"He has tattoos? that's so HOT!"
"She has tattoos? Why would she ruin herself?"
See the difference?
Being a relatively heavily tattooed female, I have faced both admiration and criticism for the way I look. From straight up comments, to more subtle actions, I have faced all types of discrimination due to being tattooed. The the most common comments I receive are often similar to "why would you ruin yourself?" and I also have noticed I have sometimes been at a disadvantage compared to non-tattooed people when it comes to employment, and to being seen as a professional.
Society more often than not portrays tattoos as unattractive on women. They are stereotypically not seen as 'feminine', meaning women with tattoos lose their 'femininity' and consequently, their attractiveness. However, despite women with tattoos being deemed 'less attractive' by society, they are seen as being more promiscuous. Research indicates that men may misjudge tattooed women as more sexually responsive, and in simple terms, easier to sleep with.
Nicholas Gueguen in 2013 found that men will approach a woman with a tattoo over one without. This, according to Gueguen's study, was not because they found them more attractive, but instead the men believed they would be more likely to have sex with them.
In Britain, Swami and Funham commented, tattooed women were judged as more promiscuous, heavier drinkers and less attractive. These unconscious, and even possibly conscious biases, may be the cause of tattooed women having a disadvantage in gaining employment, or them being viewed as less professional in the workplace.
"Even today, society still seems to judge women for having tattoos" Dr Stephen Crabbe.
In this patriarchal way of thinking, women are expected to "modify their bodies for the pleasures of men, (i.e men prefer soft, supple, sexy and unblemished feminine bodies)" according to Atkinson in 2002. Tattooed women break these rules and tend to be seen as nonconformist. Despite women being excepted to have unblemished skin to be 'attractive', when women do have tattoos, the tattoo itself is used to discriminate. The design, location and size of a tattoo provide a construction of femininity that is acceptable or not. Designs seen as 'acceptable' and 'feminine' are often small and dainty, such as flowers, yet studies showed women with butterfly tattoos were seen as 'promiscuous'.
A study at the University of Portsmouth showed that 15.6% of women felt judged due to their tattoos, whereas only 9% of men felt judged. 70% of the people involved in this study said they felt the need to cover their tattoos, with most of these being female.
Tattoos are originally linked to masculinity, due to the history of tattooing throughout sailors, gang members and prisoners. They are more socially acceptable on men because they were mainly used to express strength and masculinity.
When you search 'tattooed men' on the internet, some of the first results are "30+ Hot Tattooed Men" and "13 Reasons Tattooed Men Make the Very Best Partners". However when you search 'tattooed women' there is no hint of websites talking about them making good partners, and less pages such as "500+ Best Tattooed Women". This shows the contrast between the attraction to tattooed men compared to tattooed women. Societies sexist views of tattoos is also reflected in many blogs, websites and threads which I have read.
In one online thread dedicated to women with tattoos, a man commented "I watched this mom at a mall. She was heavily tattooed. She looked like she was taking good care of her toddler, but I couldn't shake the feeling that mothers shouldn't look like that". This links to the ideas of tattooed women being promiscuous and unfeminine, therefore with gender tropes and stereotypes surrounding how 'good' mothers should be, they must be 'bad' mothers. After not a lot of searching, I found some even more shocking websites and threads about tattooed women.
One website I came across, which was filled with sexist and extremely misogynistic blogs, the author, who unsurprisingly was a man, had a whole blog dedicated to before and after photos of women who have gotten tattoos and other body modifications. Comments such as "the forehead tattoo is a sign of advanced sickness" and "ear gauges are an indication that a girl no longer cares about being seen as beautiful" are very tame compared to some of his other opinions.
A Reddit thread was created where many people expressed their opinions of tattooed women, with one man comparing tattoo's to a "big neon sign" that is to draw attention and makes them 'trashy'. This links to the stereotypes of an ideal woman who does not seek male attention and is often quiet and timid. Other users commented things such as "they are all ugly on a woman" and "I think it is a question of intelligence and sound judgement, and to permanently self mutilate themselves obviously means they are in short supply of both".
