Tattoos, the next big trend?
Graphic by Abigail Lynn Fay
Remember the days when parents used to say something to the effect of “If you ever get a tattoo you’ll be disowned”? Yeah, I think we might all be disowned. From stick-and-pokes done in junior year of high school to full arm sleeves, it seems like everyone and their mom (literally) has a tattoo these days.
The explosion of the acceptability of tattoos has coincided with the growing number of celebrities and public figures who have gotten inked. We love bashing celebrity tats as much as the next person (looking at you Ariana), but it’s impossible to ignore the power and influence that artists, actors, athletes, etc. have over our perception of what’s “cool”.
With that being said, we’re sorry to break it to you but Rihanna didn’t invent tattoos, they’ve been around for a long time. And in that time they’ve undergone major changes in the way they’ve been received in society. At one point tattoos were even banned in NYC, but now every tote-bag-carrying and mom-jean-wearing New Yorker seems to have one.
Tattoos have become an accessory, a way to stylize an outfit or even be the centerpiece of one. Like tote bags and chunky Doc Martens, tattoos have quickly become a staple in college fashion. During the 2 months of shorts and T-shirt weather in Syracuse, our campus is filled with tattoos. Whether it’s scriptwriting perfectly placed underneath a crop top or a thigh tat just peeking out from under a pair of shorts, SU students love displaying their ink.
Tattoos are a great way to show off personality. Like music taste, fashion sense, or a go-to coffee order, tattoos can help to tell a lot about a person. Tattoos can immortalize a part of who someone is or express something otherwise inexpressible. They can be immensely personal… or they can be meaningless; the result of a wild night (please do not get tattooed drunk, it’s not going to be a cool story you’re just going to get hurt), or a past relationship.
That’s the beauty of tattoos, all of them no matter how perfect or how stupid, how original or how cliche, all tell a story. In a world where everyone is trying to dress like this person or look like that person, tattoos are a way for individuals to truly tell their own story.
We don’t know whether everyone is going to be covered head-to-toe in ink in the next 30 years but it doesn’t really matter. Unlike fashion trends or media fixations, tattoos change and evolve with you. They become a part of who you are as a person, I mean they are an actual part of you. Tattoos can capture a moment or feeling much better than any Instagram picture or Tik-Tok ever could.
So whether you’ve got the most cliche Pinterest quote tattoo ever or you spent a grand on a realistic image of a lion (which may be more cliche than a Pinterest quote), there’s no judgment here. We at Jerk support all you inked-up students.