Body Image 4 (2007) 343352

www.elsevier.com/locate/bodyimage

Unattractive, promiscuous and heavy drinkers:

Perceptions of women with tattoos
Viren Swami a,*, Adrian Furnham b
a
Division of Public Health, University of Liverpool, Whelan Building, Quadrangle, Brownlow Hill,
Liverpool L69 3GB, United Kingdom
b
Department of Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Received 26 February 2007; received in revised form 12 June 2007; accepted 13 June 2007

Abstract
This study examined social and physical perceptions of blonde and brunette women with different degrees of tattooing. Eighty-
four female and 76 male undergraduates rated a series of 16 female line drawings that varied in 2 levels of hair colour and 8 levels of
tattooing. Ratings were made for physical attractiveness and sexual promiscuity, as well as estimates of the number of alcohol units
consumed on a typical night out. Results showed that tattooed women were rated as less physically attractive, more sexually
promiscuous and heavier drinkers than untattooed women, with more negative ratings with increasing number of tattoos. There
were also weak interactions between body art and hair colour, with blonde women in general rated more negatively than brunettes.
Results are discussed in terms of stereotypes about women who have tattoos and the effects of such stereotypes on well-being.
# 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Tattoos; Body art; Physical attractiveness; Sexual promiscuity

Introduction fuel the acceptance and popularity of tattoos, both

There has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence
of body art among both women and men in recent years,
especially in North America, Europe and Japan. In
particular, tattoos marks made by inserting coloured
pigment into the skin have experienced a revival in
popularity among adolescents and young adults
(Laumann & Derick, 2006). The influx of new tattoo
artists into the industry, coupled with advancements in
tattoo pigments and equipment for tattooing (Greif,
Hewitt, & Armstrong, 1999), has improved the quality
of tattoos being produced. This, in turn, has helped to
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 151 794 5270;
fax: +44 151 794 5588.
E-mail address: virenswami@hotmail.com (V. Swami).
within celebrity culture and the public more widely.
This has occurred alongside a renewal of interest in
the art of tattooing among traditional cultures, partially
as a means of protecting disappearing heritages (e.g.,
Pritchard, 2001). However, it also represents a marked
shift from past decades, when tattoos were associated
with non-mainstream groups (DeMello, 1995, 2000).
Specifically, tattoos may have signaled time spent in
prison, punk group membership, participation in the
armed forces, or (particularly in the East) involvement
with organised criminal groups or triads. More
generally, individuals sporting tattoos were viewed as
rebels or deviants (Benson, 2000), who subsequently
experienced varying degrees of marginalisation from
mainstream society.
While there are no definitive figures on current
prevalence rates of tattooing (Anderson, 1992), most
studies suggest that between 14 and 35% of adolescents

