Two of my best friends in college and I decided to get matching tattoos. The letters “GBGH” representing Go Big or Go Home.....

Some would say not the best decision, but we at least tried to put them to good use by attempting to win a free trip to Europe via a Red Bull competition.

We didn’t win the trip, but a lot of ridiculous laughs came from the video

Ha! I agree! That made me laugh. Thanks.

That was terrible.

Entertaining...

But terrible.

 

lol.

What an interesting study! Neville, you never cease to amaze and be hilarious at the same time.

I have tattoos, most are easily covered. The one that is very high on my neck/back shows unless I wear a turtleneck.

I’m also a teacher. Go figure.

I’ve found that most comments are positive. I’ve never been asked to hide it. Maybe our union has some power over that, but I’ve actually received compliments from my administrators! Kids think it’s cool, too, so I get known as the ‘cool’ teacher, which actually helps my job in terms of classroom management and connecting with the kids.

I hate to say it, but I think the subject matter of the tattoos, the location, and gender all play a role in how a person is perceived. Mine is a semi-realistic, semi-new school black and grey bat with a crescent moon. Kids associate it with the Bat Call, not something I particularly like, and if i could change the design a bit, Iwould, but not the experience, as I get tattoos as a souvenir of a very important trip, to remember the place. The bat is from San Fran on my honeymoon.

Sorry for the rant. I think they do affect how people are perceived, but obviously nearly as much. But, if you are young and planning on a career in law, politics or education, make sure you can hide them if you get one, even though it is my firm belief that ink can be art, can be transformative, and people’s skin colour, ink included, should never be judged. (I don’t need the red, btw. Just commenting because it’s an issue that’s important to me.

WELL I FORGOT A CTA AND I'M NOT SELLING ANYTHING SO I WOULD SAY IT'S KINDA BAD BUT SEEING AS MY GOAL WAS JUST TO ENTERTAIN AND BE SILLY I THINK I'VE ACCOMPLISHED THE GOAL OF THE COPY SO NOW I AM EVEN MORE CONFUSED THAN MY BROTHER WHO WENT TO THE SAME TATTOO ARTIST AS ME AND ASKED FOR THE SAME THING I GOT AND THE GUY TATTOOED my FACE ON HIM LOL!!!

THANK YOU FOR READING

So true!

Question: I’ve always considered tattoos to be a form of intentional communication, a form of self-expression to share something about oneself with the world. Otherwise, wouldn’t just knowing/believing/liking whatever it is be enough? To me, if it’s shared for others to see, it seems intentional that one would want others to notice it.

Is it not fair to assume that the tattoo says something about someone if part of the point is visible self-expression? Is it not all that different from posting something on social media and then expecting no one to have a comment or opinion about it?

I am not referring to judging an entire person as good/bad/whatever or being able to do a great job at work.

As a non-tattooed person, I would love to better understand how some of the comments above seem to indicate that I shouldn’t think anything about what the tattoo might mean and that I shouldn’t ask. If it's personal, why make it so public? If it’s made visual, isn’t the point for someone to understand something more about you? Would love to hear any thoughts, and I’m totally coming from a curious and respectful place <3

^^^ +1

^^

Cool analysis but I think that a general survey without demographic segmentation might skew the results - particularly for the business impact. Your audience likely skews younger and hipper than an audience of senior business executives whose hiring and purchase decisions might be negatively impacted by visible tattoos. Rock stars and movie starlets aside, visible tattoos are still significantly less popular among upper-class WASPs than the general population. Also, it would be interesting to see whether the results changed if just a single tattoo were visible instead of multiple ones.

I don't have any tats. You don't put bumper stickers on a Ferrari....bwahahaha!

I love this experiment! Like others, I wish I saw other variations such as more races, more non-neck tattoos, and similar dress. Especially if we were really gonna focus on the business votes!

On a personal note... I didn’t even know these tools existed and I LOVE that they do!

I have in tattoo that runs down my side that I got in high school, and I’ve held back on getting more visible ones I’ve always wanted because I was afraid of lack of job opportunities.

We talked to the head of Business at my university my freshman year of college (about 8 years ago) and be made some good points. He predicted that the percentage of businesses being anti-tattoo would decrease more and more because more people are getting tattooed, and much older people who’ve always perceived tattooed people as demonic delinquents would be... um... “around” less and less.

And those older people are still customers and consumers, so them feeling “unsafe” or “unsure” could ruin relationships and sales, ans apparently that’s why there’s still hesitation about tattoos in the workforce in some places.

Anyway THAT was a tangent!

And here’s one more short one! :)

If I can figure out how to add tattoos to a pic of me, I’m gonna have to try this out on myself! I’m VERY particular about the aesthetics of my body modifications (I also have stretched ears and 9 piercings at the moment, all visible except 2.5) and want to see how what I want is perceived.

But the other bigger reason I wanna see what’s thought of a half sleeve or so is because I literally look like I’m between 12-14 years old no matter what I do (makeup, clothes) and I’m told this all the time by strangers I happen to interact with. I’m turning 27 this summer.

Will some visible tattoos make me look older? Or “childish”?? 🤔🤔🤔

I mean, I don’t care either way. I’ve been wanting some of these pieces for years and years so... currently saving up for part of my half sleeve for my birthday!

But I am curious! A Chinese-American YouTuber I’ve watched said she hated the way Asian women were automatically thought of as feminine, submissive, passive, etc. and felt like her tattoos really helped deter that which when loves.

