The 'individuality' of Hipsters,

<"James Cook University senior creativity and innovation lecturer Eduardo de la Fuente said nearly a third of women in their 20s had been tattooed.

Citing a McCrindle Social Forecasting study and National Health and Medical Research Council research, Dr de la Fuente said for the first time, the number of young women getting tattoos outnumbered men.

"The groups that pre-dated tattooing becoming an expression of yourself and also a fashion statement, like bikers, prisoners, people in the military, they all tended to be almost exclusively men," he said.

"Women were very much under-represented in the tattooing department.

"Traditionally it was men, because of the communities and subcultures they belonged to".>

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/queensland/tattoo-surge-leaves-its-mark-on-women-20150415-1mlus9.html

Some time ago I started a discussion on tattooing as I couldn't understand why anyone would want to permanently "paint" their bodies with cartoons which I felt was a form of mutilation. I was surprised by the negative reaction to this opinion. I often look at these pictures and nine times out of ten cannot make out what they are supposed to be as they are more like birth marks than anything else. This scrutiny sometimes draws a fixed stare that translates to "what are you looking at?" I thought these things were supposed to draw attention to the wearer. If not, why is so much money spent on something that I am sure 50% of these fashionistas will eventually spend 3 times the amount to get them removed when they grow old.

I hate the look of tattoos on anyone, especially those dreadful 'sleeve' tattoos I see on some footballers arms. It destroys their lovely muscled look!

Obviously, in these days of equal rights, women now feel the need to have tattoos on their bodies so they can match their men maybe.

In any case, all tattoo-clad people should wander in to the cosmetic surgeries to check out how many older people are having the things surgically removed....often leaving an even uglier scar.

The tattoos also come at a price.

I was surprised how much money it costs to look cheap and trashy.

For a good laugh and a look at some really stupid things people do, some crazy tattoos, try this link.

http://www.epicfail.com/pictures/

Some of the people that are heavily tattooed appear to have some serious psychological issues. I saw a guy in Woolies the other day without a shirt, pants hanging down below his waist with is ass crack half exposed, no shoes, looking like a total loser... on his back was a large tattoo across his shoulders that spelled out an uncensored "F*+K Y*U". What a message to give to everyone that sees you.

I felt like decking him on the spot, but that would be stooping to his level.

I agree with snake about the illegibility of many tattoos. No matter how hard you look you can't figure out what they are supposed to be. Seems to totally defeat the purpose, but then we aren't witnessing the smartest people in our society. And Snake is correct, some of these people don't want you to stare at their 'artwork'.

So many young women are getting unreadable phrases tattooed on their feet; I'm certain they will live to regret it.

On a light note, during the 60's when the draft was in full swing (USA) calling up young men to go fight in Viet Nam, urban myth had it that if you got "F*+K Y*U" tattooed on the side of you hand, below the little finger, it would be seen when you salute an officer and thus was grounds to not be accepted into the military.