Will tattoo madness ever end?
Nigel Jones writing in The Spectator:
The sheer uglification of public spaces by tattoos is reaching intolerable levels. Those who prowl the streets with hideous inky splodges crawling up their thick necks are not a pretty sight. These are not the picturesquely decorated heroes of Moby Dick or jolly Jack Tars with tales of Tangiers and Trafalgar: They are making a visual statement of their own crass stupidity. Modern mass tattoos do have one useful purpose, however: They silently tell us that the wearer is a moron without putting us to the trouble of speaking to them to verify that fact.
I have made the very same point on this website. As for women with tattoos, when I encounter one, which these days is quite frequent, I am overwhelmed with a sense of loss. It's like watching the burning of a beautiful painting or the desecration of some sacred place. Tattoos are not merely ugly, they are heartbreaking.
Filipinas further undermine their own natural beauty
The cancer of women's tattoos has also come to the Philippines. What I have noticed here is that women who lighten their skin are much more likely to acquire tattoos than women with the lovely and natural morena (brown) skin. Of course the correlation is that women who want to fit in with the porcelain-skin-crowd are also much more likely to follow any trend. The result is the double eyesore of artificially whitened skin emblazoned with indelible ink. It's tragic.
Now the Filipina perspective seems to be: Because of the expense involved, white skin is the reserve of those who can afford it. Likewise tattoos. But other than celebrities, upper class women here (as everywhere) are not running out to get some ink. Decidedly not. So sure, Filipinas may want white skin to emulate the upper class. But they get tattooed to fit in with their peers.
Raging Narcissism
As I have written previously: Acquiring a tattoo is a fundamentally narcissistic pursuit. It might be argued that one or two tattoos are a personal artistic indulgence or remembrance. But to get a sleeve or more, that has the look at me quality of the true narcissist. Tattoos have become a manifestation of narcissism: Look at me, look at me!
The self-esteem movement, followed by social media proliferation have turned a whole generation into raging narcissists.
Tattoos were sure to follow.
To go back to Nigel Jones' point, what I find so very sad about the acquisition of tattoos is that people willingly mutilate themselves, make themselves ugly, sacrifice their own beauty, and desecrate their bodies...for attention. Even if at least half of the attention is disapproving. Such is the strong pull of narcissism. It is like an addictive drug.
Clearly we are doing something wrong when raising our children.