1740-1445/$ see front matter # 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.06.005
344 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
and young adults in the West have a tattoo (Forbes,
2001; Martin, 1997; Roberts & Ryan, 2002). For
instance, in a random sample of 500 American women
and men, Laumann and Derick (2006) found that 24%
of respondents had tattoos and that its distribution was
equally common in both sexes. Nor do there appear to
be many differences in the demographics (e.g., socio-
economic status, education; Armstrong, Roberts, Owen,
& Koch, 2004) or personalities (Forbes, 2001) of those
who have and do not have tattoos. Moreover, studies
have shown that a large number of non-tattooed
adolescents would like to have body art (Armstrong
& Murphy, 1997, 1998; Benjamins et al., 2006).
Within the academic literature, a key focus has been
on motivations and reasons for getting a tattoo
(Wohlrab, Stahl, & Kappeler, 2007). Most studies
highlight aspects associated with self-expression and
uniqueness among those who have tattoos (Armstrong
et al., 2004; Greif et al., 1999). Other reasons may
include group membership, perceptions of sexiness,
peer pressure and appreciation of artistic design
(Armstrong et al., 2004; Millner & Eichold, 2001).
More broadly, there appears to be little association with
the current commitment to tattooing and being a rebel or
social deviant (Millner & Eichold, 2001; Tiggemann &
Golder, 2006). Indeed, Forbes (2001) made the point
that, as tattooing becomes more widely accepted, it is no
longer possible to maintain a view of body art as a sign
of marginalisation.
Recently, Tiggemann and Golder (2006) have
discussed tattooing as a means for individuals to
achieve distinctiveness in the appearance domain,
resulting in positive psychological outcomes. That is,
individuals with a need for uniqueness and distinctive
appearance investment may be more likely to have
tattoos, and the resulting perception of uniqueness may
serve to improve self-esteem. However, any positive
effect on self-esteem may be mitigated if an individual
experiences stigma or negative interpersonal interac-
tions as a result of possessing body art.
Surprisingly, however, there have been few empirical
studies of the stigma associated with tattooing (for
sociological histories of tattooing, see DeMello, 2000;
Rubin, 1988; Wroblewski, 1992). Certainly, the
anecdotal and some empirical evidence would seem
to suggest that tattoos are no longer associated with
earlier out-groups or social marginalisation, but this is
not to say that body art has no negative connotations
(Gray, 1994; Rubin, 1988), especially for women
(Braunberger, 2000). In one early study, for instance,
Armstrong (1991) showed that career-oriented women
with tattoos experienced a considerable degree of
stigma, particularly from the older men in their lives
(e.g., fathers, or fathers of their friends and associates).
More recently, Hawkes, Senn, and Thorn (2004)
examined attitudes towards women with tattoos of
different sizes and visibility using written descriptions.
They found that both female and male undergraduates
in North American held more negative attitudes towards
women with a visible tattoo, whereas the size of the
tattoo was a predictor of attitudes only for individuals
who did not have tattoos themselves. Hawkes et al.
(2004) discussed their results in terms of negative
evaluations of women who transgress gendered norms,
which was further supported by their finding that
participants with conservative gender attitudes evalu-
ated both tattooed and untattooed stimulus women more
negatively than those with liberal gender attitudes.
Such reports of negative evaluations of women with
tattoos are important because many young women, at
least in the West, now wear tattoos, irrespective of class,
ethnicity or religion (Armstrong, 1991; Brown, Perl-
mutter, & McDermott, 2000; Houghton, Durkin, Parry,
Turbett, & Odgers, 1996). Given that negative stereo-
types are almost always harmful (cf. Crocker, Major, &
Steele, 1998; Swim & Stangor, 1998), they may have a
detrimental effect on the self-esteem of individuals with
tattoos, which may mitigate or overturn any positive
effects of feeling unique.
In the present study, therefore, we sought to examine
the effects of having a tattoo on perceptions of womens
physical attractiveness, sexual fidelity and consumption
of alcohol. To do so, we designed a series of line
drawings of the female figure that varied along several
dimensions of body art, namely the design, location and
number of tattoos. The use of such line drawing offers
an advancement on the methodology used by Hawkes
et al. (2004), and also allowed us to examine the
association of tattooing and other physical character-
istics. In the present study, the latter was operationalised
as differences in hair colour. Specifically, we compared
differences in perceptions of blonde and brunette
women with tattoos. The available literature suggests
that, among Western samples, blondes are often equated
with goodness (Juni & Roth, 1985), whereas dark hair
tends to be equated with villainy (Clayson & Maughan,
1986). At the same time, however, blondes are also
perceived as being more untrustworthy, risky and
manipulative (Lawson, 1971), and indeed, daily jargon
in the West associated blondeness with sociosexual
openness (Rich & Cash, 1993).
Because of the dearth of earlier studies of this nature,
no explicit hypotheses were formed. Nevertheless, the
available evidence led us to believe that women with
 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
tattoos would be rated as being less physically
attractive, more sexually promiscuous and more likely
to consume large amounts of alcohol compared with
untattooed women. That is, women with greater
numbers of tattoos would be perceived more negatively
than women without tattoos. In addition, given the
association of blondeness with sociosexuality, we
expected blonde women with tattoos to be perceived
more negatively than brunettes with tattoos.
Method
Participants
The participants of this study were 160 under-
graduates (84 women, 76 men) enrolled in various
courses at two British universities. The mean age of the
sample was 19.06 years (SD = 3.52, range 1846 years).
Of the total sample, 22 (13.8%) reported having tattoos,
with the majority having one tattoo (see Results section
for greater detail). The majority of the sample was of
European Caucasian descent (73.8%), with smaller
groups of Asian (25.6%) or Afro-Caribbean (.6%)
descent. In terms of religion, the vast majority reported
not having any religious beliefs (68.8%), while others
were Christians (14.4%), Muslims (3.1%), Jews (3.1%)
or of other faiths (10.7%). The majority of participants
were single (70.0%), just over a quarter were in a relation-
ship (28.1%) and the remainder were married (1.9%).
Participants ethnicity, religion and relationship status
did not have a main effect on any of the ratings, nor an
interaction effect with the tattoo or hair colour variables.
Stimuli
The stimuli were modified versions of the line
drawings originally developed and used by Furnham,
Swami, and Shah (2006). The original stimuli consisted
of 36 line drawings of the female figure, varying in 6
levels of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), 3 levels of body
weight and 2 levels of breast size. For the present study,
we initially selected a single figure (.7 WHR, average
body weight, small breast size) from which all
subsequent stimuli were created using Microsoft Paint,
a simple graphics designs programme. Only figures of
women were used because no comparable stimulus set
for men was available.
To begin with, we modified the original drawing so
that the figure now wore a two-piece, rather than a full-
costume, bathing suit. Using the Brush and Palette
options in Microsoft Paint, we then added colour to give
the image a pale-skinned (Caucasian) complexion. In
345
this manner, we also created images with two distinct
hair colours (blonde and brunette). A pilot test of these
images with six participants (three female, three male)
unaffiliated with the study ensured that the addition of
colour to the images appeared realistic. These images
were, therefore, used as baseline stimuli.
Next we incorporated several body art designs into
the baseline figures. Consultations with a professional
tattoo artist led us to believe that the most popular
location for women to have a tattoo was on the lower
back, but this clearly would not have been suitable for
the present stimuli. We, therefore, used three tattoo
locations that were also deemed popular by the
professional tattoo artist, namely the arm, ankle and
hips. However, this also raised a further complication:
the same tattoo design would not appear realistic at all
three locations. In consultation with the tattoo artist, we
therefore decided upon a tribal band design for the
arm and ankles, and a butterfly for the hips. Finally, we
created figures with combinations of tattoos at two (arm
and hips, arm and ankle, hips and ankle) or all locations.
The final set of stimuli, therefore, consisted of 16
stimuli that varied in 8 levels of body art and 2 levels of
hair colour, which were lettered AP (see Fig. 1).
Procedure
Participants were recruited opportunistically by the
authors of the study to take part in a study examining
perceptions of body art. All participants took part on a
voluntary basis and were not compensated for their
time. Testing was conducted in several group settings
(one setting with roughly 100 participants, and two
further groups with roughly 30 participants each). Each
high-resolution image was projected onto a large white-
screen in a randomised order for 1 min. Participants
were instructed to remain quiet throughout the test
procedure and were asked not to share their answers
with each other. Participants were presented with a brief
two-page questionnaire that requested them to provide
ratings for each image according to its label and finally
to provide their demographic details.
Traditionally, studies of physical attractiveness have
been concerned with related ratings such as health and
reproductive status. Given the wealth of data in relation to
such variables, we asked participants in the present study
to provide non-traditional ratings of the stimuli. We
initially compiled a list of 11 variables that were relevant
to this study (physical attractiveness, health, sexual
promiscuity, socio-economic class, social standing,
masculine behaviours, alcohol consumption, marriage
potential, friendliness, reproductive potential), before
346 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352

