# Are tattoos on their way out? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197 "2010-07-01T15:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/81 "2010-07-04T15:32:03Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Ok, I think I may have misunderstood you. Are you saying that visible tattoos in a _professional work setting_ is inappropriate? I may tend to agree with you, there. Because where I work the men have to be choked up by ties, it seems unfair that lots of the ladies boast little cherries and whatnot on their bosom. Again, I’ll point to my experience living in Austin, where I’ve been in rather professional meetings with people in Friday business casual wear, rocking full-blown sleeves extending far beyond their polo shirts. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/82 "2010-07-04T18:55:44Z")
[Tattoos as a sign of low self-esteem.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/5095591/Having-tattoos-like-David-Beckham-is-a-sign-of-low-self-esteem.html) > [@](#): > > The study found that people who had three or more tattoos were likely to have low self esteem. People are free to do whatever they want to the appearance of their bodies; I am free to think whatever I like about them when I see it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/83 "2010-07-04T19:16:59Z")
Yeah, poor David Beckham, he must be miserable! 🙂 Incidentally, I rather liked this link on the side: [Computer game players ‘more likely to drink, ignore family and have low self-esteem’](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4323067/Computer-game-players-more-likely-to-drink-ignore-family-and-have-low-self-esteem.html) > [@](#): > > Although “gamers” have long denied the accusation that they are anti-social loners, scientists believe they have proof that long hours spent attempting to better “top scores” could have far-reaching consequences. > > The study found that regular players were also more likely to drink alcohol or use drugs than others. “The most striking part is that everything we found clustered around video game use is negative,” said Prof Laura Walker, from Brigham Young University, in Utah, who led the study. > > She said previous studies had only examined the issue of aggression but added: “It appears video games are related to a host of other negative outcomes.” Christ, did my mom fund these studies? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/84 "2010-07-04T22:34:51Z")
Yes - she used your inheritance. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/85 "2010-07-06T17:59:23Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Opening up a tattoo parlor is a pretty low barrier to entry business Cite? I’d think that equipment–including what you need to properly sterilize–wouldn’t be that cheap. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The current big thing seems to be women getting stars on the insides of their wrists, which I don’t get at all. The one person I know with stars on their wrist is male, and he took his from the [Chicago city flag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flag). > [@Clothahump](#): > > I hope so. I’ve never understood why people want to mutilate themselves like that. I hope you use that… \*delightful \*choice of verbs when you talk about earlobe piercings. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Was “stupid” one of the word choices? You think tattoos are stupid, or you think people who have them are stupid? Does this apply to all tattoos, or just some kinds? > [@toofs](#): > > What is up with stars? They’re a pretty classic tattoo. A lot of punks and hipsters go in for tattoos like that: stars, swallows, etc. > [@chappachula](#): > > A visible tatoo is an obnoxious way of calling attention to yourself constantly.SEE LOOK AT ME, I’M GREAT. Being judgemental about the way other people choose to modify their bodies is a great way to call attention to yourself, too. SEE, LOOK AT ME, I’M GREAT. BETTER THAN YOU, IN FACT, BECAUSE I CONFORM TO SOME PERSONAL ARBITRARY IDEA ABOUT WHAT’S ATTRACTIVE. Please feel free to post photos of yourself so that I can point out everything horrible about the way you dress. > [@pravnik](#): > > What’s the Chinese character for “baffling hostility?” Chinese I don’t know, but for Japanese I’d go with 不可解な敵意. > [@chappachula](#): > > gee, I dunno what the Chinese character looks like, and you know what?–I don’t care, and I don’t want to see it on your arm every time you hand me the phone or pass me a piece of paper. Too bad. If you think it’s unprofessional for your work setting, you should lobby HR to change the company policy. > [@](#): > > You aren’t so special that you have to shout to the whole world “HEY LOOK AT ME”. You don’t think your choice of clothing, hairstyle, etc. shouts just as loudly? > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > This is something that really bugs me when watching Project Runway. I just don’t get why aspiring models would get tattoos. Seems like a pretty stupid choice career-wise. For every potential client who doesn’t want them to have tattoos, there are probably more who want their models to have them or don’t care (possibly because they have no problem covering them up, whether with makeup on the runway or as part of the usual photoshopping). > [@pravnik](#): > > Incidentally, I rather liked this link on the side: > > [Computer game players ‘more likely to drink, ignore family and have low self-esteem’](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4323067/Computer-game-players-more-likely-to-drink-ignore-family-and-have-low-self-esteem.html) Oh joy, more from the “correlation is causation” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/86 "2010-07-06T18:09:06Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > They’re a pretty classic tattoo. A lot of punks and hipsters go in for tattoos like that: stars, swallows, etc. During and shortly after the Clinton Presidency, I would tell people I had a Lewinsky tattoo. When they asked to see it I would show them my left armpit. Some got it immediately, for those who didn’t I would point out that it was a swallow.😛 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/87 "2010-07-06T18:13:45Z")
Humans have been decorating their own skin for as long as there have been humans. The permanent version of this practice isn’t going anywhere, ever. Getting a tattoo because doing it is “popular” is pretty stupid, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197/88 "2010-07-06T21:47:31Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > During and shortly after the Clinton Presidency, I would tell people I had a Lewinsky tattoo. When they asked to see it I would show them my left armpit. Some got it immediately, for those who didn’t I would point out that it was a swallow. I once had a conversation with a friend about tattoos, and she mentioned that she knew someone who had swallows tattooed on her chest. I, of course, momentarily heard this as “‘swallows’ tattooed on her chest,” and pictured an advertisement in four-inch-high letters. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-tattoos-on-their-way-out/545197.md?page=4)