Is there mainstream interest in Indigenous designs like in New Zealand? What sort of tattoos do you see people get? How does this vary across demographics? Do you see a distinctly ‘American’ tattoo aesthetic in existence or evolving?

28 comments

  1. Tattoos are fairly common. I have tattoos, my girlfriends Gen x dad has tattoos. The indigenous tattoos I see are people from Samoan cultures/backgrounds

  2. I’m probably exaggerating, but I feel like for around Gen Xish and younger it’s more common to have tattoos than to not.

  3. There are people who get the American flag in various forms.

    I see a lot of Team (NFL, MLB and others) tattoos.

  4. Tats are extremely common here. You see all kinds. Each demographic may have a very general style, but honestly it’s just so diverse here that the tattoo styles are diverse too. Nothing distinctly American.

    You do have a lot of older guys with tattoos from their time in the military, you get the stoner/hippy style of psychedelic tattoo, you get the sports tattoos, you get the dudes with their tribal tattoos… but I find that people that are really into tattoos (as opposed to just having 1 or 2 small ones) tend to have varying styles and subjects.

  6. I live in Alaska and with the amount and types of different cultures here tattoos are very common as are the variety of aesthetics. There’s tattoos shops everywhere and there so much variety.

    Where I was at before in the Midwest was very American pride based or generic college prints. So lots of military type and flag tattoos or things like butterfly’s and generic quotes like “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”

  7. It’s common. I wouldn’t say there’s one type of tattoo that’s popular but they are generally an expression of personality or have some sort of personal meaning. For example, my late grandfather used to fly for an airline in the United States and I loved listening to his flying stories when I was little, and after he passed I got a tattoo of his favorite airplane in the airline’s livery on my shoulder in his honor

  8. It’s hard for me to tell what it’s like in my area because I work on a boat and sailors still predominantly have tattoos.

  9. In my experience- maybe I’m wrong here- but the tribal tattoo thing was cool in the early 2000s then went out of style. Maybe it’s back in style with this generation or always in style with every group of 20 somethings? Early 2000s was really when tattoos became mainstream. Before like 2010 or so if you got one you had to place it somewhere where you could hide it from your job. This is why women got tattoos on their lower back. And then a bunch of misogynists started calling them “tramp stamps” and then that ruined that. Now nobody seems to care and everyone gets anything they want. Where I live state pride is really popular. A lot of people get the Maryland flag tattooed on them, a crab, a crab with the Maryland flag, a can of Old Bay, a crab with the Old Bay logo, The Oriole Bird, The Natty Boh mascot (a beer that used to be brewed here locally), Natty Boh in an O’s uniform, sailboats, the Ocean City logo, a beachy looking turtle design, anything beachy, Black Eyed Susans (our state flower), a crab made up of Black Eyed Susans, it just goes on. There’s actually a tattoo shop in my city that once a year does free Maryland tattoos as an Old Bay promotion.

  10. In Puerto Rico it varies more by social class than by region.

    But generally you’ll get the an assortment of the following:

    Names faces and significant dates related to loved ones.

    Gang related tattoos

    Catchphrases in random languages

    Specific items that are meaningful to the person getting the tattoo.

  11. In the US there isn’t just one tattoo culture there’s several.

    Most indigenous tattoo’s are now frowned upon unless you’re part of that culture. I would say mainstream interest in indigenous tattoos fell off around 2018. Generic tribal designs fell off way before then. Foreign language tats (especially Chinese) used to be popular but fell off around the same time as indigenous mostly because people were getting them to look exotic, and cultured w/out actually being either.

    Lots of people get meaningful tattoos of family, hobbies, and such. It’s considered bad luck to get a tattoo of a lover, but that doesn’t seem to stop people.

    There’s been a trend of bad/ironic tattoo among younger people. I believe this has become popular due to cover ups, and tattoo removal services along w/ young people just not understanding passing fads, or trends look really lame in the long run.

    Next you’ve got the criminal element. Gangs, ex-cons, drug addicts all have their own tattoo cultures.

