Sunday, May 18, 2014

The slut sell

Steve Sailer asks the purpose of female tattoos, given that male tattoos are meant to make permanent life statements:
What's the purpose of tattoos for women who wouldn't wear the same shoes for six months? Is it too signal to the kind of guys she likes (e.g., drummers) that you are the type of guy I like? But what if after another year here she decides that while she liked drummers back in South Dakota, now she likes producers and agents? Tattoos are class markers, and might work against attractive young women rising in class by marrying well.

Is getting tattoos something guys suggest to discourage hypergamy? Or is it something that other women suggest out of the usual feminine malice?
The answer is pretty obvious to anyone who has paid attention over the last two decades. Tattoos signify the degree of a woman's publicly advertised promiscuity. This is not necessarily a reliable advertisement, but it is a sexual advertisement nevetheless. The advertisement is that the more ink she has, the easier the sexual access to her will be. (It pains me that at this point, I should probably remind some readers that not all advertising is true. Some women are more interested in being perceived as sexy than actually following through on the message being broadcast.)

This is why tattoos are considered "sexy" by men. The tattoos don't make the woman any more attractive, they simply provide an easy method of quickly identifying that she is more readily accessible than the average. So, tattoos are one way for less attractive women to better compete with more attractive women, in much the same way as wearing shorter skirts or unbuttoning an additional blouse button.

A discreet tattoo or three in easily hidden locations are a nice girl's way of showing a few men of her choice that she isn't always a good girl and thereby giving her a leg up in comparison with other nice girls. Extravagant tattoos that can't be hidden tend to be the sign of a woman who is either desperate for attention or sexually incontinent. Although there aren't many studies on it yet, there are indications that "tattoos may be possible markers for lethality". For example, one study found that 57% percent of young white suicides were tattooed compared to 29% of matched accidental deaths.

If you're set up on a blind date with a girl and you're told that she has a tattoo of an dove on her wrist, aren't you going to have different expectations of what the evening holds in store than if you're told she has a giant tattoo of a werewolf sodomizing a vampire on her back as well as a bloody dagger between her breasts and the twelve signs of the zodiac in various places around her body? QED.

Nota Bene: please don't even think about starting in with the blather about why the little butterfly on your ankle is deeply meaningful to you because it signifies your best friend who died in a car crash on prom night. Nobody has ever bought that transparent nonsense. You got a tattoo because you wanted to be seen as stylish and sexy, but not trashy. That's fine, so stop pretending it's some sort of massively encrypted code that no man could possibly crack.

56 comments:

Unknown said...

Sailer begins by saying "The logic behind men getting tattoos seems pretty clearcut: this is who I am for life!"

The ladies love how "for life" sounds but their actual time preference shows otherwise...

La donna è mobil'.
Qual piuma al vento,
muta d'accento
e di pensier'!

Woman is flighty.
like a feather in the wind,
she changes in voice
and in thought!

Dexter said...

Was it Sailer who said the meta-message of every tattoo is "ask me about my parent's divorce"?

En-sigma said...

The thought of staring at the same thing every single day inked into my skin seems a bit odd. I cannot think of a statement that I care enough about to permanently display. Especially since the bible says that I should not. I know a guy who inked E=mc2 on his shoulder. THAT is what you need the world to know about you? And a family member that had the flag tattooed in a spot that only her husband would see. Sooooo....you want him to know how patriotic you are? And that is how you chose to do it?

FB post the other day said "The difference between people with tattoos and people without them is that people with tattoos don't judge the ones without tattoos." (was a woman - I know, you are gasping in shock) Sometimes people say things that are so dumb you don't know how to answer them because you know that whatever it is that you say, you will have to spend the next 20 minutes explaining it to them...and there is no guarantee that you will not end up dumber instead of them ending up smarter.

Anonymous said...

I cannot think of a statement that I care enough about to permanently display.

That's always been my thinking -- well, that and the fact that they always look like a dirty spot at first glance, and I generally don't pay for people to hurt me. I don't even use bumper stickers.

Crowhill said...

I think you're right that (in general) the purpose of the tattoo is to display availability.

When I see one on a woman I immediately think "trash" or "idiot" or both. I don't care how "tasteful" it is.

insanitybytes22 said...

That's kind of interesting because there is a paradox there. Most of the women I know who get tattoos do so out of a kind of defiance, a declaration of bodily autonomy, a hands off kind of attitude, and yet what they achieve is actually the complete opposite. It really is a bit of advertising about availability, promiscuity, even if they have no intention of following through.

