The tattoo business has grown
tremendously. Tattoo shops can be found everywhere, from high SES neighborhood
to low SES neighborhood. In certain places, they can be overwhelming (for
example, the strip area of Las Vegas). The rise of tattoo business can mostly be
contributed by the amount of people that are interested in getting tattooed
nowadays. From gang members to white collars, many people are engaging in this
form of body modification. In recent years, the amount of women getting inked
is about the same as the men, however, people’s perception of tattooed women is
much worse than tattooed men. Males who are tattooed are mostly perceived as
more masculine, edgier, and sometimes even ‘cooler’. Females who have tattoo,
on the other hand, are seen as promiscuous, rude, and sometimes even
unappealing. Why the difference? Why do people have a more negative view of
tattooed females compared to tattooed males?
Both genders attempt to conceal
their tattoo in professional setting. During my junior year of high school, we
had a new History teacher. Everyone knew that he have many tattoos but he still
made an effort to cover them. He would wear quarter sleeves to hide the one on
his arms, put on a watch to conceal the one on his wrist, and always wore an
undershirt to cover the one on his chest. Even though he was aware that we all
knew about his tattoos, he still concealed them. The same went for the female
teacher who everyone knew have tattoos but her experience was different. She
would dress appropriately to cover her tattoos too, such as long sleeves to
cover her underarm tattoo and long pants to hide her ankle tattoo. No one could
see any one of her tattoos, however, everyday our principal came into the
classroom to check on her to make sure that she was not displaying her tattoos.
The principal did not do that to the male teacher. It’s like an unspoken rule
that persons from both genders should not show off their tattoos in
professional settings, but this rule appears to apply more strongly to females
than males.
It’s hard to comprehend why individuals
hold a negative stigma toward females. Females with tattoo on their lower back
or on their hipbone are thought to be promiscuous and slutty. Many believe that
women who have tattoos in those areas are prostitutes, going so far as to label
those tattoos as ‘tramp stamp’. I don’t believe that having a tattoo in a
certain area should contribute to how people perceive them. It’s just a
preference that people have that could depend on the pain level (some areas are
less painful than others), whether they want it to be on display or hidden, and
many other reasons. If I were to get a tattoo, it would be either on my hipbone
or on my right ankle. I don’t have an explanation on why I would like it in either
of those areas; I just prefer it there.
Personal choice plays a huge role in
tattooing. No one should be judge because of their choice.
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