The irony, of course, is that this cheerfully tattooed woman with senpaku eyes is attempting to deny the very traits that she is openly advertising. Tattoos cannot be “normalized” because they are quite literally designed to be abnormal.
Tattoos are social signifiers and they signify three important things:
Short time preferences
Poor judgment
Susceptibility to social influences
There is no amount of explanations for how meaningful the butterfly on your shoulder or the target on your tramp stamp is for you that alters the message that you are sending to others.
Most people simply fail to understand that a high-status man embracing a low-status signifier to demonstrate how bulletproof his high status is should not be taken as an actual signifier of high status. Let me type this very slowly on behalf of those who find the concept hard to grasp.
If you’re a platinum-selling rock star or a professional soccer player, you can literally tattoo FUCK on your forehead and it will not harm your employment prospects. That doesn’t mean that tattooing FUCK on your forehead will make people think you are a rock star or professional athlete. Their high status is not signified by the tattoos, but by their occupations.
If you’re a woman, tattoos signify you’re either a slut or a whore. That doesn’t mean you actually are one or the other any more than wearing a t-shirt that says “Girls Gone Wild” does, it means that every one will assume you are. Tattoos on women are rather like short hair; the fact that you have to be beautiful to be able to still look attractive with them doesn’t mean they actually make you look more attractive.
If you’re a man, tattoos primarily signify that you’re not conventionally employable. Which is fine if you’re a Hell’s Angel or a US Marine, but if you’re planning to pursue conventional employment in the global corpocracy, you might want to consider not removing yourself from the management fast track before you even start.
I've been in a lot of long term relationships with beautiful women and I can say, unequivocally, that women with a tattoo or piercing are much more fun and actively engaging when it comes to monkey-business
The worst is people who say, "I got this tattoo for myself, and nobody else!"
Sure... Just like you have bumper stickers "just for yourself, and nobody else."
If you're going to do something permanent, at least stand behind it. Say something like, "I got this barbed wire tattoo on my arm, because I think it looks badass!"
Meanwhile, everyone who sees it thinks, "I bet this guy got a barbed wire tattoo, to make people believe that he's badass, but he's probably insecure, and needs a push." 🤣😂
Tattoos are a permanent reminder of a temporary state of mind.