My husband really dislikes tattoos on women. It gets a bit embarrassing sometimes because he frequently has to say something like, "Why did you ruin your neck with all that garbage?" I suspect that he feels somewhat offended when he sees an attractive body part being mutilated, his attention diverted with bizarre graphics. He's not fond of massive piercings either. It is a bit sad to see some adorable girl and you can't really admire what nature gave her because you're forced to focus on the safety pin in her eyebrow.

Miguel D'Anconia said...

Vox, I would add belly piercing to the slut indicator as well. That and any heavy body mutilation. I consider it a sign of a lack of respect for yourself.

Trust said...

Some day that cute little butterfly will look like a pterodactyl.

Anonymous said...

Most of the women I know who get tattoos do so out of a kind of defiance, a declaration of bodily autonomy, a hands off kind of attitude

That is what they say and even what they might think. In reality, they are excited about the attention they will get for being (what they consider to be) brave and defiant. Other women might think she is being brave and defiant and maybe even some men. These men she will find unattractive while men she will find attractive will just consider her sexually available.

~ Stingray

insanitybytes22 said...

"Some day that cute little butterfly will look like a pterodactyl."

Oh, Trust, you have no idea. Our nursing homes are going to be filled with people and tattoos that have gone South. If I were morbid and had a stronger stomach, I would photograph them all and start a blog.

Eowyn said...

There are a lot of memes and cute pictures popping up on Facebook and Pinterest and the like about not judging people with tattoos (done mostly by women). The funniest one so far has been a series of photos showing elderly people with tattoos. The men look crusty, but they also look like tattoos acquired in the military. The women who didn't look like dykes looked older than they probably were.

The caption said "show this to the next person that asks you what your tattoos will look like when you're older". Uh, that will only make the other person's point. The tattoos still looked bad, just on saggy, old flesh.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I like the ones that say, "Don't judge me for my tattoos." Yeah, because you paid a lot of money to get that dragon inked across your upper back because you weren't trying to tell everyone something about yourself.

Anonymous said...

I've always found it interesting that temporary tattoos are so unpopular, even hated. They seem like the perfect compromise: you can "express yourself" with however you feel today, and have the freedom to express yourself differently tomorrow or ten years from now. At the least, it seems like it'd be a way to test-drive a tattoo you're considering before making it permanent.

Maybe it's a desire for some permanence in their lives, for girls who are trained to demand unlimited choice in everything: whether to marry or stay married, whether to bear or kill their babies, work, school, dress, hair.... Everything else about their lives is entirely up to them and can be changed at a whim, but this one choice must be made permanent right from the start or you're a coward. So weird.

PhantomZodak said...

tattoos are incredibly stupid & yes all the girls with tattoos & piercings are slutty & don't hide it.

Anonymous said...

Truthfully, the suicides make sense; a much higher percentage of BPD women are sluts, suicidal, self-harming in general.

John Williams said...

And a family member that had the flag tattooed in a spot that only her husband would see.
Her husband and some random guy at the tattoo parlor. Hey, there's a hamster for that!

Anonymous said...

Remember when a girl with a shaved snatch was scandalous? It was actually a niche of fetish porn back in the day and something you had to convince your GF to do with more than a bit of tact. Now you'll be hard pressed to find a porn star with even a 'landing strip' of pubic hair.

Remember when girls with a navel piercing was 'hot as hell' and something only strippers would entertain? You had to really work on a GF to get one, ASD was stronger then. Finding a girl without one now is a surprise.

Fake tits? Girls get them for graduation presents now.

Tats are just one more 'tell' that women had to warm up to.

Anonymous said...

Just to be clear, I happen to love chicks with tats, fake boobs, a shaved cooter and navel/nipple piercings,

…as long as they're done 'tastefully'.

Crowhill said...

The good news is that it will become easier and easier for young men to distinguish sluts and marriageable women. That is, if there are any young men left who want to get married.

Anonymous said...

I hadn't thought of the connection with pain before, but one of the signs of BPD is cutting or self-mutilation. Maybe some that repeatedly get tattoos are crazy enough to want the pain but not quite crazy enough to do it to themselves.

I wouldn't necessarily reject a woman for having gotten a small one when she was young and stupid. I'm more interested in how she feels about it now: is she sheepish or proud? How does she react to the subject of removal?

Retrenched said...

@ Stingray

'Other women might think she is being brave and defiant and maybe even some men. These men she will find unattractive while men she will find attractive will just consider her sexually available.'

