Judge a book by it's cover - ink and metal

[mrs.b]

Do you? I'm speaking primarily where tattoos and piercings are concerned.

When you see someone covered in tattoos and piercings, do you make assumptions about their intelligence or personality?

Conversely, if you meet someone that looks like they have uninterrupted skin, get to know them, and later find they have a tattoo or piercing in a reasonably coverable place, does it impact your opinion of that person?

[Jonathan Whatley]

From the archives, a 2012-13 DF thread on piercings and tattoos. Update: My mother's project for a digital archive of memorial tattoos continues. Her proposal to edit a scholarly book associated with the project was just accepted.

When you see someone covered in tattoos and piercings, do you make assumptions about their intelligence or personality?

"Covered in" is a pretty strong term. I would think that they actively intended to convey something about themselves, about their personality especially. So on personality especially, I might make hypotheses – "assumptions" is also a strong term. What hypotheses I would make would depend on the content of the tattoos, just as we might make hypotheses about personality (and intelligence) from what a person wears on their T-shirt, or says or writes.

Conversely, if you meet someone that looks like they have uninterrupted skin, get to know them, and later find they have a tattoo or piercing in a reasonably coverable place, does it impact your opinion of that person?

Would I expect it to lessen my opinion of them? No. I can imagine scenarios where the content of covered tattoos would lessen my opinion of someone – but again this is based on content, and the scenarios are getting pretty outlandish.

[mrs.b]

I completely forgot about that thread! Aah, the memories...

As mentioned in the archive thread, I only have one tattoo, but it is pretty sizable on my back that starts at about my T1 vertebrae (right at top neckline for shirts) to L4 or 5 (just below where low-ride pants sit) and left to right is rib to rib and shoulder to shoulder, though it is carefully sized and placed by my artist to be entirely covered 95% of the time. The occasional shirt rides low neckline in the back, though my hair covers when that happens but hair moves. Sometimes the top peeks out. The tattoo itself has a lot of meaning to me. I do not show it as a rule, but if someone catches a glimpse and asks about it, I show it just to get questions out of the way but rarely launch into the whole story about why it came about.

We have a friend that I was on pretty good terms with that finally saw it after 3 or so years of friendship (I've had it the whole time) that has stopped hanging out because she disagrees with "ruining" one's body. On one hand, I'm of a mind that if someone would suddenly change opinions of a person after years without bothering to ask details over one carefully-placed and carefully-designed piece of art, that's not someone I need to associate with. On the other hand, I'm wondering how prevalent that mindset is.

[Jonathan Whatley]

We have a friend that I was on pretty good terms with that finally saw it after 3 or so years of friendship (I've had it the whole time) that has stopped hanging out because she disagrees with "ruining" one's body. On one hand, I'm of a mind that if someone would suddenly change opinions of a person after years without bothering to ask details over one carefully-placed and carefully-designed piece of art, that's not someone I need to associate with. On the other hand, I'm wondering how prevalent that mindset is.

That's sad, and her loss! Does she also shun people who use cosmetics, which are basically body paint?

[mrs.b]

That's sad, and her loss! Does she also shun people who use cosmetics, which are basically body paint?

I imagine it has more to do with the permanence. I didn't ask during the conversation, as I was a little bothered and annoyed. Pushing the issue and asking now would just be petty - I know her opinions and level of judgment, and I'm not interested in pursuing the friendship at this point.

[soliloquy]

I used to stereotype when I was younger but I don't now. After awhile you realize people are just people and they don't all fit neatly into a box. I've seen military people with tattoos, prison inmates with tattoos, bikers with tattoos, college frat boys with tattoos, executives with tattoos (although they tend to be covered under that suit), hippies with tattoos, politicians with tattoos, monks with tattoos, and on and on and on. I would say that the content of the tattoo would give me more pause than the tattoo itself, but even with that you have to be careful. Even the swastika has numerous meanings - in the west that meaning is decidedly negative but in the east Asian religions, it has a positive meaning.

[Jonathan Whatley]

I used to stereotype when I was younger but I don't now. After awhile you realize people are just people and they don't all fit neatly into a box. I've seen military people with tattoos, prison inmates with tattoos, bikers with tattoos, college frat boys with tattoos, executives with tattoos (although they tend to be covered under that suit), hippies with tattoos, politicians with tattoos, monks with tattoos, and on and on and on. I would say that the content of the tattoo would give me more pause than the tattoo itself, but even with that you have to be careful.

Oh, this reminds me. A friend once started up a tattoo parlor in a U.S. suburb. He quickly discovered that the suburb considered tattoo parlors, for the purposes of their business signage by-law, to be "adult businesses." As such he wasn't allowed to use the word "tattoo" on his business sign. ("Body art?" Don't even ask.) The business went under fairly soon.

He was retired police and former military.

[soliloquy]

That's sad, and her loss! Does she also shun people who use cosmetics, which are basically body paint?

I will say that there are certain people who use their tattoos for shock value. They are attention-seekers and like the reaction of people when they see all of that body art. If you get tattoos for the sole purpose of shock value, then you shouldn't be totally surprised if you shock yourself out of a job opportunity or three. It's naive to feign ignorance when it comes to employment opportunities because people do still judge whether intentionally or not so one should use just a little bit of common sense before they decide to plaster a tattoo on the side of their face, neck, etc.

[soliloquy]

Oh, this reminds me. A friend once started up a tattoo parlor in a U.S. suburb. He quickly discovered that the suburb considered tattoo parlors, for the purposes of their business signage by-law, to be "adult businesses." As such he wasn't allowed to use the word "tattoo" on his business sign. ("Body art?" Don't even ask.) The business went under fairly soon.

He was retired police and former military.

That's unfortunate. I used to wonder why strip clubs and tattoos parlors tend to be in the vicinity of each other. I didn't know if it was because tattoo parlors and strip clubs tend to draw similar crowds or if it was a zoning issue. I guess now I know.

[sanantone]

I don't directly make judgments about the person's personality or intelligence, although, many people do come to regret their tattoos decades later. Some people just don't think through the permanence of tattoos. As far as friendship goes, I don't care about the person's tattoos, hair color, piercings, and other types of body art. I, however, will not date a man covered in tattoos and piercings. One or two is fine, but I do not like sleeves and chests covered in tattoos. I find it unattractive.