I’m not an expert on the subject, merely an enthusiast, but the longer I keep reading popular articles about tattoos/ body modification in general, the more I think that journalists seldom write really in depth on the subject and they are interested only in getting ‘catchy’ stories and drawing their readers’ attention.

An example? Are tattoos getting mainstream or they are still taboo? Answers are contradicting here: tattoos taboo? or tattoos no longer taboo? Throw in an interview with someone relatively famous and tattooed and they’ll try to convince you that tattoos and piercings are more and more popular nowadays (some numbers about tattooed Americans or other nations surely will follow!)

The real answer is probably somewhere in-between. It is true that these days body modification is more popular and accessible than ever but it does *not* mean that you can get whatever and wherever done and not worry about your future prospects. It is true that having one or two or three small tattoos is nothing unusual now but some heavier work is still pretty uncommon.

Maybe then we have much to thank for to rich and famous who get tattooed and make tattoos more popular but we also should remember about stereotypes and that it’s up to us to change them (which leads me to this article about bikers helping Make-A-Wish foundation). The whole popularity/mainstream question is way more complex than media want us to believe and it’s better to think on our own instead of believing in what they write because there’s a human being behind each and every tattoo and all of them have their stories and experiences.

On a different note, taken for a bus ride is an interesting story not only because it re-plays the current economic problems in the US but also because it gives a fleeting insight into a life of someone who’s just left prison and has tattoos to show where they’re coming from.