Women and the men she doesn't want will probably buy that story, while the men she does want will just 'get it' and know better than to take her seriously.

http://therationalmale.com/2013/12/30/secret-of-the-red-pill/

CarpeOro said...

FB post the other day said "The difference between people with tattoos and people without them is that people with tattoos don't judge the ones without tattoos."

They are correct after a fashion. People with tattoos are demonstrating they at the very least momentarily lost all judgement. The idiocy of "not being judgmental" is rife in society and pushed by those who want no one to comment on their poor choices ever. I'll continue being judgmental. Many may think that means I actively despise those I have passed my own judgement on, but the truth is that in most cases they are more objects of pity and deserving of prayer. Which of course would only infuriate them more.

Anonymous said...

FB post the other day said "The difference between people with tattoos and people without them is that people with tattoos don't judge the ones without tattoos."

That's not true anyway. I've certainly heard people with tattoos say that the non-tattooed are scared of the pain, are too wishy-washy to decide what they want, don't have anything interesting to say, just aren't adventurous enough, etc.

Athor Pel said...

I work at a Fortune 100 company.

I see tattoos on women here at work much more often than I would expect.

The other surprising thing is specifically who is wearing them.
I've been surprised just about every time I've seen one.

I will see a well dressed and put together woman. She is dressed well even for a white collar environment, actually in good taste.

Then I see some exposed skin and there's a tattoo, the younger they are the higher it migrates up the body. I guess they don't mind that most guys see tattoos on women as a pretty sure sign she's a sexual deviant not just an easy lay.

Res Ipsa said...

I've always thought they were called "tramp tracks for a reason".

I spotted a tat yesterday that made me wonder WTF. I was at church. The women had recently gotten a tat all over her chest area. It was a design of intertwined roses bush thorns with roses growing on them. It was recently done. The women is about 26ish, has been married for 6 or 7 years. She has a few kids and is quite heavy for her height. I've known her husband since he was a teenager, about 14 years. He is blue collar and never went beyond high school. The same with her. They have 3 kids.

Any thoughts on what she was thinking? My first thought was that the marriage is in trouble and that she will be fooling around on him soon.

Bob said...

"The difference between people with tattoos and people without them is that people with tattoos don't judge the ones without tattoos."

Absolute bollocks. Here in England it is VERY hard to find a lass without one nowadays. They're doing it because "everyone else is" basically, and don't want to feel left out without making their lil "statement" (that they conjure up at the time of course).

FREQUENTLY had girls state they ONLY want to talk to blokes with piercings and/or tattoos, and flat out refuse to talk to some men (inc me) when they find out that don't have any.

They're doing it because it's the latest trend, and of course they're too stupid to think about the long term consequences, so they just keep adding to them and adding to them till they look a complete mess.

A girl I knew was pretty hot and I WOULD have been interested, but she decided to stretch her ears. She looks completely deformed now. All sexual attraction was lost at that point. Why do these women ruin the feminine beauty they could have otherwise?

Also it's pretty trashy when they have them around their privates, knowing some randomer in the tattoo parlour has seen / touched the lass there (and probably more too). I'm not demanding of virginal women but, it's just trashy. They also get as many as they can in risqué places so they can show them off, take selfies etc and say "oh look at my tattoo!", while really wanting to show off their body and get compliments.

Tis attention seeking, nothing more. Bloody disgusting too on most of them. I don't mind earrings but piercings allover or covered in tattoos just puts me off, and it's VERY rare to find a single lass without them here now.

Bob said...

Also saw a girl with this massive fucking demon bat thing tattood across her chest (as well as ones allover her back, arms and legs). It had a crazy look in it's eyes and a stupid grin. I had to laugh at the mental image of me TRYING to fuck her and absolutely just not being able to do it, due to having that thing staring back at me the entire time.

The trend at the moment is to demand blokes with these "sleeve" ones which go all the way down the arm, or any other ones that have a "meaning" apparently. Baffles me. I keep things that mean something to me inside my head, because they mean something to ME. I don't need to show them off to others.

Anonymous said...

I'll just leave this here.. Kinda makes me think evil thoughts of mandatory sterilization etc..

Revelation Means Hope said...

Bob, tell her that you're a REAL man and you had one put on your privates. It was very painful to get but if she wants to see it......she'll have to follow through on the deal.

T.L. Ciottoli said...

More than not, especially on a woman, it shows weakness in my eyes. An uncontrollable desire to be seen a certain way (bad girl, rebel, independent, a slut, 'experienced', whatever) and/or fit in with a particular crowd. In other words desiring to be accepted into the crowd. That's a bad sign in my book. And even worse if she doesn't realize she's marking herself, forever, for a certain lower class of society and living.

