# Are tattoos Getting Passe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501 "2006-07-07T14:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/1 "2006-07-07T14:36:25Z")
I ask because of the recent popularity of those TV shows (Miami ink, Las Vegas Inked, etc.). it strikes me that trends these days follow certain evolutionary paths. first, something starts out being embraced by the people who are radiacl in some way, then it gets picked up by the elites, then middle classes, finally it migrates to the working classes. At this point, the trend is passe-and people go looking for something else. It strikes me that massive tattoos are now at the point of becoming mainstream-so we shoud see those tattoo shops closing pretty soon. Has a reverse trend been detected yet (like removing tatoos)? I’m pretty sure that certain Hollywood stars will make a big shouw of getting their formerly-admired tattoos burned off by a laser. I also think the body jewelry stuff is passe-you see little girls with eyebrow rings, etc. , now-so kiss this goodbye! ---
**Author:** ![DonutSprinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@DonutSprinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonutSprinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/2 "2006-07-07T14:42:33Z")
God I hope so. But now I’m stuck watching an aging population’s fading testament to the ignorance of youth. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/3 "2006-07-07T14:44:14Z")
Tattoos are _so_ 90s. Really, I think that the tattoo trend passed (for anyone hip) several years ago, about the time suburban housewives started getting them. And you’re right about the way these trends evolve. It’s like watching hairstyles migrate. By the time goatees made it to baseball players, you knew the time for goatees was past. I don’t know of any trend for removing tattoos, but I do know some hipsters who regret their tattoos (now that they’re no longer a valid badge of rebellion). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/4 "2006-07-07T14:45:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I also think the body jewelry stuff is passe-you see little girls with eyebrow rings, etc. , now-so kiss this goodbye! I always like to point out that not all of us got our piercings because of style! My nose ring is the result of thousands of years of history - getting the left nostril pierced is an age-old custom in India and it’s certainly not going to be passe there. Let’s hope it becomes passe for boys, though, that’s all kinds of wrong in my book. As for the tattoos, I think people who have always liked them will continue to get them (and more power to them) but yes, the “fad” is gone. And to be honest real lovers will probably be grateful. I mean, I don’t have a tattoo, and never will, but I can sympathize about having your private hobby invaded by a bunch of noobs. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/5 "2006-07-07T15:05:58Z")
I also think that the 'prestige" of getting a tattoo is on the wane now-so that Miami Ink place had better make their money while they can. Ul;timately, every fad has a life cycle-although, amybe tattoos will be big again (when the current crop of kids reach their teen years? My stepson (18) already is making sounds like he wants his removed-I told him that he can pay for it! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/6 "2006-07-07T15:25:20Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** This topic seems better suited to IMHO, so off it goes. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/7 "2006-07-07T15:26:46Z")
I work with two women in their 60s who recently got tattoos. Lovely ladies, both of them, kind and grandmotherly. It was a big sign to me that tattoos are no longer hip. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/8 "2006-07-07T15:35:03Z")
A [recent article](http://www.salemobserver.com/mirror/manchester/2006/07/06-tattoos.html) quotes a study from the American Academy of Dermatology that found 36% of people between the ages of 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo, and 24% of the population between the ages of 18 and 50 are tattooed. I don’t think an art that has been around for ages will ever really be _passe_, but I think it would be safe to say that its popularity is at somewhat of a peak in western culture, and will likely fade over the next generation or so. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/9 "2006-07-07T17:30:59Z")
> [@DonutSprinkle](#): > > God I hope so. But now I’m stuck watching an aging population’s fading testament to the ignorance of youth. I’m with you all the way on this one. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/10 "2006-07-07T17:34:59Z")
Tattoos will always be cool to me. My father always used his body as a canvas, a tribute to the people he loved. He has a tattoo for my mother, and for each of my sisters, all beautifully done. When I got my first tattoo () ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/11 "2006-07-07T17:38:47Z")
