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Q: Are tattoos suddenly popular here?
Been here nearly ten years but up until about two/three years ago I never noticed anyone with tats. Now I see them all the time. Is this a recent popular trend, or have I just been really unobservant?
Lately it was announced that there are 300.000 tattooist in mainland China. Not sure how they arrrived at that number, maybe someone added an extra 0, However the business must be there. When out walking I would usually try to notice just how many I can observe, and the numbers were very high, especially with young ladies. If fact ladies of all ages and background. I was in the elevator yesterday when a young ladies entered, Her left arm was just a full sleeve of tattoo's. It doesn't just stop with the arm, very often the ankle. thigh, shoulder [front or back], neck, lower back.Many are not small in size, often very noticeable sizes. It's very much on the increase.
I knew Chinese tattooist in Tangshan in 2009. He had wi-fi in the store, and let me use it.
He was drawing his own pics., which customer choose to put on the skin. His place was full (5 people in wait line), and later I looked on Internet about tattoos, it's Chinese thing, similar as 'pizza' is Italian.
I didn't see too many Chinese (females) with tattoos. More with that reddish, round 'sucking/burnng' spot.
I've seem women with tats for years, mostly tramp stamps. I met a girl with tats from her neck going down her side and arm, she was the sexist thing I've seen ever and I'm not big fan of tats. She had teased hair with pink and green stripes, love teased hair. Another girl I knew had some and went to Gz, when she came back, she had half of her face done. Poor thing.
Tattoos are the new rebellion against the oppressive authoritarianism of mettling Chinese parents.
"I got a tattoo. It's permanent. Deal with it."
"Oh, the shame. Our ancestors would be so ashamed."
Welcome to modernity, where young people have the right to make up their own minds.
I tend to see it with girls at the university, rarely see it on the streets. To me most of the time it looks trashy, like they get it on their boobs, randomly on the back of the neck or something. The girl I was seeing before my current girlfriend had 3, most of them were stuff I would probably see at a biker bar back in the states. Flaming skull with a top hat smoking a cig and such. Although it's great seeing the ones that are chinglish. My favorite so far was my girlfriend's friend has a tat that says I <3 Tieland.