There is something to be said for people who, even in the midst of the confusion and pressures of adolescence, stuck with their instinct for staying with the natural, what is not false, fake, or contrived. While it pained me to do so on many occasions as a young man, I see now how handsomely it has paid off.

One need not contrivances, or ink, to be seen or respected by others as a fascinating, colorful, or powerful human being. One needs character and God for that. Even the toughest, hardest sons of bitches, covered in tattoos that resonate a life of gritty survival, know that to be the truth. They especially know that tattoos in no way magically confer toughness, strength, street smarts, nor independence, much less authentic life experience. They know who the posers are. And likely they respect far more those people who know better than to pretend tattoos are within the purview of their class, rank, or life experience. Who respects a poser in any setting, within any social scene or atmosphere? No one.

If you have both, great. If you only have the accoutrements and not the character to match, it is all but vanity, dust, and ash.

Swiss said...

All things being equal:

Girl with no tattoo > Girl with a small wrist tattoo > Girl with a large tattoo.

MichaelJMaier said...

"Graffiti on a masterpiece" is how I refer to "tats".

There are FAR too many gorgeous women putting that crap on their sexy bodies. I almost saddened when I see it on an attractive woman.

LAZ said...

How many of you that just posted derogatory statements about tats and piercings have your ears pierced? Now give me one good reason you did it.

Marissa said...

Pierced ears also used to have the same stigma.

Bob said...

No piercings or tattoos whatsoever on me. Never felt the need for them.

Also a simple ear piercing doesn't deform in any way, and such jewelry is usually taken out too.

Not the same with nose bars, studs and all the bolts and crap they have shoved through their faces and bodies. Stretched ears make me want to puke too.

Anonymous said...

I can say a tattoo has always been a complete and total ender for me. Nothing short of a woman declaring she has had multiple abortions could destroy her credibility/desirability with me any quicker.

And I am pretty up front about that. Even a small, relatively discreet and "tasteful" tattoo is a total turnoff. It says if she's not loose now, she either was or wanted to be seen that way.

At any rate, no thanks.

I'm also dubious of tattoos on men save for bikers and those in the military. Too often a tattoo is an attempt by some personal trainer or male secretary to look tough, quick.

My experience worth what you paid for it.

Anonymous said...

LAZ I had my ears pierced when young and stupid but sorely wish I had not. I didnt have them for long.

It is ridiculous having to explain to my daughters why I have barely visible markers.

Anonymous said...

The difference between people with tattoos and people without them is that people with tattoos don't judge the ones without tattoos

She meant to add "other than to judge them for being judgmental", I assume.

I think it was James Lileks who wrote "one day tramp stamps will be know as old lady tattoos."

LAZ said...

"Pierced ears also used to have the same stigma."

But they didn't in the recent past (lifespan of everybody here) and don't now.

"Also a simple ear piercing doesn't deform in any way..."

Tell that to the holes I've had in my ear for 20+ years.

"...and such jewelry is usually taken out too."

After the PERMANENT hole heals in 30-60 days.

"Not the same with nose bars, studs and all the bolts and crap they have shoved through their faces and bodies."

Jewelry: noun. articles of gold, silver, precious stones, etc., for personal adornment.

Adornment: noun. 1. to decorate 2. to increase the beauty, distinction, etc, of
-------------------------

Look, I agree the extreme piercings, body mods and extreme tats are gross but, a piercing is a piercing. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of saying piercings are bad when you (plural) have holes in your ears

LAZ said...

"It is ridiculous having to explain to my daughters why I have barely visible markers."

It was a little embarrassing for me but, I told my son it was a bad mistake and don't do it. So far he seems to have listened.

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

I counseled my younger brother not to get a tattoo. He wanted a tribal for crying out loud. I told him not to get one, and he asked me if he shouldn't get one why I have three. They are military tattoos. I told him anything you put on your body for life should be something you are willing to give up your life for. He listened to me, which I am still surprised about.

S. Thermite said...

I'd guess that some girls also get these abominations (I don't even need scripture to have an option here, just my own eyes) scratched into their previously-fair skin because they're such special snowflakes and what their mamma gave them just wasn't enough. Or with the hidden tattoos, because they've already shown enough men their other special parts that they want to add something new....

