Thursday, August 26, 2010

Social Stigma

Until recently, tattooed women were heavily stereotyped and there was also a bit of social stigma attached to them. It was left unsaid but commonly understood that only criminals, prostitutes, or homosexual women got tattoos. That image is now changing fast with tattooed women being accepted as part of mainstream culture. Women have always been more style and fashion conscious than man and it is only natural that even in the field of tattoos they are very particular about the design and the body part where the tattoo will be displayed. Men tend to be quick and bold about their tattoo choice but women like to take time and ponder carefully before making a decision. The balance is shifting rapidly with more and more tattoo artists claiming that a majority of their clientele now comprises of women.



The same tattoo artists are also saying that women are better equipped for the process of tattooing and they handle the pain much better than men. Men approach the tattooing process with the belief that they are tough enough to handle the pain but quite a few of them pass out when the needle begins to do its work. Women tend to anticipate the pain much better and this apparently increases their tolerance towards it. Feminine tattoo designs tend to be less aggressive and go for the delicate look saying it with flowers, butterflies, angels, and so on. Their preferred tattoo areas are the lower back and tail end. Women also tend to mix western and eastern tattoo designs much better than men. The ever increasing demand for newer tattoo designs by women has also lead to a sort of revolution for the tattoo artists as they are now looking across cultures to find the right look that women are demanding year after year.

Even today the most preferred form of tattoo is to engrave the benefactor's or sweetheart's name on the body. Sometimes tattoos are also used to cover up scars and other permanent blemishes. The most commonly used tattoos besides the above include angels, butterflies, Celtic, cross, dragons, fairies, flowers, henna, lower back, and tribal tattoos. There is a large number of Christian symbols that are also being used as tattoo images though nothing comes close to the popularity of the cross. Other popular designs include zodiac symbols and other celestial bodies such as the sun or the moon. Then there are symbols of good look from many cultures across the world that are also quite popular. The Hibiscus flower is perhaps the most commonly used in flower based designs for tattoos.

Whereas women always went in for delicate and minimalist tattoos they are slowly beginning to choose larger and aggressive tattoo designs. Popular female tattoos are getting more and more experimental every day with women going in for all sorts of combinations that were previously considered a serious no-no. Female tattoos also tend to be on the sexier side and are placed on the body in order to accentuate the feminine charms

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