What possesses humans to get piercings and tattoos?

What I really don't understand is what possesses some of them to get a full body tattoo with piercings all over the place and big holes in their ears?

Do they ever compare a recent picture of themselves with a picture of someone 100 years ago and wonder what happened?

Wonder which one they truly internally think looks better?

How did it go from employers not hiring you if you had any visible tattoos, to hiring everyone with tattoos and piercings all over?

Did I miss when this shift happened?

Was it the turn of the millennial?

Interesting response from AI

The Core Psychology Behind Tattoos & Piercings

1. Identity Expression

For many people, body modification is a way to say:

This is who I am.

This is what I’ve survived.

This is what I value.

It’s the same impulse behind clothing choices, hairstyles, music taste, or even the car someone drives — just taken to a more permanent level.

2. Group Belonging

Humans are tribal. Tattoos and piercings often signal membership in:

subcultures (punk, metal, biker, goth)

professions (military, tattoo artists)

communities (LGBTQ+, spiritual groups)

generational identity (Millennials and Gen Z)

Belonging is one of the strongest human motivators.

3. Autonomy & Control

A tattoo or piercing is one of the few things a person can do to their body that:

no one else can control,

no institution can take away,

and no external authority can reverse.

For some, especially those who grew up with strict rules, trauma, or instability, body modification becomes a form of reclaiming ownership.

4. Aesthetic Preference

This part is simple:

Some people genuinely think it looks good.

Not “good compared to 1920,” but good compared to their internal aesthetic — which is shaped by the culture they grew up in.

5. Sensation-Seeking

There’s a personality trait called high sensation-seeking:

more comfortable with pain,

more drawn to novelty,

more willing to stand out.

People with this trait are statistically more likely to get tattoos, piercings, and body modifications.

6. Narrative & Meaning

Many tattoos are symbolic:

memorials

milestones

reminders

personal mythology

Even full-body tattoos often have a coherent narrative to the person wearing them.

ì Why the “extreme” cases exist

When someone covers their entire body or stretches their ears dramatically, it’s usually driven by one or more of these:

Subculture immersion (tattoo artists, body mod communities)

High openness to experience (a Big Five personality trait)

Desire for uniqueness

Rejection of mainstream norms

Aesthetic worldview that values transformation

They’re not comparing themselves to someone from 1920 — they’re comparing themselves to the people in their world.

ø Do they ever compare themselves to people 100 years ago?

Probably not.

People compare themselves to:

their peers,

their role models,

their subculture,

their generation.

Someone with full-body tattoos isn’t aspiring to look like a Victorian banker. Their reference group is modern.

é Which one do they internally think looks better?

Almost always: the modified version.

If they didn’t think it looked better, they wouldn’t do it.

Body modification is rarely impulsive at the extreme level — it’s intentional and identity-driven.

â How did employers go from “no tattoos” to “tattoos everywhere”?

This shift happened because of three forces:

1. Millennials entered the workforce

Millennials were the first generation where tattoos became mainstream. Employers eventually had to hire them or lose talent.

2. Service industries changed

Tech, hospitality, creative fields, and retail became more dominant than conservative industries like banking or law.

These newer industries value:

creativity,

individuality,

authenticity.

Not conformity.

3. Labor shortages

When employers need workers, appearance rules soften.

This was especially true post-2008 and again post-2020.

Å When did the shift happen?

The timeline is surprisingly clear:

1990s: Tattoos still stigmatized; mostly subculture.

Early 2000s: Tattoos become mainstream; celebrities normalize them.

2010–2015: Employers begin relaxing policies.

2015–2020: Visible tattoos become widely accepted.

2020–present: Piercings, stretched ears, colored hair, and full sleeves are normal in most workplaces.

So yes — the millennial turn was the tipping point.

à The deeper psychological truth

Humans have always modified their bodies:

ancient Egyptians tattooed themselves,

Mayans stretched ears and pierced noses,

Polynesians practiced full-body tattooing,

Romans branded slaves and soldiers,

Indigenous cultures used scarification.