One of the most beautiful girls I've met in the last couple years, decided to cover a quarter of her back with the full text of Jeremiah 29:11. Never pictured her quite the same since, or that scripture either, am sorry to say. At least her future boyfriends will have something to read when...well, you get the picture.

Dominic Saltarelli said...

I just thought it was because they liked pretty colors. The fact that tattoos are permanent simply... doesn't register.

"Look at my new tattoo!"

"Cool, what is it?"

"....it's PURPLE... duuuuhhh...."

Retrenched said...

@ vashine

Generally a tattoo indicates a short time preference and a lack of impulse control -- traits which are found in slutty women and violent men. So women with tattoos are usually trying to advertise sexual availability, while men get tattoos to look tough, more often than not.

But just as women advertise falsely with tattoos, so do men. Some of the men with the most impressive and tough looking tattoos cannot fight their way out of a wet paper bag.

Anonymous said...

A few weeks ago I was in line at a lunch spot when a group of worker-bees came in. Two herbish guys and a girl. She looked like she was early twenties. Extremely hard-bodied. I mean very high SMV in the body department. Pretty face too. Young, fit, attractive. Peak SMV.

Multiple tattoos, neo-punk hair (shaved on one side of her head, short on the other, dyed two-tone purple and aqua green) and several facial piercings (I assume there were other piercing not on public display during lunchtime hours....).

Despite all the facial hardware, the chopped hair, and the marred skin, she was still extremely hot. Happily married me briefly thought about how fun it would be to roll her in the hay.

For now.

It occurred to me, she was engaged in the SMV equivalent of "conspicuous consumption." She was flaunting how beautiful she was by intentionally lowering her SMV. Even with the uglification campaign, she was still desirable. But that wouldn't last. In five years, ten at the tops, she would be showing signs of aging, the bloom of fertile youth would be off, and the scars she intentionally inflicted on herself would hasten the approach of The Wall.

Short time preference indeed.

Dexter said...

The trend at the moment is to demand blokes with these "sleeve" ones which go all the way down the arm, or any other ones that have a "meaning" apparently. Baffles me.

I went to the UK a few months back and saw my cousin who I hadn't seen in a while. We're both in our 40s. I hadn't seen him in maybe five years or so, and in that time span he had acquired "sleeve" tattoos on both arms. I didn't ask why, but perhaps he was responding to this "demand" from women...

james wilson said...

I have heard conversations between tattooed strangers who complained that the great masses of the unmutilated might judge them. The fact is rather that by their tattoos it was judgement which they insisted upon, but of a more agreeable sort.

Paul, Dammit! said...

I dunno, I see the upside. My boy, now informed through my own experience, knows EXACTLY what he will be getting into when he engages in any sort of interaction with a woman. No more going through painful trials to learn about the person within. First impressions are often the correct impressions, anyhow, so anything that builds a more reliable dataset works for me.

Tattoos are for sailors and convicts. Always was, always will be, world without end. I have 4, but then again, I'm a sailor. Tattoos were a fine naval tradition to help with ID'ing a mutilated or partially-eaten body found on a beach. Same thing with gold earrings. It gave a sense of peace, as it would, in theory, be worth twice the cost of a funeral, thus increasing the chance of a Christian burial if one's body was found by a sympathetic person on a strange shore.

MichaelJMaier said...

The first time I saw "tribal" tats, I asked the waitress sporting them what they were. She sniffed "They're Tribal".

I said "What tribe are you in?"

Dumb look.

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

The right tattoo can help your business dealings, provided you rate to wear it. A "USMC" on the inside of the right forearm works wonders when shaking hands with new customers.

Revelation Means Hope said...

Exactly, if someone tells me they have a tribal tattoo, I'm always going to ask which tribe they belong to that requires tats. And then ask if they got the tattoo as part of a tribal ceremony. And where the tribal ceremony took place.

And then ask how many of their tribe are around, and if they have to be hostile to opposing tribes.

But all asked in a friendly tone. Because it is amusing if they aren't a tribal member. Especially to point out that there might actually be members of an enemy tribe running around who might want to go to town on your a$$.

MichaelJMaier said...

I keep thinking of the time the women in my office asked what I want in a woman.

I said "No tattoos, in decent shape, Christian woman, not divorced, submissive attitude" and watching the faces of them all getting really pissed off as my qualifications crossed them all off the list.

To which I wondered aloud "What do any of you care what MY desires in a woman are?"

No answers... just glowering.

Marissa said...

But they didn't in the recent past (lifespan of everybody here) and don't now.

Sounds like the stigma on divorce and illegitimacy. And tattoos.

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