On the Beach, Men Are More Likely to Approach a Tattooed Woman

Smithsonian.com ^ | 23MAY2013 | Unknown

[Jack Hydrazine]

There are a lot of reasons to think twice before getting something permanently drawn on your body. One is that people still treat those with tattoos differently than those without. One recent study, for instance, looked at how men treat women with tattoos. What they found was that men are more likely to approach a woman with a tattoo and more likely to expect a date or sex with that woman.

Here’s how the study worked. Researchers had women place temporary tattoos on their lower backs and sent them to a well-known beach. The women were instructed to lay on the beach reading a book, staying on their stomachs so that the tattoo was visible. There were two parts to this study. In the first one, once the woman was in place, researchers watched and counted how many men approached her. In the second, once the woman assumed her position, a male researcher walked around the beach and asked random men whether they would be willing to “respond to three questions about a girl somewhere on the beach.” Every single man they approached said yes.

Here’s how the researchers summarized their results:

Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment showed that more men (N = 220) approached the tattooed confederates and that the mean latency of their approach was quicker. A second experiment showed that men (N = 440) estimated to have more chances to have a date and to have sex on the first date with tattooed confederates.

Interestingly, the study did refute an earlier finding about women with tattoos. In 2007, researchers from the University of Liverpool showed that men rated women with tattoos as physically less attractive, but sexually more promiscuous than those without. In this study, researchers found that physical attractiveness—as rated by the men on the beach who agreed to answer questions about the woman—wasn’t impacted by the tattoo. Another study in 2005 also found that tattoos don’t change attractiveness, but do negatively impact a person’s credibility, regardless of their gender.

So tattoos might not be bad for picking up dudes at the beach, but they might impact what those dudes think of you in the long run.

[Secret Agent Man]

No doubt, this screams federal grant all over the place.

[chris37]

No doubt, and the stamp is obviously not there for her to look at, so one can only assume...

[TChad]

American female, circa 1953.

[X-spurt]

The old saying “a bad apple ruins the barrel”, was based on long recognized facts.

The hoodlum and gang culture was introduced into the American childhood apple barrel in the 60’s by JFK and LBJ and has gone downhill from there.

[onyx]

Tattooed Women are my only kind of Women!

[proud American in Canada]

“tattoos don’t change attractiveness, but do negatively impact a person’s credibility”

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Of course it does, particularly in the professional world. The only places where people can make serious money with tats all over the place are in music or sports—in other words, they have to have money-making talent. JMHO.

[razorback-bert]

[proud American in Canada]

OMG Travis—please tell me that’s photoshopped! If not, this girl won’t be a lawyer or accountant anytime soon. How short-sighted that is.

Julie

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Wow, that would cut my dry-cleaning bill to zero! Where do I sign up?

[Moonman62]

What they found was that men are more likely to approach a woman with a tattoo...

Is that why pilots call them approach lights?

[proud American in Canada]

“What you said! I may be older than dirt, but I just think those things look like s##t, especially on women.”

__________________________________________

I’m a middle-aged woman, and I couldn’t agree more.

[proud American in Canada]

“Turns out they were the ear lobe all stretched out by some sort of thing”
_______________________________________________

I’ve seen those—very bizarre! And you’re right—it looks like it’s straight out of National Geographic.

Why people want to mess up their bodies is beyond me.

[berdie]

OMG!! He made himself a dimple.

I forsee some major plastic surgery in this guy’s future. I guess the earlobes can be fixed...maybe. But the nostrils? Not likely.

[Still Thinking]

I remember an SNL fake commercial years ago regarding some type of Tramp stamp removal gel or something and it hurt like hell.

I remember that -- it was hilarious!

[Still Thinking]

Oh, baby! Please tell me what you’re doing tonight, so I can make sure to be somewhere else!

[mowowie]

I have a semi-friend that was into that giant hole in the earlobe thing a few years back.
He doesn’t wear the rings anymore but his lobes are permanently disfigured and mangled.
It’s actually pretty pathetic........and Gross.

[mowowie]

Jack has the clip on post 52.
pretty funny stuff.
OUCH!!!

[Finny]

Owch!

[Still Thinking]

Is she part Feringhi?

[wjcsux]

My theory is that tattooes alternate generations. The WWII people had them, so many of the late-boomers saw what tattoos look like after 10-20 years and decided not to get them. But now that that generation is dying out, the current young generation hasn’t seen that, and so are getting a bunch of tattoos. Give it 10 or 20 years, and no one will want them anymore.
My father (a WW II veteran) had a tatoo of the Philippine Islands on his forearm. When I was a little boy I said "daddy, what is that?" He said "that is the second most stupid thing I did. The first was lying about my age and enlisting in the Navy when I was 16."