Tattoos: Cultural Shifts and Commercialisation

The whole process that surrounds the act of acquiring a tattoo has been of great interest in television, documenting the growth of the practice in western culture. Programmes including LA ink, London Ink, my tattoo obsession, tattoo fixers to mention a few, have all contributed to the commercialisation of the practice and bringing it to a wider audience. In the past women tattoo artists were simply a handful of people, now talented tattoo artists such as Kat Von D, who has her own reality show, a tattoo shop and ironically a foundation to cover tattoos.

Although there has been an increase in tattooing the demand for removal has also increased (Kirkby et al 2009) and this has led some to believe tattoos are simply a fashion fad and its permanence

As well as heavy drinkers, sexually promiscuous and less attractive. Also compared to self-ratings, non-modified individual’s rated tattooed participants more negatively on personality (Forbes, 2001; Martin, 1997, Jefferys, 2000, Swami & Furnham, 2007). Undergraduates rated tattoo wearers lower on credibility, competence, character, and sociability (Seiter & Hatch, 2005). Women are likewise rated as more sexually uninhibited and less motivated, honest, religious, intelligent, and possibly less healthy compared to non-tattooed women (Dengelman and Price 2002)

Stigma suggests that there are certain characteristics of individuals that are considered undesirable or deviant (Goffman, 1963) interestingly the word stigma derives the Latin work for prick. For those with visible tattoos this means accepting a voluntary social stigma (Sanders 1988, cited in Munn et al