Are tattoos trashy? Yay or Nay and why?

[Anonymous]

Trashy
46F

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IME almost everyone I know has a tattoo who is under 50 (and plenty above). Or like 90% of people who are not very religious, and the number is lower on average for Jewish people, even not terribly religious.

But a LOT. There's a real generational divide. It was much more of a class/culture marker before the mid-late 1990s. I am 43, and people my age-- and especially younger-- seem overwhelmingly to have tattoos. But DH is 51, and from the same area (DMV) and only maybe 20-30% of his friends have tattoos. In my extended family including all descendants of great-grandparents, my parents' generation (mostly born <1965) has one or two members with tattoos. My generation (about 1965-1990) is like 70% tattooed.

My point being-- it's hard to generalize with such overwhelming numbers.

I agree. My parents (mid 60s) don’t have tattoos and I think view them in a certain negative light. I’m mid 30s and it seems like everyone has one. Some obvious, but many with one or two small ones on their ankle or ribcage or whatever. I would definitely not avoid dating or befriending people with tattoos as I’d have a very limited pool of people to socialize with!

I don’t generally like them but I hardly notice small ones anymore they are so common.

[Anonymous]

Some shoulder and upper bicep tattoos do look hot. Great on military service members - especially special forces.

[Anonymous]

Not on nba players and similarly built professional athletes. Andre Iguodala looks just fine to me.

On regular people I don’t even notice them anymore and I don’t see them as an indicator of anything unless a person has a ton.

[Anonymous]

I don't think tattoos bare "trashy" but I do think they are distracting and usually the art isn't good. As long as they aren't visible in work clothes I don't care.

[Anonymous]

I got mine removed as I now prefer a more minimalist personal style. I don’t think they are trashy, though. 30f

[Anonymous]

*DUMB THREAD AWARD*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not trashy, but like any other piece of fashion or art, I like some and not others. I do not like the look of lots of random tattoos all over. Like a colorful cartoon character, next to a date in Roman numerals, next to an anchor, next to a flower. DH’s tattoos “match” in that they’re all black & gray, flow into each other, and they’re all in a similar style/theme done by the same artist. So basically no to Pete Davidson, yes to The Rock.

We can all agree on Yes to The Rock

[Anonymous]

I have never liked them; however, I would not use the word trashy. I just find them ugly. I have never seen a tattoo I thought was attractive.

[Anonymous]

Trashy.

46F

[Anonymous]

Where I come from, it's a sign of low class and low intelligence. Oh, and being a show-biz wanna be.
No one with an ounce of brain would get tattooed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think tattoos are trashy? All tattoos or just some? Do you see them as a class indicator anymore?

Also curious to know the ages of responders as I assume (but may be wrong in assuming) that younger generations are more tolerant of tattoos since they’ve become so common.

That's a hard YES on the trashy question! From afar many of them look like dirt on the skin. Very few are "art".

[Anonymous]

42 F here. Not necessarily. What's trashy is if you're always showing too much skin because you want people to notice your tattoos at every opportunity. If the only shirts you seem to own are tank tops, for example, because you want everyone in the room to be aware of your bicep tattoos and all of your outfits seem to be built around your tattoos, then I find that trashy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where I come from, it's a sign of low class and low intelligence. Oh, and being a show-biz wanna be.
No one with an ounce of brain would get tattooed.

How old are you?

[Anonymous]

42F. I almost got one as a young 20 something. Soooooo glad that I did not. At this age, they're just trashy. Our skin has enough problems as it ages, why would you add more on top. DH doesn't have a tattoo either and I'm so glad. Would be a major turnoff.