When I was a teen, tattoos were really rare. Now there are suddenly so many people with tattoos. I think people with tattoos use them to identify each other. I know tattoos in prison are used for the same reason among prisoners.
If I see somebody with tats all over then I've found the weakest link. Its the same as when riding Harley's became a fad and all those yuppies with black-framed glasses tried riding through known bikers areas and got their asses beat, their bikes taken or kilt. lol
There was a time when a tattoo signified membership to fringe group. They could be informal like a motorcycle gang or, as OP mentions, prison affiliation, or formal like an elite military unit. The point was that you earned the tattoo by having participated in some socially unacceptable behavior. That was why traditionally only social outliers had one. 'Regular' people viewed a tattoo with a wary respect and for good reason.
But at some point it dawned on people that they could obtain the cachet of a tattoo by simply paying for it. That it wasn't necessary to go through the difficult and possibly dangerous life experiences to earn the right to have one. Essentially a few hundred dollars and a few hours of minor discomfort and now I'm a badass too.
In hindsight this is an obvious offshoot of the counterculture movement that started post WW2. Rebelling against 'the establishment' was how you became cool, and what's more rebellious than a tat? Initially it was only the more fringe members of normal society but over time tattoos became more and more mainstream, especially as a tat began to be seen as a fashion statement ie. an expression of the 'inner self'. That butterfly on my shoulder really expresses who I really am, man.
The irony being, of course, that a tattoo is literally only skin deep.
Interesting the rise in popularity of tats coincided with the Virtue Signalling trend. Increasingly people eager to proclaim their support of or participation in some movement or fad could do so without actually having to do any work or make any serious lifestyle changes. All the mattered was the appearance of an effort.
A tattoo goes one step further though, because it's permanent and thereby shows real commitment. Unlike that "Vote Biden" t-shirt that you're too embarrassed to wear now.
[ + ] TheViciousMrPim
[ - ] TheViciousMrPim 3 points 2.1 yearsMar 16, 2023 06:43:49 ago (+3/-0)
[ + ] HonkyMcNiggerSpic
[ - ] HonkyMcNiggerSpic 0 points 2.1 yearsMar 16, 2023 10:09:48 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] pickingrinninspittin
[ - ] pickingrinninspittin 0 points 2.1 yearsMar 16, 2023 09:24:25 ago (+0/-0)
But at some point it dawned on people that they could obtain the cachet of a tattoo by simply paying for it. That it wasn't necessary to go through the difficult and possibly dangerous life experiences to earn the right to have one. Essentially a few hundred dollars and a few hours of minor discomfort and now I'm a badass too.
In hindsight this is an obvious offshoot of the counterculture movement that started post WW2. Rebelling against 'the establishment' was how you became cool, and what's more rebellious than a tat? Initially it was only the more fringe members of normal society but over time tattoos became more and more mainstream, especially as a tat began to be seen as a fashion statement ie. an expression of the 'inner self'. That butterfly on my shoulder really expresses who I really am, man.
The irony being, of course, that a tattoo is literally only skin deep.
Interesting the rise in popularity of tats coincided with the Virtue Signalling trend. Increasingly people eager to proclaim their support of or participation in some movement or fad could do so without actually having to do any work or make any serious lifestyle changes. All the mattered was the appearance of an effort.
A tattoo goes one step further though, because it's permanent and thereby shows real commitment. Unlike that "Vote Biden" t-shirt that you're too embarrassed to wear now.
[ + ] StNick
[ - ] StNick 0 points 2.1 yearsMar 16, 2023 08:43:32 ago (+0/-0)