What's Happening in the World : Social stigma drives some women to remove tattoosRSS
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nyssa
Columbia, SC
United States
Posts:   857
Joined:   Jun 09, 06
Posted: 07/22/08 at 10:21 AM
Social stigma drives some women to remove tattoos
4:08 PM, July 21, 2008

It appears sexism is alive and well when it comes to tattoos. Although just about as many women as men get tattoos nowadays, a new study shows that women seek removal of tattoos more than men because of negative social fallout.

About 25% of people ages 18 to 30 have tattoos, and that number is expected to rise to about 40% in the next few years, according to the study, published today in the Archives of Dermatology. Previous studies have shown that about 20% of people end up dissatisfied with their tattoos, and about 6% seek tattoo removal using laser treatment.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from two surveys of people undergoing tattoo removal. One survey was taken in 1996 and a second survey in 2006. In both surveys, men and women said they wanted the tattoos removed because their identities had changed and they had grown to dislike the tattoos. But in the 2006 survey, women also reported that they felt stigmatized by the tattoos. For example, 93% said having to hide the tattoos on occasion was a factor in the removal compared with 20% of men. About 40% of women endured negative comments at work, in public or in school compared with 5% of men.

So, ladies, think about that tattoo before you get it. And when you get it, think long and hard about where you're putting it.

"Societal support for women with tattoos may not be as strong as for men," said the authors from Texas Tech university. "Rather than having visible tattoos, women may still want to choose self-controlled body site placement, even in our contemporary society."

-- Shari Roan

Photo: Laser removal of a tattoo. L.A. Times/Beatrice de Gea

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/07/social-stigma-d.html

Raeli
Model
Huntington, WV
United States
Posts:   1368
Joined:   Sep 18, 07
Posted: 07/24/08 at 07:52 PM
and i'm ready to capitalize on them.

Belle
Winston Salem, NC
United States
Posts:   61
Joined:   Aug 03, 08
Posted: 08/05/08 at 01:01 AM
That's just silly. I work at an upscale club...yeah, I dance wootywoo, but anyway, most of the girls I work with have no tattoos or just a lower back tattoo, and when I started working there I had like one. The more I got the more some of the girls were like "eew you're totally not going to make as much money"...well guess what I have noticed NO change and I have never had anyone insult me for having them. Most fellas really like them or just don't care.

Mayhem
Model
Seattle, WA
United States
Posts:   3507
Joined:   Feb 21, 08
Posted: 08/05/08 at 09:45 PM

goddamn feminists, sexist and all that BS.


why the controversy on tattoos at all! Aren't there more important topics to get up in arms about like child molesters getting second chances out of prison?

I mean really. who cares what is socially acceptable and what isn't, socially acceptable can suck my big toe.



yours truly
"socially unacceptable" Mayhem!


Andi
Portland, OR
United States
Posts:   1892
Joined:   Dec 03, 07
Posted: 08/06/08 at 08:52 AM
Mayhem said:

goddamn feminists, sexist and all that BS.


why the controversy on tattoos at all! Aren't there more important topics to get up in arms about like child molesters getting second chances out of prison?

I mean really. who cares what is socially acceptable and what isn't, socially acceptable can suck my big toe.



yours truly
"socially unacceptable" Mayhem!



YEah! Fuck them.

I am getting one removed but only because of WHAT it stands for to me( he got me beyond drunk and when I was out cold he did it, idiot!) and I don't believe in what it means. Other than that I like what I have and will keep on adding.

Brainless
Village Idiot
Pitman, NJ
Posts:   2250
Joined:   Nov 22, 05
Posted: 08/06/08 at 05:44 PM
Belle said:

That's just silly. I work at an upscale club...yeah, I dance wootywoo, but anyway, most of the girls I work with have no tattoos or just a lower back tattoo, and when I started working there I had like one. The more I got the more some of the girls were like "eew you're totally not going to make as much money"...well guess what I have noticed NO change and I have never had anyone insult me for having them. Most fellas really like them or just don't care.


No offense, but the girl working my office desk and the girl dancing the pole are two totally different things. In the more "normalized" workplace their is significant data that demonstrates women with visible tattoos earn less.

Brainless
Village Idiot
Pitman, NJ
Posts:   2250
Joined:   Nov 22, 05
Posted: 08/06/08 at 06:45 PM
Brainless said:

Belle said:

That's just silly. I work at an upscale club...yeah, I dance wootywoo, but anyway, most of the girls I work with have no tattoos or just a lower back tattoo, and when I started working there I had like one. The more I got the more some of the girls were like "eew you're totally not going to make as much money"...well guess what I have noticed NO change and I have never had anyone insult me for having them. Most fellas really like them or just don't care.


