piercing Archive

  • Not so long ago, tattoos enjoyed acceptance only in certain limited social circles: primarily bikers, longshoremen, and skanky strippers. At that same time, piercing was only suitable for earlobes, and even that was confined to a single gender. But sometime in the mid 1980s, a cultural shift took place. Maybe it was Axl Rose’s well-inked arms. Maybe it was a punk scene that was just beginning to poke its head above the underground water. Maybe it was simple youthful rebellion. Whatever the reason, tattooing and piercing established strong roots in the counter-culture of the time. Throughout the 1990s, both became progressively more accepted by mainstream twenty somethings. Generation X was painted and poked more than any generation before them.

    Painted and Poked: The Tattooing and Piercing of Generations X and Y

    Posted on June 4, 2007 | No Comments
    Not so long ago, tattoos enjoyed acceptance only in certain limited social circles: primarily bikers, longshoremen, and skanky strippers. At that same time, piercing was only suitable for earlobes, and even that was confined to a single gender. But sometime in the mid 1980s, a cultural shift took place. Maybe it was Axl Rose’s well-inked arms. Maybe it was a punk scene that was just beginning to poke its head above the underground water. Maybe it was simple youthful rebellion. Whatever the reason, tattooing and piercing established strong roots in the counter-culture of the time. Throughout the 1990s, both became progressively more accepted by mainstream twenty somethings. Generation X was painted and poked more than any generation before them.

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