Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Are tattoos uncool yet?

I always knew, if I waited long enough, I could become cool again. Just like even the worst fashions from my childhood (bell-bottoms, platform shoes), eventually had a bit of a resurgence, even if briefly, fashions inevitably and ineluctably come and they go.
At the moment, I am holding out for the day when not having a tattoo becomes cool, because I am there already, way ahead of the pack. And that day may be coming soon. We're not there yet, I hasten to add. In fact, we are probably living through peak tattoo right now. A British survey in 2015 concluded that about 20% of Brits have a tat, and 30% of 25-39 year olds. An American survey in 2016 yielded a figure of 29% (up from 21% just two years earlier), including an extraordinary 47% of 14-34 year olds.
Those figures don't surprise me, looking a round on a summer afternoon, and in particular seeing the state of cool pop stars and sports people. But are they still cool if everyone is doing it? If what started as a  prison protest movement (just like those ridiculous baggy pants) has been taken up by soccer moms and accountants? Record numbers of tattoos are being removed, with 14% being removed to be replaced by others, and 61% being removed because the owners just don't like them any more. Have the likes of Justin Bieber and Adam Levine, with their garish whole-body displays, jumped the shark?
Well, I can argue so, can't I? Not that I really want to be cool anyway. It seems to stressful, expensive and time-consuming.

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