Tattoo Does The Talkin'

Does Body Art Make a Statement Anymore?

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini
Dating Tips and Advice

I'm a young, single, professional guy and I'm thinking about getting a tattoo across my shoulder blades. My girlfriend told me it will make me look trashy, but I have seen them on so many people, I can't believe that people really think that anymore. Which got me to thinking--is getting a tattoo even a rebellious thing to do anymore? (I admit it; it's somewhat a part of keeping my youth in place as it slowly slips away from me!)

What do you think? Is a tattoo the way to go, or will it make me look trashy or--worse--like a follower? What's the rebellious trend now?

Sincerely,

Tattooed, Not Trashy

Dear Tattooed, Not Trashy,

You're saying that tattoos are so commonplace, they couldn't be considered trashy. I agree with you that tattoos are fully accepted. Still, there will always be a segment of society that wants to differentiate itself by not accepting people of certain races, religions, appearances and incomes. Those who don't accept tattoos are just not opening their cultures to people who decorate their bodies a certain way.

Where the Tattoos Don't Go:

But look at it this way: corporate business and upper crust social scenes, by their very nature, are not commonplace. That's why tattoos aren't completely accepted in these areas. Religious gatherings are a different situation. Many religions are accepting of tattoos. Family gatherings are also accepting or not accepting, depending on the family and the family members.

Corporate business and upper crust social scenes are exclusive and like to remain that way. They use various ways to decide who fits in and who doesn't. One of the most common ways that people telegraph who they are is by their appearance. Tattoos tell a lot about who a person is, and while tattoos are commonplace, today, that is exactly why they are not accepted in areas that seek to maintain exclusivity like corporate business and upper crust society.

Upper crust or elite circles exist to stay elite or upper crust first and foremost. Their motivation is to remain small and exclusive -- or just exclusive. To fulfill this purpose, the members have to have rules that are spoken or unspoken in order to maintain their exclusivity. These rules may exclude people of certain religions, races, appearances, economic backgrounds, family backgrounds, etc. Tattoos are an easy way to draw a line for these groups. It's easy to draw a conclusions that is probably false, but none the less easy that people who have tattoos have certain values.

As tattoos become more and more mainstream, the conclusion that people with tattoos are from similar backgrounds is more and more false. But the motivation of these elite groups is not about drawing correct conclusions as much as it is about maintaining the status quo.

The New Frontier:

If you decide tattoos aren't for you, piercing is the new edge to venture out onto. Piercing things that you never dreamed you'd pierce, let alone tattoo, are also an edgy place that people who want to push the envelope employ to express themselves.

Hair color was a way to push the envelope, and hair style is also a way to push it, but the reality is that hair grows in, so you can always re-do a mistake, which makes this form of expression safe and not the real milleau of risk-takers (absent of course, the mohawk!).

Names are also a place where people venture out of the conventional. Traditional and Biblical names are no longer the norm. People change their names whether or not they're married and they change them radically as well as slightly. They also experiment with usernames on the internet, instant message services and other places where identities can be experimented with.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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