Burn I mean, she looks her age and mature with her high cheekbones and more filled-out body haha.

Okay okay, I’m done!

I wrote a whole 10-page essay on body modifications of all kinds in college so I’m really into this (clearly).

This was really interesting to read - I love it! I have a sizeable amount of tattoos for a woman (right half sleeve and both lower forearms). What I can say is that having a large amount of tattoos has not ever made life "easier" for me. There is SOME judgment and initial impressions that are often not correct. However, most of that has been from corporate type environments - which I've never really been all that interested in any way. I joke my tattoos are my "judgemental asshole radar." Often those who would judge me really quickly based on tattoos would probably judge me on other things and be uptight in a way that doesn't vibe with my personality anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I've also always worked in environments that it didn't really matter (the music industry and entrepreneurship).

The one thing I've found really interesting as a person heavily inked is people seem to quickly be more "casual" with me than others... cashiers, bank tellers, etc. They'll drop f-bombs, and act human WAY faster than I imagine they do with a soccer mom. It makes me chuckle because it's so predictable. I dig that people tend to reveal their more laid back nature with me. If tattoos help them do that, rad.

Fun read!

Ummmm....did you view the pics at all?

1.) I'm Indian.

2.) Sara is Black (2 pics were of her).

3.) Linda is Asian (2 pics were of her).

Literally 62% of the pics were of minorities.

Though I’ve never heard it rude to ask questions politely about tattoos, I can understand how it could be invasion of privacy if it’s constantly done.

The placement might have meaning too. If it’s visible and has a personal meaning to the person. It might just be for them, but people will still ask because it’s visible.

There’s a woman on YouTube who’s a tattoo collector named Qcknd who is verrrry knowledgeable and open to community and conversation about TONS of tattoo topics that come up. Lots I never even thought of! I think she even talks about the very topic you’re curiously asking about!

Very cool! Thank you Cierra!

No minorities? There were 3 white people (1 Jewish.. minority?-- Rabbi-Can't-Lose Noah..)... and the rest aren't.

Sara: Not white. [No, she's probably not 100% African American, but she isn't white. = minority, right?] Minority.

Linda: Not white. Minority.

Neville: Not white. Minority.

So, not white = minority (in the US), right?

No latinos.. you're right. but no long haired guys. or short-haired girls, or prime ministers of micronesia, or this, or that... the list is endless. Just enjoy the post and have some fun with the info. And if it's lacking..

You could always go make your own blog post on your own dollars and share the post here. We'd all probably love to see more data.

Beat me to it.

But Nev, you didn't cover EVERYONE!!!! This whole post's fun data is now worthless. /s

---

Thanks for creating cool, fun experiments for us.. on your time, and your dime.

Nice guns. Lucky you live in Texas or they might be banned ;)

I have tattoos on my forearms and haven't noticed any negative feedback. The funny thing is, as a dating coach, I dress nicely in the winter and in the summer I wear plain t-shirts (maybe your shirt this summer?) and shorts, with my tattoos exposed.

The reaction from both clients (who pay thousands) and the women I interact with is negligible. The bottom line for my business and my ability to interact with women socially doesn't change. I believe this is because of the display of personality/character/social skills which is more powerful than appearance.

The same goes for an ugly/average guy Vs. a really good looking guy. Really good looking guys can get away with less social skills and still attract a lot of women. The ugly/average guy can do just as well (or better) IF he's confident and has the social skills and personality to woo everyone he interacts with.

These test can only account for raw looks, but I think if personality came into play the results would be much different.

No problem! I actually found the video, but didn’t know if I could post links haha:

I think I can though! 🙌🏽💕

I’m viewing it on an iPhone 5s so aside from you and Linda I couldn’t see.

But you’re right! I’ll admit when I’m wrong.

For me personally there’s just automatically more perceptions when you’re darker-complected and I didn’t see that.

But like someone else said, if I or someone else could add to this post by making my/their own I at least would!

It would honestly fit with my niche, so I’m glad Nev took the time to make this because it is something to expand on for more than just business.

So thanks for the post, period!

Haha been in the exact same spot. Gives a new meaning to wearing a sweatshirt

My girlfriend was surprised when I met her and said I had tats. She said she hated tattoos. Now she says she doesn’t even notice them. But that was after she saw me naked.

Wow, this really hits home!

As a newly initiated copywriter, and a walking Etch-E-Sketch, I can't resist commenting on this.

There is no doubt in my mind that having visible tattoos has influenced how others perceive me.

I have visible tattoos on my arms, hands and neck ( Yes, I am a degenerate), and consequentially I have been living out your social experiment for roughly ten years.

I sacrificed my body as a canvas at a very young age. I acquired my first tattoo at age 15, and Mom was NOT impressed. Naturally, I then proceeded to cover myself with more.

 

After entering the professional workforce I had to learn quickly how to hide them from my colleagues, as I felt that they brought much negative attention. Turtlenecks, make-up and scarfs have all served as temporary bandages. In the end, they just weren't enough.

 

Flash forward one decade and I am now in the process of having my most visible tat's removed (neck and hands).

My ten year case study results are in!

Visible tattoos are more accepted by those of younger generations, but at the end of the day they are generally frowned upon in the business world.

P.S, My neck tattoos are faded and a free t-shirt would be a great substitute as a scarf.

P.P.S I live in Canada, and any extra layer of clothing would be appreciated :)

I completely agree with you, Ben. As a creative entrepreneur, nobody cares. But when I worked in Silicon Valley in startup offices, people cared. Deeply.