Something About Women with Tattoos.

Read time: 7 - 9 minutes

Apparently, there's some stigma out there. Stigma that says women with tattoos are more inclined to engage in sexual activity with uncommitted, casual partners.

A group of researchers set out to determine if the stereotype is based on any demonstrable attitudes among tattooed women. In their paper titled, Showing Skin: Tattoo Visibility Status, Egalitarianism and Personality Are Predictors of Sexual Openness Among Women, published in the Sexuality & Culture journal, the researchers discovered there is indeed an evidence-based foundation for the stereotype.

Tattoos are popular and their popularity has grown continuously over the last few decades. In North America, it is estimated that between 20% and 30% of individuals over the age of 18 have at least one tattoo and between 10% and 20% of individuals have two or more.

Historically speaking in Western societies, tattoos have largely maintained an association with negative perceptions and attributes. Tattoos have been and often still are associated with “deviant groups” (i.e. bikers, gangs, prisoners, etc.). Furthermore, tattooed individuals are often associated with, “decreased credibility, decreased attractiveness and increased promiscuity.” 

These negative associations certainly don't mean attitudes toward tattoos are not changing. They are evolving as tattoos become increasingly popular and more prevalent. However, there’s a significant caveat to those evolving attitudes – the improved perception of tattooed individuals is often extended to men only. Meaning, that as perceptions improve of people with tattoos, men are the recipients of the ‘new and improved’ perceived image. Tattooed women are still largely regarded in the way they have been historically.

The authors trace negative perceptions of tattooed women back to the late nineteenth century when tattooed women often engaged in “aberrant” careers – as burlesque dancers, circus performers, etc. – and generally behaved in a manner that defied societal gender roles. The one exception to this historically, and quite interestingly, was the Victorian upper-class woman. These privileged society women tattooed themselves and were seen as “courageous” and “attractive.”

However, that perception was the exception and not the rule. A 2002 study found that a photograph of a woman with a black tattoo on her upper arm was rated lower in the areas of athleticism, attractiveness, motivation, religiosity, intelligence, honesty, generosity and artistic ability than the same photographed woman with no tattoo. A 2004 study took it a step further and determined that the larger and more visible the woman’s tattoo(s), the greater the negative perception. And, in a 2013 experimental field study, men perceived better chances of engaging in sexual activity with visibly tattooed women – and were more likely to pursue those women for sexual encounters – than their non-tattooed counterparts.

With respect to men and their pursuit of women, the authors offer an oddly logical juxtaposition. Feminist theory indicates that women with tattoos obtain them for the purpose of, “explicitly claiming their bodies as their own, reinforcing their bodies as well as exerting power and control.” Other studies have indicated that tattooed women tend to be stronger and more independent than women without tattoos and additional studies indicate that those very attributes – strength and independence – are largely unattractive to men. Hence, you will find men who hold negative perceptions of tattooed women and are unwilling to consider them for long-term partnership, but are potentially prepared to approach them for sexual activity.

In seeking to understand if these stereotypes of sexual openness among tattooed women are based in truth, the authors ran a study consisting of 814 women – 391 with tattoos and 423 without. The vast majority of women (approx. 70%) were straight with another 23% identifying as bisexual. The women were geographically located in Canada and the United States.

Participants were given a questionnaire consisting of questions and statements on:

a) Religiosity as there is a strong negative correlation between religiosity and sexual openness

b) Tattoo visibility and placement

c) Sociosexual orientation inventory, which included questions like, “With how many different partners have you had sexual intercourse on one and only one occasion?”

d) Personality

e) Needs as they relate to the participant’s need for novelty and excitement

f) Beliefs on gender roles with agree/disagree statements like, “Women should have as much sexual freedom as men.” 

The Results

After controlling for age and religiosity, tattooed women reported being:

• more sexually unrestricted (i.e. willing to engage in sexual activity with uncommitted partners);

• greater sensation-seeking; and

• more egalitarian in their beliefs as it relates to male and female roles

than their non-tattooed counterparts.

When considering the findings, you can see how these attitudes evolve in tattooed women. They build on top of each other. Studies indicate that individuals with a proclivity to sensation-seeking are often more sexually open than those who are not sensation-seeking. And, a woman who is egalitarian in her belief system may not only believe that women should be able to adorn their bodies in whichever way they see fit (e.g. through tattoos), they further believe that women and men ought to have the same freedom in pursuing sexual partners – whether they be committed or uncommitted.

When looking at all of these factors, the authors state, “We therefore suggest that body tattooing may be conceptualized as merely one indicator among many that may suggest acceptance of sexual openness.”

The authors were quite careful to say that these findings do not mean tattooed women ought be approached, treated and/or regarded in any particular way. And, these findings are not a license to act upon long-held stereotypes. 

If anything, when you see a woman adorned in tattoos, you’re likely, but not guaranteed, to encounter someone who identifies as strong and independent, seeks sensation and holds egalitarian beliefs about men and women. The sexual openness is just icing on the cake.

Sources

Journal: Sexuality & Culture
Article: Showing Skin: Tattoo Visibility Status, Egalitarianism and Personality are Predictors of Sexual Openness Among Women
Authors: Skoda, Kaylee; Oswald, Flora; Brown, Kailie; Hesse, Cassandra; Pedersen, Cory
Date Published: April 2020