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Older tattooed man and younger tattooed woman standing next to each other ()
I got my first tattoo in 2010, and, like many American millennials, I made sure it could be easily hidden under my shirt, safely positioned on the right side of my upper back. While tattoos weren’t necessarily forbidden then, it was assumed that a potential employer spotting one could up your chances of being “non-hirable.” It wasn’t until July 2024, when getting inked for 18th time, that I got my first not-so-easy to cover tattoo that branches down my forearm.
Thankfully, within the last decade, societal and workplace views towards body art have changed significantly. Tattoos are not as stigmatized as they once were, and even people in older generations, beyond the Veterans and bikers who were already getting inked, are joining in on the fun.
The cultural change may be attributed to the younger generations, particularly millennials and Gen Z. These are the most tattooed age groups. As of 2023, they make up 40 percent of the modern workforce, are promoting in their jobs (where they may be able to dictate what they wear and what tattoos may be seen) and may no longer wish to swelter at the office in long sleeves during the summertime heat. Perhaps the rise in hybrid and remote work has also made it easier for people to ink themselves because they aren’t as pressured to hide their body art.
Tattooed biker in sunglasses sitting on his motorcycle (fxquadro (123RF))
Even the strictest of military branches no longer impede talented individuals from joining their ranks because of tattoos. With every young, new recruit, the generational demographics of the armed forces change: Gen Z makes up the largest portion of the armed forces.
In 2022, Gen Z made up 42 percent of the Army, 41 percent of the Navy, 65 percent of the Marine Corps, 38 percent of the Air Force and 26 percent of the Space Force (Defense Manpower Data Center). With demographics like that, the military attitude toward tattoos must keep up with societal norms in order to continue recruiting talent.
Whatever the reasons for more cultural and social acceptance, as a tattooed individual who committed herself to long pants at the office in 2014, I became interested in learning about tattoos and tattoo culture across the different generations.
Baby Boomers: born 1946-1964
Gen X: born 1965-1980
Millennials: born 1981-1996
Gen Z: born 1997-2012
It’s no secret that the many in the Baby Boomer generation associated tattoos with shady characters, fringe members of society and Sailors. Younger generations do not seem to have those connotations.
When older generations get tattoos, there is a tendency to do so with intention and meaning, or as a form of rebellion. Whereas younger generations both get symbolic and meaningful tattoos and get tattooed as a form of identity projection or art collection.
Millennials are the most tattooed generation with 47 percent of people getting inked, while Gen X trails close behind with 32 percent (Statista). However, because those who fall under Gen Z’s current age demographic is includes many people aged 12-17, too young for legal tattooing in most places. Even so, 23 percent are currently tattooed, meaning they may one day surpass tattooed millennials. The Baby Boomer generation trails behind everyone, with only 13 percent being tattooed.
Male tattoo artist tattooing another man’s arm. (mikhailkayl (123RF))
It’s not just who is tattooed, but what they ink on their bodies that differentiates between the generations. While baby boomers are not the most adorned of the, they paved the path with getting American traditional tattoos (which can be easily hidden, of course). The Gen X trend was getting ankle and lower back tattoos, particularly tribal designs, dolphins, owls, butterflies, names and, I can only speak colloquially about this, I saw a lot of cherries on upper backs and suns around belly buttons at the beach in the 1990s.
Millennials have jumped all in. 29 percent of millennials have more than one tattoo (Statista). They tend to get larger, intricate and bolder pieces, even if they wait until later in life to get them, like one particular writer. Millennials also lean towards infinity symbol, dreamcatcher and pop culture tattoos.
Whereas millennials get larger pieces, Gen-Zer’s have jumped on the micro tattoo trend. They even have their own generational micro tattoo: a “Z” that is making the rounds on the TikTok app. They also place their tattoos in more subtle places including behind the ears and inner parts of the finger. Popular designs amongst this generation include sparkle designs, bows, angel numbers and fine-line script.
From dolphins to dreamcatchers, each generation has its own way of expressing themselves and what is meaningful to them. No matter the generation, it seems that tattoos aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Tattooed girl looking down at phone (123RF)
In trend with the rest of society, tattooed millennials had the largest response, 85 percent. This is followed by Gen X (10 percent) and Gen Z (5 percent).
Your top two favorite tattoo styles: black-and-grey (or white) and American traditional.
26 percent of you have more than 20 tattoos!
Our highest response was from the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany.
14 percent of you responded from outside of Germany.
The youngest age for a first tattoo was 15; the oldest was 31.
Our oldest respondent was 47 years old.
We got the most responses from Air Force affiliated people.
