Bonn

Nearly every fourth young person in Germany is tattooed, and more and more of them in visible places. Sport and television stars demonstrate it; there is hardly a footballer without a tattoo, rock musicians have them without fail. Now, it’s the guy next door, too.

The manager puts out his hand to shake, and a skull grins. The lady at reception wears a tattooed chain around her neck. It’s gradually become a normal sight in Germany. Tattoo wearers confidently show off what they’ve got: conspicuous drawings on their throats or forearms, on their hands, fingers and sometimes even their faces – it’s no longer a sign of belonging to some kind of fringe group.

“The fact that tattoos have become larger and more visible reveals their rising social acceptance,” Dirk Hofmeister explains the trend. He is a psychologist at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig and is researching the proliferation of tattoos.

Photorealist images are the trend

In December 2012, Berlin held the “Tattoo Convention,” one of the most important international tattoo fairs. It was the meeting place of many tattoo artists from all over the world, of visitors with numerous tattoos, and simply curious folk. Lithuanian tattoo master Andrius Augulis also attended the fair. Augulis, who works under the pseudonym of Augis Tattoo, ascertained that the people in the west of Europe are far more daring in their choice of motifs. The 26-year-old “master,” who lives and works in Denmark, prefers to use the very popular photorealist subjects.


Trends change very quickly on the tattoo scene. One year tribals from a variety of cultures are hot, the next it’s florals and butterflies. In recent years, Asian motifs ranging from written characters to deities were very popular. Menacing fiends and other fantasy creatures are perennial hits.

Augis Tattoo does not like to influence where the customers want to have themselves tattooed, but for himself, certain regions of the body are off limits. “I would not give myself a tattoo on my hand or neck. It seems too provocative to me,” the Lithuanian says. “Maybe once I’m over 40.”

How much of it is rebellion?

Psychologist Hofmeister says that in spite of increasing tolerance, the decision to have a tattoo on a visible part of the body still requires some courage. “Conspicuous tattoos on extreme places like the head or neck are more often considered a sign of rebellion. When your boss says he doesn’t want to see tattoos, you’ve got a problem, because it’s hard to hide your neck.” A tattoo on the upper arm can be hidden under a shirtsleeve. “One cannot say that people with visible tattoos are generally rebels, though. You have to look closely at the person, of course,” says the psychologist.

According to Hofmeister, a critical stance towards tattoos will become ever less frequent. Hardly a word is heard of banning them. Yet, there are still restrictions in some vocations. “Someone with a facial tattoo might have problems if they deal with customers for an insurance company. Although police officers are permitted to wear tattoos, they must be hidden when they’re on duty,” the academic informs me.

The impact of television and sport

The acceptance of tattoos is also influenced by factors such as television and athletes. “Television is a very good social barometer. If it deals with something, that is a sign of its social acceptance.”

Until the late 1990s, anyone with tattoos was attributed a specific role – that of a criminal or a rebel. “Today it’s different; documentaries and soaps are made about people with tattoos. They show that they live normal lives and are not ostracized from society,” says Hofmeister.

This is also demonstrated by the widespread trend of tattoos among athletes. They embody the middle range of society and football is the prime example; it is watched by all social classes. Watch a Bundesliga match and you can count the players without tattoos on one hand.

Tattoos: Trend Rather Than Stigma

Naturally, there are groups that wear their tattoos as a brand, as a symbol of their belonging. Initiates in the scene know that certain symbols have their special meanings, for example spider webs once stood for a prison stay. Also, shaved, tattooed heads are often frightening since they are usually ascribed to rockers or right-wing extremists. Your nice next-door neighbour will probably have a lovely work of art etched on his arm rather than a jail symbol. Actually, women are the more daring tattoo wearers: an ornamented décolleté is not nearly as exotic a sight as it was only a few years ago.

Hofmeister, who has been researching the phenomenon of tattoos for more than four years, also has ascertained that tattoos are rarely associated with stigmatization today. “At one time, people with tattoos were accused of less adapted behaviour, a greater tendency to alcohol, greater promiscuity and more risk-taking behaviour in general.”

Hofmeister has also observed that in the meantime, no difference is made between people with and without tattoos. “It would be an absurd claim since we know that about one fourth of all adults under the age of 25 have tattoos. Almost every family has a member that wears tattoos. You can hardly call that highly deviant behaviour.”