Are Celebrities Driving Our Tattoo Obsession?

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Are Celebrities Driving Our Tattoo Obsession?
November 8, 2010
Ramen Setoodeh
Newsweek

Natasha Kai holds two Olympic gold medals in soccer, but her arms are the most formidable parts of her body. They’re covered in an embroidery of Polynesian tattoos: symbols and flowers that serve as an homage to her native Hawaii. “Most of them are out of boredom,” Kai, 27, says. “Some people go shopping. When I have nothing to do, I go to a tattoo shop.” She did that on Oct. 9, 2008, when she stepped into Kat Von D’s Los Angeles parlor. “She wanted a rendition of God’s hands holding the Chinese character for the word Believe,” Von D writes in her new book, The Tattoo Chronicles. “Natasha told me ‘Believe’ is an affirmation that’s used in the Olympics. ‘If we believe in each other, then great things will come!”
Two decades ago, the only cultural icons with tattoos were rowdy and extreme—Dennis Rodman, Steven Tyler, Cher. Their inked up arms conjured images of rebellious behavior, life on the road, Hell’s Angels. But today, even the most elaborate tattoos have gone mainstream--and the most innocuous celebrities, like Hilary Duff, Alyssa Milano, Jessica Alba, and Heidi Klum, are flaunting them. Tattoos are so widespread that a recent Visa commercial showcased the ultimate dilemma: running out of money mid-design. “It’s definitely growing; kids are aspiring tattoo artists,” says Von D, the star of TLC’s tattoo reality show, LA Ink. “Before, that wasn’t a real job.”
Kai’s tattoo journey was partly inspired by Von D, who got her first tattoo—the letter “J,” for her boyfriend James—at age 14. While Kai doesn’t exactly disappear in a crowd, she doesn’t stand out, either. About 38 percent of millennials—people between the ages of 18 and 29—are inked, compared with 15 percent of their Baby Boomer parents, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. For that, we have pop culture to thank—or blame. “I definitely think the success of [my show] has contributed to the open-mindedness that people have inherited over the past few years,” says Von D, who is not only a celebrity tattoo artist but also tattoos images of celebrities on fans. “When Michael Jackson died and Farrah Fawcett died, I got a lot of requests for portraits of them.”

In 1991, Myrna Armstrong, a professor of health sciences, conducted a study of 154 working women with tattoos. Back then, the majority of respondents said their tattoos were hidden in places like their breast, groin, or upper thigh. “They wanted to control who saw them,” Armstrong says. “They knew it was a mark some people didn’t like.” That fear has all but vanished, especially in a celebrity culture where nothing is private. Web sites are devoted to explaining the origins and meanings of all of Angelina Jolie’s tattoos. Megan Fox has a line adapted from King Lear, “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies,” on her shoulder, while Scarlett Johansson has a sunrise on her left arm to remind her to cheer up. Penélope Cruz still refuses to explain why she got the number “883” on her ankle. “Drew Barrymore, with all her daisy tattoos, she inspired a whole tattoo movement!” Von D says. “There’s nothing prettier than a girl with a flower.”

Natasha Kai holds two Olympic gold medals in soccer, but her arms are the most formidable parts of her body. They’re covered in an embroidery of Polynesian tattoos: symbols and flowers that serve as an homage to her native Hawaii. “Most of them are out of boredom,” Kai, 27, says. “Some people go shopping. When I have nothing to do, I go to a tattoo shop.” She did that on Oct. 9, 2008, when she stepped into Kat Von D’s Los Angeles parlor. “She wanted a rendition of God’s hands holding the Chinese character for the word Believe,” Von D writes in her new book, The Tattoo Chronicles. “Natasha told me ‘Believe’ is an affirmation that’s used in the Olympics. ‘If we believe in each other, then great things will come!”
Two decades ago, the only cultural icons with tattoos were rowdy and extreme—Dennis Rodman, Steven Tyler, Cher. Their inked up arms conjured images of rebellious behavior, life on the road, Hell’s Angels. But today, even the most elaborate tattoos have gone mainstream--and the most innocuous celebrities, like Hilary Duff, Alyssa Milano, Jessica Alba, and Heidi Klum, are flaunting them. Tattoos are so widespread that a recent Visa commercial showcased the ultimate dilemma: running out of money mid-design. “It’s definitely growing; kids are aspiring tattoo artists,” says Von D, the star of TLC’s tattoo reality show, LA Ink. “Before, that wasn’t a real job.”
Kai’s tattoo journey was partly inspired by Von D, who got her first tattoo—the letter “J,” for her boyfriend James—at age 14. While Kai doesn’t exactly disappear in a crowd, she doesn’t stand out, either. About 38 percent of millennials—people between the ages of 18 and 29—are inked, compared with 15 percent of their Baby Boomer parents, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. For that, we have pop culture to thank—or blame. “I definitely think the success of [my show] has contributed to the open-mindedness that people have inherited over the past few years,” says Von D, who is not only a celebrity tattoo artist but also tattoos images of celebrities on fans. “When Michael Jackson died and Farrah Fawcett died, I got a lot of requests for portraits of them.”

In 1991, Myrna Armstrong, a professor of health sciences, conducted a study of 154 working women with tattoos. Back then, the majority of respondents said their tattoos were hidden in places like their breast, groin, or upper thigh. “They wanted to control who saw them,” Armstrong says. “They knew it was a mark some people didn’t like.” That fear has all but vanished, especially in a celebrity culture where nothing is private. Web sites are devoted to explaining the origins and meanings of all of Angelina Jolie’s tattoos. Megan Fox has a line adapted from King Lear, “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies,” on her shoulder, while Scarlett Johansson has a sunrise on her left arm to remind her to cheer up. Penélope Cruz still refuses to explain why she got the number “883” on her ankle. “Drew Barrymore, with all her daisy tattoos, she inspired a whole tattoo movement!” Von D says. “There’s nothing prettier than a girl with a flower.”