    There’s an American style of tattoo but I wouldn’t say it really dominates the culture. If you want to learn more you can lookup Sailor Jerry.

  12. Common with the youth, third grade teachers have them.

    Older folks not very common at all unless they’re in the trades.

    I personally don’t know anybody who has one.

  13. A lot of times they are so faded and shitty, you can’t even tell what they are supposed to be.

  14. I’m outside Portland and I seriously don’t know anyone who does not have a tattoo. Can’t name a single person I know here without one. Sleeves are common.

  15. Among men, the interlocking LA logo of the Dodgers is pretty common. More specifically in Riverside, California, I see people with the Mission Bell tattoo. These cut across all racial or ethnic lines.

    As far as indigenous, or Native Americans, there are so few of them, I cant really say, although I suspect its the same percentage as everyone else, and they would have tattoos with artwork that relates to their specific tribe or nation.

  16. They’re super common but some boomers still stigmatize them and have very outdated views. My sister got pretty tatted up in her 20s and into her 30s and I remember the first one she got made my mother cry because she thought it was going to ruin any career prospects. (it didn’t)

    Personally I don’t see the appeal so I’m probably not going to get one, I’ll admit I find them unattractive but I’m not against anyone having them. They do what they want with their own body.

  18. Depends where you are. There’s the trendy Millennial/hipster alternative tattoo scene which is huge in much of the Twin Cities.

  19. I have two, getting my third at the end of the year.

    I’m the only one among my close group of like 5 friends, but among family and extended friends and coworkers they’re a lot more common.

    Standing in line at Chipotle now and of the 8 or so adults with a decent amount of visible skin (if that doesn’t sound too weird) 3 of them have visible tattoos.

    Fine line and watercolor tattoos were pretty popular a few years ago, but I don’t think as much anymore. I see a lot more superhero/anime/geeky tattoos nowadays. 2/3 of my tattoos are anime related.

  20. These days, most people’s moms and grandma’s have, or are getting, at least one tattoo. So, not really a culture anymore.

  21. Bay Area here. I’m exaggerating a little, but I’d be more surprised to meet someone under 40 that *doesn’t* have a tattoo.

  22. Extremely common in Brooklyn.. People you probably wouldn’t think have tats will be covered in them.

    The closest business to me is a tattoo shop (4 doors down)

    That said, I don’t think New Yorkers are the most tattooed Americans.. Maybe San Francisco or Miami would win that contest.. Probably Philadelphia for the Northeast.

    ——

    There was an era about 25 years ago where a lot of people would get tribal designs (what I’m imagining you mean by ‘indigenous designs’.. correct me if I’m wrong).. but that’s happening less and less nowadays in my anecdotal observations.

    Here’s an insta from a local shop:

    https://instagram.com/eastrivertattoo

  23. Depends on age group, but pretty common. For your typical white collar suburbanite they tend to be smaller and concealable

  24. Here in New Orleans, people have ’em to the extent that I wondered at first if I could even get a job as a bartender without one.

  25. I’m 34 — loads of people I know have tattoos of various kinds and so do loads of people you’d see on the street in a big city. Many people I know have lots of tattoos, especially on their arms.

    Generally I’d say visible tattoos still aren’t accepted in the most elite professions like law or medicine or finance, even though a lot of young professionals have them. They are expected to wear clothing that covers their tattoos at work. In most other professions visible tattoos on the arms might not be a big deal — few people would complain about a mechanic or a retail worker having tattoos on their arms, even multiple ones. However, tattoos on the face will still probably limit employment opportunities quite severely.

  26. I’m a veteran, married to an active duty service member, and we live on a military base. Suffices to say there’s a strong tattoo culture, lol.

  27. SO MANY people have tattoos in NYC, and across diverse demographics. They are more mages, rather than words or names. I feel like I’m in the minority as an untatted person.

  28. There’s good tattoos and trash ones. I see a lot of baby birth dates, footprints, even faces. I think it’s trashy, especially the faces because you have to have a pretty fat arm to have a face on there. I’ve seen a lot of cool tattoos too, like one guy I know has a dragon tattooed around his leg and the art is really good.

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