It's interesting to look at the ways that tattoo culture is developing around the world. Certainly in the UK, tattoos became more popular in the 90s, with celtic armbands being the design of choice for many. This decade, Miami Ink, and similar shows, have helped bring even more popularity to tattooing.
Not everyone has changed their mind about tattoos, though. A lot of people from my parents' generation still struggle with stereotypes of tattoos and the people that get them. I was discussing this with my mum the other day, and she said, as I expected her to, that she can't get past the fact that when she was younger tattoos were mainly worn by criminals and other disreputable people. She knows that I don't really fit into that demographic, and doesn't associate me with it, but does associate my tattoos.
I understand where she's coming from. Sometimes it's really hard to break long-standing views on something. It's very interesting to see how China is starting to change on this. I read a fascinating article from the New York Times about the growing number of studios in Bejiing, and the people frequenting them.
The journalist interviews a number of people in China about their views on tattoos. Here's the one that interested me the most:
“Tattoos are ugly, low class and an insult to your family,” said Li Miao, 68, a surgeon. “I wouldn’t judge a foreigner with a tattoo, but I would certainly think less of Chinese with one.”
I'm in an interesting position. I work at a church, and I'm in a pastoral role. I've also worked for some time in education. Everywhere I go, people tell me to be very careful about where I get tattoos, because if too many of them are on show, I might struggle to get a job in a school/do missionary work in other countries/be respected by churchgoers (this is a separate issue that I might come back to sometime). I know that they mean well, and I know that in some ways they have a point, but I can't help feeling that this is often due to their blindness to change.
People are more and more accepting of tattoos and the people that have them. I'm not saying that it's always a good idea to get obvious tattoos, and as with any tattoo, I would recommend that you think very carefully before you get inked, but I am looking forward to a time when I might not face so much opposition about my tattoos based on who might judge me for them. I think it serves to reinforce the stereotype.
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