Lifestyle
Is the tattoo trend ending in Germany?
Every fifth adult in Germany has a tattoo and many more people think tattoos are beautiful. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The tattoo machine hums and hums: About every fifth person in Germany has a tattoo, especially women. But the body art business suffered because of Corona. Is the tattoo trend ending soon?
With ass antlers or tribal one outs oneself primarily as a youth of the 90s: Nevertheless, tattoos are more widespread than ever. Every fourth woman in Germany has a tattoo, among those in their mid-twenties to mid-forties it is even more than 40 percent. Far fewer men are tattooed overall (16 percent), most of them are men between their mid-twenties and mid-thirties (24 percent). This is the result of a new representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency.
Overall, therefore, every fifth adult in Germany is tattooed. Gone are the days of the cliché that tattoos are only for sailors or daring people.
More than a quarter of adults (27 percent) say they find tattoos “very nice” or “lovely” to look at. On the other hand, 20 percent find tattoos “not beautiful at all”, 12 percent “rather not beautiful”. Many – namely 36 percent – say they find the sight “partly/partly”, the rest did not specify.
Many fans are female
The survey in mid-June made it clear that women find tattoos more beautiful than men (32 percent versus 21 percent). Young adults are obviously particularly fond of tattoos – 43 percent of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 25 find them “very beautiful” or “rather beautiful”. It is 55 percent for women in this age group and 32 percent for young men. People over the age of 55 are particularly repelled by tattoos: almost half (47 percent) of these older people find the sight “not pretty/not pretty at all”, men more than women (57 versus 39 percent).
These current results show that the tattoo trend in Germany seems to have stabilized on a plateau, says psychologist Ada Borkenhagen, who is currently working on a book entitled “Am I beautiful enough?” works on beauty mania.
Almost ten years ago, Ada Borkenhagen also published the volume “Body Modification”, a “manual for doctors, psychologists and consultants”, which also dealt with tattoos, piercing, bodybuilding and aesthetic surgery. For years, the psychologist was involved in research into attitudes towards tattoos.
Contributed to normalization
In the early 1900s there was a big wave of tattooing, explains Borkenhagen, who is a professor at the University of Magdeburg. A study six years ago showed that between 2009 and 2016, many women and older people jumped on the tattoo trend and thus contributed to normalization.
Borkenhagen thinks that in the summer of 2022 it will be too early to declare the end of the tattoo trend. “It remains to be seen whether the above-average enthusiasm for tattoos among very young women around 20 will soon be reflected in a high rate of tattooed people in this generation.” The past two difficult years for service companies in the field of personal care, including tattoo studios, should be considered. «Corona and the lockdowns have prevented or postponed many tattoos. The catch-up effect will only become apparent slowly.”
Embellished calves on trend
In contrast to the 90s, the type and choice of motif has also changed a lot. The time of large-area tattoos seems to be over: Minimalist motifs (often several of them at the same time) such as small flowers, leaves, blossoms, animals, cars, paper airplanes, airplanes, lines, names, numbers, symbols and also sayings are more popular today.
The positions are often different than before. Instead of tattooing on the rump, back or upper arm, for example, the neck or the area below the armpits, right next to the chest, are tattooed. Decorated calves, ankles and feet also seem popular.
“For many young people today, the body is a kind of work of art and canvas. Many tattoo-willing people are looking for new motifs and want to differ from their parents, »says the tattoo expert Borkenhagen. “However, the body is only a limited space. Besides, it’s probably just a matter of time before the tattoo trend might be over. Because future generations could want to break away from their tattooed parents completely.”