Guest Post: Tats, Stats & Perceptions
From our home base in St. Pete, FL we’ve been asking people around the state and across southeast to tell us what they’re thinkin’ about inkin.’
Today’s Question:
Are more people getting tattoos, or are we just more used to seeing them…?
The Answer, from a guest blogger in Clearwater, FL:
There was a time, not too many years ago if you are older than 20ish, when getting a tattoo here in Clearwater was a classic career-limiting move. People who just didn’t give AF were getting tattoos anyway, and very few people were committing to anything that (a) couldn’t be covered by “normal” clothes and (b) was more interesting than some old-school flash-inspired I Love Mom, Dad or Wifey designs.
Over the last decade or so, as tribal types, bikers, pro wrestlers, indie musicians, porn stars and others who on the fringe moved toward the mainstream (thank you, interwebs, thank you crappy reality TV), people in places like Clearwater saw more tattoos on others and thought more casually about what tattoos are and mean and represent…and those same people started booking consults or putting on their big girl panties & big boy boxers and wandering into shops to see what was going on.
The result? Based on a sampling of about 570 people, around 23% of residents of Clearwater FL have at least one tattoo. That’s 23 out of every hundred people in town. And 4 out of every 10 people you see – 40% if you’re playing along – have at least one person in the fam with at least one tattoo. Like I say, that’s a small-number view of Clearwater, but I’d bet the same trends are regional, probably even nationwide.
Next time you’re imaging someone nekkid at Publix, be sure to add that mental ink. Because it’s fair & accurate (and cool) to answer the original question with yes and yes: more ink is being worn, more people are wearing it and the more time passes not only is skin color not an issue, skin colors aren’t either.
Do you have something to say about art, ink, skulls or guitars? Wanna publish it on StPeteTattoo.org? Send it in.
The post Guest Post: Tats, Stats & Perceptions appeared first on Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery.
