The Psychology of Tattoos (generation, sociopaths, men, adult)
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I dunno, the sociopaths I have encountered (or those who seemed most likely to be, since they're rarely diagnosed unless they go to prison for something, and I am no professional)...have looked really normal, in order to blend in, but once you spent a bit of time with them you started noticing a lot of odd things.
One person I am thinking of, was super charismatic, but he made a lot of odd almost veiled threats, and had a lot of subtly strange things going on. Sometimes it was like, if you can imagine a man who thinks he is very smart hinting that he's going to harm or murder you but in a way he thinks you're not clever enough to pick up on. Only you do, and you're thinking, "What the hell?" And he had the smoothest way of directing any and all conversation back to me giving him information, while giving away very little about himself.
He not only had no tattoos, he looked very "normal." The people I've known who look really strange, might THINK that they are very edgy and weird, but often enough they're some of the more normal ones in truth. And one thing is for sure... Some of the biggest "rebel" type personalities I've known, have been people who went to Catholic or other religious private schools. Meet a woman with purple hair, tattoos everywhere and metal in her face, and she's like, "I went to Catholic school" and I always think, "Of course you did. If I had a dollar for every time..."
Again, I'm not talking about today; I said this was a book written in the '50s, when tattoos when relatively uncommon.
I personally just think they look trashy, but to each his own!
I think tattoos are really ugly too. I think about getting one very now and then, but deep down, know that I'm going to get bored of it really fast and wish I never got it.
I think there are ugly tattoos that make me be ashamed that I belong in the same group of people and then there are really nice ones who make a person look more interesting and positively unique.
I don't think there is anything to read into it, on a psychological matter.
The above in blue explains one of the motivations for many who get tattoos - they think tattoos "make a person look more interesting and positively unique."
You do not seem to understand what psychology is.
Also, seeking attention from others or getting people to show interest or signaling to the world by getting tattoos which one thinks "make a person look more interesting and positively unique" is obviously one of the motivations of those with tattoos.
(not the motivation above necessarily for hidden-from-view tattoos - except for the idea that some men find tattoos sexy when you get naked with the men)
Last edited by matisse12; 02-14-2020 at 03:16 PM..
When I was a kid, and young, the only people I knew who had tattoos were people who had been in the military.
One of them was a man, married to my mom's best friend. He was a really nice guy, and he had a tattoo of a hulu dancer on his bicep. Whenever us kids would ask him, he'd make her dance for us. LOLOL!
I have only pleasant thoughts associated with tattoos.
I think tattoos are really ugly too. I think about getting one very now and then, but deep down, know that I'm going to get bored of it really fast and wish I never got it.
I even now regret getting my ears double pierced back in the day (they never heal up completely), and that was as edgy as I ever got.
I even now regret getting my ears double pierced back in the day (they never heal up completely), and that was as edgy as I ever got.
I got one ear double pierced. lol (The other ear only has one piercing.)
I'm feeling like quite the Chatty Cathy this afternoon. LOL
This topic just kind of got me thinking about various things that people think of as trashy. I'm not snarking...just remembering various things people have said to me on the topic.
Like...my mom has always thought people who wore red nail polish were trashy. She also thought women with pierced ears were kind of trashy. My sister's MIL thinks women who wear polka dots are trashy. I think, logically, both of these ladies know different...but it's how they grew up, and it's probably a sentiment that was passed down by THEIR mothers or something.
Dang! One more thing. My mom also thought women who wore red shoes were trashy. And my sister says I'm gaudy...which I feel like is one step away from trashy. LOL
"I disagree with the OP. Decades earlier multiple tattoos were signifiers of being a social outlaw, not a sociopath. "
You can "disagree" with me, but that's what the book posited, and it was considered the gold standard for diagnosing the antisocial personality at the time.
Not everyone with a tattoo was a sociopath but, almost without exception, every diagnosed sociopath had a tattoo when they were still quite uncommon.
Remember Robert Mitchum's characters' "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed on his knuckles in "Dark Night of the Hunter."
Then there are prison tattoos, so there's that.
You posted that tattoos used to be “one reliable sign” of being a sociopath. While I would not argue that sociopaths had or had not tattoos, I would not say that tattoos were a reliable indicator. Plenty of working class men had tattoos. I saw them. Men who had fought in WW II often came back home with tattoos, for one thing.
Prison tattoos are a whole different thing.
Heavily tattooed men were rare, at least in my childhood. I would remember someone who was heavily tattooed because it would have been so unusual to see. For all I know, a heavily tattooed person was a sociopath, but was certainly a sort of outlaw. Lots of noticeable tattoos, as on face, neck, hands, would make finding a job hard.
One of the childhood friends of one of my kids was featured in the newspaper because of extensive body and facial tattoos. At the time my child was in college. Seeing the the young person I had known tattooed on face and arms was quite a shock. This was probably in the mid 1990s. I know times have changed regarding tattoos. If I were 20 years younger, I probably would have one on my leg or upper arm, myself.
The theory and reason why people have tattoos has definitely changed over time. About 40 or 50 years ago, tattoos were fairly common with construction workers, especially Iron Workers, guys that were in the military and bikers and those in motorcycle gangs. Most all of the tattoos were on their arms and were individual tattoos. The main expression for theses tattoos was to demonstrate that these guy were tough!
Today it’s almost exclusively referred to as Skin Art and it began with hipsters, musicians, artists and naturalist’s. Besides art, it is often a remembrance of a family member, spouse, best friend, etc. No more just for the tough guys, it’s for men, women, teens, etc and it’s so very prevalent, even with professions that work in corporate offices. They do not have the same stigma as they’ve had in the past, it’s a new world today, in many ways and not all of them are good IMO!
Again, I'm not talking about today; I said this was a book written in the '50s, when tattoos when relatively uncommon.
I personally just think they look trashy, but to each his own!
I think that deliberately bringing up a subject for the express purpose of having an excuse to judge and insult others by saying that you think they look trashy...
...is kind of trashy.
But! To each his own.
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