According to a survey in 2015, out of 1,669 respondents in the UK, a whopping 80% of people claimed they didn’t have a tattoo. Those who did, were only 30% of the people. This figure is almost very hard to believe now, in 2020! Five years on and it is safe to say that technology has made a massive leap alongside the popularity in tattoos. This could be because social media was not as prevalent and crucial to our daily lives as it is now, in 2020. As the demand in tattoos has definitely increased alongside the demand and reliance the general public have on most social media platforms.
However, the main question we want to ask ourselves is; Do tattoos make a person more attractive? There are many factors to this question, and we will attempt to discuss them all!
Firstly, tattoos are a form of art. They are intricate and some take hours to design. One great thing about the art of tattoos is that the designs can either require a lot of thought, or none at all. That tricky decision is left to the ‘tattooee‘ themselves as ultimately they are the main decision maker in the process of getting a tattoo. The fact that a person has taken a large chunk of time to design and re-design a tattoo they want on themselves may be an attractive quality in someone elses’ eyes! The waiting and patiently deciding what design would work best for them illustrates patience and self control which some people do find attractive.
However, on the other end of the argument, impulsiveness is also another personality trait that people admire in their partners! This can be seen in the impulsiveness that often comes alongside getting a tattoo. Such as the burning desire to get a risky tattoo on a ‘Lad’s holiday’ or for a dare on a drunken night out. Some may not find the impulsiveness attractive, because ‘impulse tattooing’ has also been found to be associated with a wide range of impulsive related behaviours which all have a negative stigma attached to them, such as: alcohol consumption, drug use, large body count, unprotected sex and in specifically tragic cases, death.
It could be said that we, as a generation, are mostly hard wired to find tattoos attractive. We see good-looking celebrities who do have tattoos parading round in the media and advertising their ‘tats’ through popular media articles and automatically make the connection that their tattoos add to what makes them very attractive. A good, modern example of this would be the celebrity Harry Styles, formerly known from his contribution to the band One Direction. He has 52 tattoos at the age of 25, which alludes to the fact that tattoos are addictive, as he has so many for such a young age. However, Harry is undoubtedly rich and most definitely famous, and therefore it’s not hard to make the small jump to assume his tattoos add to his attractiveness.
Another thing to note would be that most of the time, someone with tattoos has a ‘bad guy/girl’ persona that comes alongside having the tattoos. This could be attractive to some people, as they may find the mysterious aura enticing. The negative stigma around this mysterious persona, arguably comes from the regressive opinions that most elderly people have on tattoos, or the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation as most refer to them. This generation would perhaps assume upon seeing someone with tattoos, that they also wear black everything, drive a motorcycle and listen to heavy metal. Obviously, saying that, this could be the case, if we were looking at that particular group in society. However, we are not.
Tattoos have branched out massively since the Baby Boomer’s were young, meaning anyone and everyone can get one and perhaps will get one. They are no longer branded to one particular group in society which proves we are growing and becoming more accepting as a generation.
Arguably, it has become ‘cool’ nowadays to have a tattoo. This may be because for so long they were a taboo topic and now people are ridding tattoos of that negative image. Another reason may also be because you have to be at least 18 years old to get a tattoo. Therefore, the build up to 18 is all the better as there are certain things such as; buying alcohol, drinking alcohol, getting a tattoo and going out to clubs which all becomes legal and therefore ‘cool’. People all around the world are constantly sharing their images of tattoos on social media platforms such as Instagram. Tattoo artists are also sharing their artwork and designs on their Instagram pages to gain more followers, advertise their business and expand their network. Social media really has aided the tattoo industry in expanding and becoming more culturally accepted overall.
In my opinion, tattoos are very cool. They are also attractive. But I don’t believe that tattoos are what makes a person attractive, I believe they add to it generally.
We are all attractive in our own way, so if you are out there reading this and you haven’t got any tattoos, do not fret! You do not need tattoos to be attractive. The right person will find you attractive no matter what.
Tune in tomorrow for another tattoo related blog post!