Chances are, if you were born anywhere between 1980 and 1995, you either have, or know someone who has, a Tattoo on the lower region of their back. This unflattering type of tattoo has notoriously come to be referred to as The Tramp Stamp.
And what is the most legendary and shameful of all forms of Tramp Stamps? I would say, thanks to How I Met Your Mother and a variety of other Pop culture media, the Butterfly Tattoo.
Unfortunately, I sport a multi-colored butterfly flapping its lonely and shameful wings on the nether regions of my back. That picture? It’s me. The shame!
My sixteen year-old self saw this tattoo as a way of expressing a newfound independence and propriety over my body. I wasn’t old or aware enough yet to realize that what I was doing was conforming to, rather than separating myself from, mainstream images about strong and independent Women. Truth is, I didn’t need a tattoo, (and certainly not one in the shape of a butterfly), to showcase that I wasn’t afraid to take risks or “be my own person”.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Tattoos if you are a grown, informed, and sober adult. In fact, I think that body art, when done well, is extremely sexy. Unfortunately, too many Young Women are participating in this growing trend only to regret it later. A little digging around showed me that statistics prove that young women are the most likely to regret their ink. A company that specializes in tattoo removal estimates that, “85 percent of the company's customers are women aged 18 to 44.”
But this is what happens when we overwhelm young girls with images of “edgy” women who have dyed Hair, black make-up, and fishnet stockings. The message is that, if you don’t want to look like a blonde bimbo or a boring librarian, you can use your appearance to backlash against those stereotypes and create a look that is “different”. The unfortunate result is that all the ladies out there with black hair and leopard leggings look exactly the same.
Take a look at the newest collectable Barbie, the Tokidoki Barbie. With pink hair, a dog named Bastardino, and tattoos covering her chest and back, this Barbie was created straight from the deep, dark, scary nightmares of Stepford wives everywhere.
The Barbie has been getting quite a bit of attention and has created controversy amongst parents who “don't think it's appropriate for little girls to be having Barbies with tattoos all over” and enthusiasts who claim, that “Tokidoki Barbie is just a reflection of a more accepting attitude toward body ink.”
The problem is, Barbies are for children, and tattoos are for adults. My sixteen year-old self would have lashed out angrily at that statement, but now that I’m a decade older I can tell my younger self to “Hush now, adults are speaking.”