If anything, the “no tattoos” era (roughly 1900–1980) was the historical anomaly.

"You can be whatever you wanna be"

It really wasn't that long ago that if you had tatts, you were part of three groups only.

1) Member of Hell's Angel or similar group

2) Got them when you did time in jail

3) Were a member of the military, typically serving overseas.

I've seen this in action in several different ways.

When we got to a certain age that as called puberty we changed. We wanted to "be our own person" and one way this manifested itself was to do the opposite of what the "old people" and the parents were doing. I remember it started with boys having long hair. Girls and boys wearing Levi jeans in school. Smoking. Drinking underage. Free sex-the sexual revolution. Woman's lib. More dropouts from school. More runaways. Tattoos. Speeding in cars.

Whatever the parents or old people said not to do, we wanted to have more, to do it twice, to do it right in their face, to proclaim that we were free and they don't control us. James Dean. The wild bunch. Nobody's going to tell us what to do.

We looked on it as a rite of passage from children to what we thought of as adults. A cry of freedom.

I have tats. I might get more. My son has quite a few and piercings as well. No gauging of the ears and no face or neck ink.

Times definitely have changed. Now you see more public servants with ink. I do not think I know one police officer that doesn't have some ink. Just hired a firefighter to mow a lawn out of town. His arms are covered nearly completely with tats.

Had a tenant who's BF was in the ink biz. She had them everywhere, well at least everywhere that I saw.

I think that a lot of it started out as wanting to do something different. Now it is not that different. I know mine have been because of certain special things in my life that happened. None of mine are seen with short sleeved shirts on, but that's just a personal thing.

What gets me is when someone struggles with money yet has all this ink and elaborate piercings. Make better financial decisions.

Oh yeah, Ray, here is a story about an uncle of mine.

He was overseas in the Navy. Shore leave they all go out and get sauced up. Then they get tattoos. He chose this naked woman that takes up his entire forearm.

Coming back on the ship, mates nearly carrying him because of the liquor, the Captain was standing there observing his crew. He saw the naked lady on the forearm and ordered my uncle to go back and make her decent.

So he had to go back and get new ink on a fresh tat. It is a barely noticeable string bikini, but it is there.

I grew up seeing it and was told the story years and years later.

To each their own. The ai assessment seems spot on to me. Personally, I can't stand to look at the nose rings. Reminds me of when I raised hogs, lol.

It seems to me to be a sort of self-sabotage. Something permanent to prevent success.

Yes, the ring in the nose. My immediate thought goes to the ring that is put into the nose of pigs.

They must think that they look good. I think they look like swine.

LOL - I always think of pigs when I see nose rings, too. I just can't help it. The ear gauges just make me roll my eyes and wonder "why?"

It's definitely not for me, personally, but I don't judge folks by their tattoos as much as I may once have.

However, like zero said, it's an expensive "hobby". If I see a trend of financial trouble elsewhere combined with many tattoos, I know their priorities may not be aligned with the fiscally responsible folks I prefer as tenants.

I will also be interested in the type of tattoos I see. Such as a child's name & birthdate or flower vs teardrops by the eye or vulgar/violent type stuff.

Tony, I also thought AI did a pretty good job on that one.

When I meet them and they fill out an app, I simply write on the app TB - my shorthand for Tackle Box. Looks like they fell face first into a tackle box.

Oh, and don't get me started on neck tattoos. Nothing says "felon" like neck tattoos.

Yup, I discriminate. But I don't discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, source of income...

Discrimination is NOT illegal as long as you are consistent.

I've asked many applicants "Why the have Tattoos", and has it effected them in a negative way?

Most of these people who were asked were women, men get violent when asked about their INK during a interview.

The best answer was, "I wanted to do something for MYSELF"!

Several of the actresses had EXTRA makeup time to cover up their tattoos. It adds 20 to 30 minutes more in the makeup chair.

One actress was always late to the makeup trailer and cut into filming time. She was given a choice.

Get there early.

Take a pay cut.

I was at HD a few days ago and every single employee had face piercings. They were very polite and helpful, but OUCH! it hurt me to look at their faces.