These ideas that women with tattoos are unfeminine, promiscuous and lack intelligence are often unconscious biases. Not only the public, but also employers, often have these. Despite it being discrimination, it is all too common for employers to chose a non-tattooed candidate over a tattooed one. This may be due to these unconscious biases or opinions, but also due to the misconception that a tattooed employee may seem less approachable than someone without. Not only this, it is not uncommon for employers to not employ a tattooed person due to them not fitting the 'aesthetic of the company', with this usually being due to opinions of tattoos not being 'professional'. Companies which work with children also are more likely to chose a non-tattooed candidate due to the misconception of tattooed people being 'intimidating', especially women. Again this relates to the idea of tattoos being 'masculine' therefore, women who do not fit the feminine gender stereotypes are seen as 'rough' or 'intimidating'.
I decided to do my own research into peoples opinions of tattoos, asking 200 people in a survey about their opinions of tattooed men and tattooed women.
When asked about 3 personality traits they think heavily tattooed women possess, 'confidence', being 'outgoing' and being 'open minded' were all common themes. When asked the same question about heavily tattooed men, the themes slightly differed to being 'confident', 'funny', and 'committed'. Although the common traits that were used to descibe tattoed women's perosanlities were positive, they could also hold negative uncouncious biases. One could interpret the personality traits of women being 'outgoing' and 'open minded' being similar to that of being 'promiscuous'. Again this links to studies which releaved men often have uncouncisous biases of tattooed women being easier to approach, as they believe these women will be 'easier' to sleep with.
When asked, when it comes to women, who do you think is easier to approach? 77% said tattooed women. Although this may seem positive and counters the argument of tattooed women being 'unapproachable', one can also link this to the study which found men were more likely to approach tattooed women over others. Personally, I have found that men often use my tattoos as a way to try and talk to me, with 'let me look at your tattoos' being one of the main things I hear in a club or bar. 57% said they believe men without tattoos are easier to approach, which highlights uncouncious biases of tattoos being intimidating.
Lastly after looking at a picture of a heavily tattooed woman and a woman with no tattoos, I asked who they found more attractive. Despite the two women being equally as beautiful, 51% answered that they found the woman with no tattoos more attractive. When comparing a picture of a heavily tattooed male, and a male with no tattoos, the poll was 50/50.
Despite society becoming more and more accepting of tattoos and body modifications, tattooed women still often face the brunt of unconscious biases and gender tropes. Women with tattoos are seen as unwomanly and unfeminine, even promiscuous and 'trashy'. Misogynistic views of how women should look and act often effect the way society judge tattooed women, especially those who do not have 'feminine' and 'dainty' tattoos. This means some may see these women as bad mothers, undesirable or not suitable for employment. I see this every day. If a woman is heavily tattooed, this should not make her any less of a mother, a friend, or an employee. A man who is heavily tattooed is often labelled 'hot', 'sexy' and 'manly' by others, and often praised for their looks. However, women who are heavily tattooed are more likely to be subject to criticism and ridicule, with comments such as 'why would you ruin yourself?' and demeaning statements such as 'you wouldn't put a sticker on a Ferrari!'.
Women are often seen as objects, especially as a man's 'possession' which is solidified by the common Ferrari comment. Therefore, when women become heavily tattooed, which is seen as 'masculine' and blatantly rejecting stereotypes, this may become intimidating. Comments that I have personally received too many times, such as 'why would you ruin yourself?' is commonly asked to heavily tattooed women. Me, as I know will be akin to other women, see tattoos as a form of self expression, as art work that will be with me forever, to make my body into a work of art and even boosts confidence. Therefore, I, along with many other women, see tattoos as enhancing, rather than 'ruining'.
Despite all of these stereotypes and misconceptions, heavily tattooed people, especially women, are often the nicest people you will ever meet. Here is why.
Tattooed people are often more open minded, and accepting of those who are seen as 'different', due to being deemed 'different' themselves. In my experience, they are far more warm and welcoming to new people, and do not judge others for how they look. Not only this, tattoos do not change someone's personality; a tattooed mother may be a better mother than a woman who is not tattooed. Also, tattooed mothers often are more likely to support their children who want to express themselves through their appearance and encourage individuality and uniqueness.
Societies view of tattoos is slowly shifting to becoming more positive and more inclusive. However, tattoos and body modifications are still discriminated against, and advised against in employment and the work place. Society also needs to work on unconscious biases against women with tattoos, and begin to praise women the same as tattooed men are praised. Women with tattoos are still feminine, still beautiful, still intelligent and should be as empowered and supported as stereotypical 'feminine' women are.
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