The number of people in the US getting their first tattoo after middle age is on the rise. Many of them want to have a double tattoo with their children and grandchildren as a way of bonding family affection.
Roxana Nourihad (18 years old) and her grandmother, Shoheila Mahdavi (76 years old), plan to get tattooed together next time they meet. Both of them have a tattoo of a letter, with small hearts symbolizing their long-term relationship with their granddaughter.
A female student studying in the state of California (USA) said that when she proposed the idea to her family, her mother thought that her daughter’s thinking was not normal, but her grandmother now in Dubai agreed immediately and said “definitely,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Tattoos are inherently prejudiced, even in places where tattoo culture is popular like the US. On the other hand, there are families where adults are open, willing to share tattoos with their children as a way of marking affection.
The whole family tattooed together
In the family of Nancy Smith in Pennsylvania, the 60-year-old woman was the one who persuaded her 3 adult children to tattoo 4 dots on each wrist. Ms. Smith explained this symbol represents the resilience and strength of the family of 4, after the husband and father of the family passed away.
Ms. Smith chose small tattoos because she thought they would cause less pain when tattooing, compared to other large tattoos.
“I never thought I would get a tattoo,” said the mother and retail store owner.
Daughter, Peyton Smith (30), who works for a government agency, says the experience made her feel closer to her mother and sisters. “Family tattoos help us have the same signature on our bodies,” she says.
Arlene Gilbert, 70, and her daughter Deborah Pressman, 38, of Florida also got double tattoos last year: a cooking apron with the words “mom” and “grandma” on it, respectively. .
This tattoo is in memory of Mrs. Gilbert’s late mother, Pressman’s grandmother.
‘”Even from the point of view of our Jewish ancestors, tattoos are not approved. My mother will never agree when she finds out about this, but I do not believe in the old concept, “said Mrs. Gilbert.
In 1999, Mrs. Gilbert, a retired judge, got her first tattoo: a bunch of grapes on her chest. She hid it under her gown while working in court. Later, her daughter also got a tattoo in the same position.
“The fact that I had to hide my tattoo is a thing of the past. Now, times have changed. Before, I was the few people over 50 with tattoos, counted in my circle of friends. After that, many friends and relatives were not afraid to get tattooed in middle age, “said Gilbert.
Elderly people also love tattoos
According to her, the Covid-19 epidemic has helped eliminate prejudices about tattoos of the elderly. “Many of us faced our own death,” she recalls.
Before the outbreak, only about 5% of Three Kings Tattoo’s approximately 25,000 annual customers in New York were aged 50 or older. Owner Matthew Marcus estimates the rate is now up to 15%, with many middle-aged customers from New York, Los Angeles, Denver and London. Many of them come to get double tattoos with their children and grandchildren.
Diego Martin, owner of the Hudson Valley Tattoo Company in Wappinger Falls, New York, estimates that the percentage of clients aged 60-70 has doubled in the past year, to about 10 percent of about 3,000 clients.
Tattooing was banned in New York City in 1961, and it was not until 1997 that the practice became legal again.
Emma Anderson, a tattoo artist who works in the Queens borough of the Big Apple, says that over the past 15 years, she’s seen community attitudes towards tattoos change year by year.
She recently gave her 78-year-old father his first tattoo on his arm.
In a 2021 study from the University of Houston’s CT Bauer College of Business, retail employees with tattoos in a field experiment sold as many items as their non-tattooed colleagues. And tattooists with “ink” on their bodies were rated more positively than those without tattoos.
At a tattoo festival in New Orleans last month, Vicki Clarke, a 61-year-old nurse, got her second tattoo and the first in 14 years. An interlocking sun and moon tattoo running down her arm cost a woman $400 .
“In the past, my fixed mindset was that tattoos were only for convicted criminals or street thugs. Now, after I finished this tattoo, I immediately thought about the next tattoo.”
According to a poll this year by Rasmussen Reports, about 33% of all Americans have at least one tattoo. In a similar survey by market research firm Ipsos in 2012, the figure was 21%.
“I’m not trying to be young, I’m just living my life the way I want to,” Smith said. She admits she feels “personal” when someone discovers a 4-dot tattoo on her wrist.
Next time, this mother wants to have a tattoo of a starfish riding and dancing on the waves. She said the tattoo commemorates a snorkeling trip she took on her 60th birthday.