> [@tashabot](#): > > Tattoos will always be cool to me. My father always used his body as a canvas, a tribute to the people he loved. He has a tattoo for my mother, and for each of my sisters, all beautifully done. When I got my first tattoo () First official mistake in my time here. Meant to push “GO ADVANCED” and instead pushed “POST QUICK REPLY.” D’oh. Starting over. Tattoos will always be cool to me. My father always used his body as a canvas, a tribute to the people he loved. He has a tattoo for my mother, and for each of my sisters, all beautifully done. When I got my first tattoo ([my union bug](http://www.floridafilmfestival.com/img/iatse.jpg)), my dad was right there with me, and he got a matching tattoo (we’re in the same union). My dad’s older now, but to some extent still cool, and I have fond memories of being a little kid and tracing his tattoos and him reading them aloud to us. Tattooos aren’t just cool to me, they’re kind of a tradition, and they bring a lot of fond memories up. I hate people who call them “tats” though. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/12 "2006-07-07T17:43:25Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > first, something starts out being embraced by the people who are radiacl in some way, then it gets picked up by the elites, then middle classes, finally it migrates to the working classes. Yeah, because until just recently, it was unheard of for working class people to have tattoos. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/13 "2006-07-07T17:45:41Z")
I hope that bad, uninspired flash-based tattoos are passé. I think the recent tattoo boom has led some people (including me) to take up a serious appreciation of tattoo art. Unfortunately, it’s also inspired many, many people to think that Tasmanian devil armbands with badly-written kanji in sloppy tribal style are the way to go. And the sooner they go, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/14 "2006-07-07T18:33:30Z")
When I was in highschool, one of the boys in my class got a tattoo. It was the logo of a one-album-wonder rock band which was pretty cool for about five minutes. “Dude, you are soooo going to regret this in a few years,” I told him. “Nah,” he replied. “They’re a great band, and they’ll last like Aerosmith. You’ll see.” I wonder if he now regrets his Frogstomp arm art. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/15 "2006-07-07T19:21:27Z")
Here’s an admittedly sexist take for you. I don’t mind, or really even notice, tattoos on men, but I absolutely hate them on women. Too many 18 to 30 yo women have some murkily-defined, colored splotch in the small of the back, nape of the neck, inner thigh, crotch area, or navel area. And some of these are huge monstrosities. Also, what’s the allure of all the ethnic African and Japanese symbology and lettering women are defacing their bodies with lately? I find it all a complete turn-off. Yes, tattoos are done. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/16 "2006-07-07T19:39:41Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Too many 18 to 30 yo women have some murkily-defined, colored splotch in the small of the back Yeah, I agree that Arse Antlers as a style are a bit overdone. That being said, people have been tattooing themselves for thousands of years and I don’t forsee the entire practice coming to a grinding halt just because too many frat guys got barbed wire armbands. To my eyes it’s never been a ‘seedy’ practice and the more people who have them and wear them openly and proudly the less social stigma there will be against them. They may not be as ‘cool’ as they once were, but they’ll almost certainly become more acceptable which could lead to more people willing to get them. I don’t think it’s over by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/17 "2006-07-07T20:40:15Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > When I was in highschool, one of the boys in my class got a tattoo. It was the logo of a one-album-wonder rock band which was pretty cool for about five minutes. “Dude, you are soooo going to regret this in a few years,” I told him. “Nah,” he replied. “They’re a great band, and they’ll last like Aerosmith. You’ll see.” > > I wonder if he now regrets his Frogstomp arm art. I know a guy who got a large _Dragonball-Z_ character tatoo. It was all I could do not to call him an idiot to his face. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/18 "2006-07-07T20:47:14Z")
I hate it when women get tattooes in the small of their back. It’s not sexy, and they all look alike. Bleh. Also, neck tattoes are so boring. A friend of mine and his fiancee, instead of buying wedding rings, got wedding rings tattoed on their ring fingers. Here’s hopin’ they don’t get divorced. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/19 "2006-07-07T21:09:29Z")
> [@tashabot](#): > > A friend of mine and his fiancee, instead of buying wedding rings, got wedding rings tattoed on their ring fingers. Here’s hopin’ they don’t get divorced. > > ~Tasha “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife” “I do” \ \ \ I’m assuming they had normal rings of some sort for the wedding itself? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501/20 "2006-07-07T22:30:31Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Yeah, I agree that Arse Antlers as a style are a bit overdone. You guys are thinking about this particular patter in the wrong way. It’s a target. You know what I mean. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-getting-passe/363501.md?page=2)