Like my sister, the youth of the 1960s are now entering their 60s and “older people” aren’t what they used to be. Lyle Tuttle, a well-known tattoo artist, says these aging baby-boomers “are people who think young. Old people used to be fuddy-duddies; it’s changing.”
Bald Bill recently worked on an 86-year-old woman who wanted a tattoo before she died. Her daughter got permission from the doctor, checked her out of the nursing home, and took her to Yankee Tattoo. When Bill asked why she hadn’t done it earlier, she replied, “Honey, Southern ladies didn’t get tattoos in my day.”
As the needles buzzed over her shoulder, Ellen explained that for her, tattoos at this stage of life are about not caring what other people think; they’re just for you.
Susan B. agrees. She is turning 65 and is getting her first - an angel on her shoulder. When I asked her why she wanted a tattoo, she said, “It’s another way of expressing myself in an artistic and individual manner.” When I pressed her with, “Yes, but why now?” she responded with a sly smile, “Why not?” Indeed.
Photos of Ellen & Bald Bill taken at Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, Vermont
Article comments
1 - RJ
what self-respecting 20-something doesn’t have one at the base of her spine?
Actually, these tattoos are generally referred to as "tramp stamps," "slag tags," the "dirty girl tattoo," and the "universal symbol for slatternliness." (Okay, I made the last one up. But you get the point.) ;-)
2 - Ann Cardinal
I know RJ, but the weird thing is, they're still getting them! But it seems the base of the neck is gaining in popularity.
3 - RJ
Ann:
I agree. And I see the neck tats all the time now...and you can't even really conceal them unless you have long hair or wear a turtleneck!
Oh, well...to each his/her own, I guess... :-/