# Why are the female models in tattoo magazines so damn skanky? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573 "2007-06-27T02:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/1 "2007-06-27T02:11:25Z")
Picked up a tattoo magazine in a bookstore for the first time since about 1990 today. Back then, having a tattoo was much more rare than it is today. Around that time, I knew exactly one person my age that had a tattoo. Now pretty much everyone I know has one. I remember at the time how trashy I thought most of the women in those magazines looked. It wasn’t because of the tattoos. It was just a general look they all had that seemed to say, “I’m a biker gang’s plaything.” So I take a look at this tattoo magazine here in 2007 thinking, “Hmm, tattoos are so popular these days…maybe they’ll have some better looking women.” Nope. All the chicks in the magazine look like they make their livings by giving handjobs in bus station bathrooms at 2AM. Is this just the expected look for a tattoo magazine model? What gives here? ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/2 "2007-06-27T02:42:35Z")
Well one huge thing is that they don’t do all that airbrushing and don’t use stylists. All the tattoo magazines I ever saw, it was just regular women photographed untouched. Plus they don’t use exclusively younger models. And the lighting is usually kind of crap. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/3 "2007-06-27T06:47:11Z")
[QUOTE=pokey] Well one huge thing is that they don’t do all that airbrushing and don’t use stylists. All the tattoo magazines I ever saw, it was just regular women photographed untouched. Plus they don’t use exclusively younger models. And the lighting is usually kind of crap. [/QUOTE] And this is true of the male models as well. OP should consider that the actual “model” (i.e., the object of the photo) is the tattoo. The person sporting the tattoo is just a vehicle. I’m sure they could find plenty of attractive people each with a single, boring, from-flash-on-the-studio-wall tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/4 "2007-06-27T10:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] All the chicks in the magazine look like they make their livings by giving handjobs in bus station bathrooms at 2AM. [/QUOTE] I find a good work ethic quite attractive in ladies. Each to their own. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/5 "2007-06-27T23:44:48Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] All the chicks in the magazine look like they make their livings by giving handjobs in bus station bathrooms at 2AM. [/QUOTE] You can get a handjob at the bus station at 2AM?? Gotta hit the ATM on the way home… ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/6 "2007-06-28T02:11:00Z")
Because tattoos make a woman – any woman – look skanky. If Princess Diana had had a tattoo, she’d have looked skanky. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/7 "2007-06-28T02:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Astroboy14] You can get a handjob at the bus station at 2AM?? Gotta hit the ATM on the way home… [/QUOTE] Why the hell does the PABT close so damn early!! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/8 "2007-06-28T02:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sunrazor] Because tattoos make a woman – any woman – look skanky. If Princess Diana had had a tattoo, she’d have looked skanky. [/QUOTE] Somebody had to say it. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/9 "2007-06-28T11:57:56Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] Picked up a tattoo magazine in a bookstore for the first time since about 1990 today. Back then, having a tattoo was much more rare than it is today. Around that time, I knew exactly one person my age that had a tattoo. Now pretty much everyone I know has one. I remember at the time how trashy I thought most of the women in those magazines looked. It wasn’t because of the tattoos. It was just a general look they all had that seemed to say, “I’m a biker gang’s plaything.” So I take a look at this tattoo magazine here in 2007 thinking, “Hmm, tattoos are so popular these days…maybe they’ll have some better looking women.” Nope. All the chicks in the magazine look like they make their livings by giving handjobs in bus station bathrooms at 2AM. Is this just the expected look for a tattoo magazine model? What gives here? [/QUOTE] Tattoos have a way of finding a canvas commensurate with the aesthetic impact of the tattoo art itself. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/10 "2007-06-28T20:26:12Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Tattoos have a way of finding a canvas commensurate with the aesthetic impact of the tattoo art itself. [/QUOTE] A somewhat pedantic way of saying what I said and \*\*silenus \*\* seconded – perhaps it can’t be said often enough. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/11 "2007-06-28T23:40:20Z")
[QUOTE=Sunrazor] Because tattoos make a woman – any woman – look skanky. If Princess Diana had had a tattoo, she’d have looked skanky. [/QUOTE] So, you’re calling my wife a skank? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/12 "2007-06-28T23:50:43Z")
[QUOTE=pravnik] So, you’re calling my wife a skank? :dubious: [/QUOTE] Calling me a skank, too. My tattoos are damn sexy, so there. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/13 "2007-06-28T23:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sunrazor] A somewhat pedantic way of saying what I said and \*\*silenus \*\* seconded – perhaps it can’t be said often enough. [/QUOTE] Pedantic maybe, but not exactly what you said. You are saying that tattoos make women look skanky, while he is saying skanky-looking women get tattoos. I don’t agree with either premise though. I’ve seen tattoos on incredibly sexy women. I’m not sure why tattoo magazines wouldn’t have pictures of them. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/14 "2007-06-28T23:59:37Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Pumpkin] Calling me a skank, too. My tattoos are damn sexy, so there. 😛 [/QUOTE] Great! You could solve this whole problem by just submitting some pictures to the tattoo magazines. Or just send them to me. That works too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/15 "2007-06-29T00:12:38Z")
[QUOTE=Greg Charles] Great! You could solve this whole problem by just submitting some pictures to the tattoo magazines. Or just send them to me. That works too. 😃 [/QUOTE] Hold on, now. I said my _tattoos_ were sexy. I didn’t say anything about the rest of me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/16 "2007-06-29T01:19:56Z")
Well, where are they, what are they of, and pictures pictures pictures! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/17 "2007-06-29T01:20:50Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Pumpkin] Hold on, now. I said my _tattoos_ were sexy. I didn’t say anything about the rest of me! 😃 [/QUOTE] The only way to settle this is with pictures. Somebody had to say it ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/18 "2007-06-29T01:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Well, where are they, what are they of, and pictures pictures pictures! [/QUOTE] One is on my lower back(tramp-stamp, har-har :rolleyes: ). It’s blue, maybe 4 inches across, and the best way I can think to describe it is as a sort of snowflake or starburst in typical tribal tattoo style. Wavy lines radiating from a (nonexistant) center point. The other is around my right ankle, same color blue, drawn free-hand(not by me) to match the one on my back. I’m thinking of adding more color to that one, though. ETA: I know I’m not original. I didn’t care about original. I cared about them being pretty and blue. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/19 "2007-06-29T04:08:01Z")
…Now is the time when someone tells me my tats sound cool and unskanklike. Anyone…? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573/20 "2007-06-29T04:18:25Z")
I’ll hold open the possibility that there may be a woman, somewhere, whose appearance is improved by one or more tattoos. I have never seen such a person, but she might be out there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-female-models-in-tattoo-magazines-so-damn-skanky/409573.md?page=2)