The Tattoo Taboo: How Getting Inked has Gone From Offbeat to Mainstream

While tattoos used to be taboo, they’ve become almost a rite of passage for young adults today. From Demi Lovato and Kylie Jenner, to David Beckham and Sandra Bullock, celebrities of all ages and professions have played a role in the popularization of tattoos.

Society’s increasing acceptance of tattoos has been a catalyst for change in the tattoo industry.

Shady Smith, a tattoo artist at Red Octopus Tattoos in Prince Frederick, has been tattooing for almost eight years. He has witnessed firsthand the diminishing stigma around going under the needle.

“It’s a lot more normal to have tattoos now,” Smith said. “It’s not as underground as it used to be.”

Smith is not alone in his observation.

According to a 2015 Harris Poll cited by the Food and Drug Administration, three in 10 people surveyed had at least one tattoo.

Those looking to get a tattoo should carefully consider its location beforehand, as some areas are more likely to cause fading over time. Areas of heavy use, such as in between fingers, or any area of the body that frequently flexes, will be challenging to maintain.

However, if your heart is set on getting a tattoo in a specific location, go with your instinct.

“If you picture it somewhere, get it there,” Smith said. “Don’t leave the shop saying ‘I wish.’”

This is a picture of my tattoo that I got a little over a year ago to honor my late grandma. The design is inspired by the nickname she always called me.

The rise in tattoo popularity has brought on differing opinions from people of all backgrounds. While some find tattoos inappropriate, others have come to fully embrace them. Many people seem to fall somewhere in the middle.

Lisa Lednicer, a professor in the college of journalism, said that tattoos can be viewed as inappropriate in certain places – specifically at work.

“Anything that could possibly make someone uncomfortable, I’d be careful of,” Lednicer said. “There’s just too much of a risk of them being off-putting.”

Opinions differ among students on campus. Some choose to remain indifferent, while others voice their desire for wider acceptance of body art in all of its forms.

Heldana Shimelis, a freshman biology major, leans more toward indifference when it comes to tattoos.

“Nothing against tattoos or anything,” Shimelis said. “But I don’t want a tattoo.”

Catherine Ladas, a junior criminology major, on the other hand, believes people should be more accepting of tattoos, so long as they are respectful.

“I think they need to become more accepted in society because it’s a form of expression,” Ladas said. “If they aren’t super disrespectful, then I don’t have a problem with them.”

The Tattooery is the nearest tattoo parlor to campus, located on Baltimore Avenue. The locale is open from noon to 8 p.m. daily.

Tattoos remain a divisive topic for some, but have become as normal as wearing makeup for others. Whether you are a first-timer or an ink veteran, it is important to decide for yourself what art style you prefer and what a tattoo means to you.

“Art is one of the most subjective things in the world,” Smith said. “As long as the person loves the tattoo they have, that’s the most important thing.”

To see more of Smith’s work, go to the Red Octopus Tattoo Facebook page.