No offense, but the girl working my office desk and the girl dancing the pole are two totally different things. In the more "normalized" workplace their is significant data that demonstrates women with visible tattoos earn less.


I just want to make sure that didn't come out wrong. I don't agree with the concept...

Belle
Winston Salem, NC
United States
Posts:   61
Joined:   Aug 03, 08
Posted: 08/06/08 at 10:07 PM
I wasn't saying it didn't happen I was saying that it was silly that it does and putting my situation out there just to illustrate how, at least for me, my tattoos haven't had any impact on my earnings. You read wrong and I can see how with my wording that would be possible so no offense taken.
I've been offered high school teaching jobs and I declined them because 1. I hate kids 2. I didn't want to be wearing long sleeved turtlenecks (high schools are stricter on students-no unnaturally colored hair, less than mainstream piercings, dress code, etc) and it carried over to teachers in my school and others in north carolina and 3. I don't have time due to graduate school but I'll sure as hell be a professor when the time comes. I attended a private university for undergrad and had great professors, two of which had visible tattoos but were such amazing educators that nobody paid any attention to that and if they did it was in more of a novel way.



Edited by Belle on : 8/6/2008 10:14 PM

MellyKitty
Littleton, CO
United States
Posts:   131
Joined:   Aug 03, 08
Posted: 08/07/08 at 11:34 PM
I work in an office type setting (call center) were I can dress normal. Jeans and a t-shirt except when any clients come in. Then we have to dress up. The only time my tattoos are visible is on those days. Those are the days I wear skirts and fancy shoes
I've actually had an auditor compliment my bats and ask if they hurt. He told me I had far more courage than he did. It was awesome.

I'm pretty sure the ladies that feel discriminated against have their own internal issues dealing with their own tattoos. With every tattoo I get my confidence escalates. It's a shame that these women don't draw confidence and empowerment from doing what they want despite the stigma.

But then again I quit giving a fuck about what people thought of me when I graduated high school.

Bitch
Lake Mary, FL
United States
Posts:   2707
Joined:   Jan 26, 06
Posted: 08/08/08 at 10:48 AM
I would never get my tattoos removed. But, I have covered them up when it was called for. My last job (as a roadie) I worked around a lot of guys who were heavily tattooed. Yet, even these guys with full sleeves made comments that my chestpiece was unladylike, or that I would be prettier if I didn't have so many tattoos. THey were fine with girls having tramp stamps, but any large tattoos they somehow thought were only appropriate for guys.

Hexonyx
Northport, AL
United States
Posts:   61
Joined:   Aug 01, 08
Posted: 08/08/08 at 08:14 PM
They can rip my tattoos from my cold dead body.

There is definitely more social stigma regarding women with tattoos. It is more socially acceptable for men to have tattoos thanks to it being very prevalent in the military. Tattooed women are still considered something of a novelty, even though many women do have tattoos. In mainstream society, women are generally supposed to be seen as delicate, soft, and demure and having a tattoo or multiple tattoos goes against this. The very process of tattooing is a very masculine thing. It involves pain and needles penetrating the skin. Tattoos also assert an expression of individuality, and while on the surface we women are told to be individuals everything else society says is contrary to that. Women in general are not supposed to have their own identities, but men are. Hence we take a husbands last name and drop our own upon marriage and are lead to believe that there is a "perfect" way to look and that we should strive to all look like that (cosmetic surgery anyone?). The fact that we women are not supposed to be individuals is also expressed in the work place through discrimination, unfair wages, and the fact that we have to work ten times harder to attain any sort of promotion.

This suppression of individuality in women is probably why society puts more pressure on women to cover up their tattoos or have them removed. I mean, look at all tattoo removal advertisements. They are pretty much all marketed to women. Women are not supposed to stand out in that way, we are only meant to stand out so much as to make the men we're with look better.

Also, it seems that women more so than men get a tattoo merely for decoration. Think butterflies, flowers, and other cutesy things while it seems that men put some sort of meaning to a lot of their tattoos, whether they remind them of a friend, loved one, or even just a good time. Women are also more apt to follow trends, which is probably the reason that there are so many tramp stamps out there. So something that was in five years ago is not going to be en vogue now, and if someone got a tattoo because it was trendy in the first place, they are most likely definitely going to want to have it removed.

I am not sure if any of that made sense. I am way tired from driving to Mississippi today.

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