligent, and possibly less healthy compared to non-tattooed women (Dengelman and Price 2002)

Stigma suggests that there are certain characteristics of individuals that are considered undesirable or deviant (Goffman, 1963) interestingly the word stigma derives the Latin work for prick. For those with visible tattoos this means accepting a voluntary social stigma (Sanders 1988, cited in Munn et al

2012).

Dickson et al (2014) reported that tattooed individuals were more likely to experience stigma when they had a greater number of tattoos and coverage, also these individuals had greater commitment to their tattoos. Those who experience more stigma were more likely to conceal their tattoo and more likely to remove it. Interestingly this research suggested that while more people are getting tattoos and regard them as mainstream, they are still likely to get them in more easily covered areas of the body, this acknowledges the fact that there is a negative perception of individuals with tattoos and society does not fully approve.

For women with tattoos the stigma derives from going against conservative gender attitudes. Tattoos have long been associated with masculinity and by women getting a tattoo, especially one that is visible they are seen to be greater gender role violators (Braverman, 2012, Hawkes et al., 2004 and Irwin, 2003). This emphasis on the stigma and social pressure for women with tattoos means more studies need to be conducted on the difference in those women who choose to have visible tattoos and the effects it can have on their self -consciousness. This is important as positive factors associated with obtaining a tattoo such as making the individual feel unique, which in turn can improve their self -esteem, (Lyn & Snyder, 2003) can be overshadowed by the stigma visibly tattooed women can face (Swami 2012).