Now in 2018, young people are shaking up the status quo about the ever controversial ink. While 40 percent of millennials have at least one tattoo, members of past generations—those hiring young people for jobs—still commonly view them as inhibitors of success. Through the years, people have developed both personal and fairly general reasons for getting these permanent marks. Here are a couple that might slip your mind: SELF-EXPRESSION
The human body is technically a clean slate. However, some people just don’t want it to stay that way. The addition of a tattoo to one’s body on the basis of self-expression may include abstract images or artwork that is visually, even emotionally, appealing. IN MEMORY OF A LOVED ONE
Whether it be a date, a symbol, or an image, more and more people are getting their bodies tatted in remembrance of a loved one—humans and animals alike. The design of choice for many millennials appears to be the ever classic Roman numeral (shoutout to Ancient Rome). SYMBOLISM
Instead of directly tattooing a name or date, some prefer to use symbols or images with a deeper message to represent something meaningful in their life. Influenced by the success and message associated with the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, along with her own personal experiences, you can find a semicolon tattoo on Selena Gomez’s wrist—a symbol of the continuation of life. Amy Bluel, founder of Project Semicolon, says the semicolon means “the author is you and the sentence is your life.” Who knew a semicolon could become more than just your average punctuation mark.
A PERMANENT TREND by Shruthi Nattanmai
40
BEAUTY
To be completely blunt, millenials are more likely to credit impulse as a reason for tattooing themselves, because sometimes a tattoo sounds right for the moment. It might not be satisfactory in the long run, but hey, it sure makes for a good story! With fine link ink becoming the next wave of body art, tattoos don’t necessarily have to be as obvious and apparent as they’ve appeared in the past. Next time you head out, try to spot those who do and don’t have tattoos; it may be harder than you think. While meanings and stereotypes have evolved, some trends stick forever.
SHOT BY TINA DIROSA
As a human collective, we’ve started to accept tattoos in the workplace.
regardless of their common presence in society today, the stigma surrounding permanent tattoos can still be problematic in the corporate and social world. Seen as an act of rebellion by many, for numerous generations body art was viewed as unprofessional, immature, and frankly, a decision one was likely to regret. Throwing it back to the late 19th century, tattoos were sported mostly by either military officials or those with less than desirable lifestyles.
IMPULSE
