53 Tattoo Decisions That Probably Sounded Better Before They Became Permanent

Some cultures used tattoos to ward off harm, while others used them to mark status, faith, love, or even punishment.

Research shows that the oldest known tattoos belong to Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old body found frozen near the Italian-Austrian border in 1991. He had 61 tattoos, mostly simple lines and crosses on his joints and lower back.

Researchers noticed the marks lined up with spots where Ötzi had worn-down joints and arthritis, suggesting the tattoos may have served as an early form of pain relief.

The practice of tattooing didn’t start in one single place. Rather, independent cultures worldwide simultaneously discovered the urge to mark their bodies.

Mummies with tattoos have turned up in Siberia, Peru, Scandinavia, China, Japan, and across Indigenous America.

In ancient Egypt, the practice was almost entirely the domain of women for about a thousand years, often associated with protection during pregnancy and childbirth. In Polynesia, too, tattooing carried deep ritual meaning, sometimes reserved for women as a sacred rite.

“In many cases, it seems to have sprung up independently as a permanent way to place protective or therapeutic symbols upon the body, then as a means of marking people out into appropriate social, political or religious groups, or simply as a form of self-expression or fashion statement,” says Joann Fletcher, an honorary archaeology research fellow at the University of York in the UK.

In the 20th century, heavily tattooed bodies were a massive business. Traveling circuses and sideshows drew huge crowds by putting inked men and women on display as human attractions.

While the public viewed these performers as oddities, historians note that the decision to get fully inked was often a calculated business move.

In the late 1800s, options for women to live independently were incredibly rare. For these performers, enduring the needle was a ticket to financial independence.

It wasn’t always sunshine and roses for the tattoo industry, though.

In 1961, a Hepatitis outbreak in New York City was blamed on a Coney Island tattoo shop. Whether it was true or not, the panic ruined the industry’s reputation, branding it as “vulgar” and unsanitary.

New York actually banned tattooing entirely for the next 36 years.

The counterculture movement of the 1970s finally brought ink back into the light. Led by rebellious youth sporting peace signs, tattoos moved beyond sailors and veterans.

Rock legends and punk icons also started flaunting heavy ink, inspiring fans to copy their look.

Around the same time, the rise of plastic surgery made body modification feel way less taboo. By 1996, nearly half of all tattoo clients were women — a massive shift that completely normalized the culture.

“In the past, tattoos existed on the edge of society. They were found mostly on outsiders from the mainstream and usually represented individualism, even rebellion. But that has turned around,” says Enrica Ruggs, associate professor at the University of Houston.

Tattoos are now quite a common, everyday sight worldwide.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, roughly 32% of American adults have at least one tattoo, including 22% who have multiple.

When asked about the motivation behind their ink, the reasons were deeply personal:

1. 69% of tattooed adults got inked to honor or remember someone or something
2. 47% wanted to make a statement about their core beliefs
3. 32% used tattoos simply to improve their personal appearance.

Many tattoos are now designed to depict a sense of belonging, according to experts.

“They can be visible shout-outs to a person’s culture, orientation, profession or some other group. Some memorialize a rite of passage. Others show symbols that reflect the wearer’s faith or reflect in-memoriam images that honor the passing of loved ones,” Ruggs said.