Fig. 1. Diminutive examples of the stimuli used in this study (modified from Furnham et al., 2006).
 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352 347

selecting the three that would most likely be of interest in
the present case.
The final questionnaire requested that participants
make their ratings according to two variables, namely
physical attractiveness, i.e. how physically attractive
you think the woman is and sexual promiscuity, i.e.
how likely you think the woman behaves in a
promiscuous manner (e.g., has multiple partners,
engages in casual sex). Participants made these ratings
on a 9-point Likert scale (1 = not at all physically
attractive/sexually promiscuous, 9 = very physically
attractive/sexually promiscuous). Participants were
encouraged to use the entire scale range when making
these ratings. In addition, participants were asked to
estimate the number of alcohol units they believed the
woman depicted consumed on a typical night out. The
questionnaire explained that one unit of alcohol
equalled a half pint of regular beer, a small glass of
wine or a pub measure of spirits.
Participants also provided their demographic details
(sex, age, ethnicity, religion and relationship status).
Finally, participants were asked on a binomial scale
(yes/no) whether they had any tattoos (and if so, how
many) and if they would consider having any tattoos in
the future. The entire test procedure took approximately
30 min to complete, and all participants were debriefed
following the experiment.
Results
Prevalence of tattooing
Of the 160 participants in this study, 22 (13.8%)
reported having tattoos. Although this sample should
not be considered representative of British under-
graduates in terms of sampling, it is nevertheless in line
with previous prevalence reports (Forbes, 2001;
Laumann & Derick, 2006; Martin, 1997; Roberts &
Ryan, 2002). Moreover, there was a fairly equal sex
distribution in terms of these 22 participants (women
40.9%, men 59.1%). Of these tattooed participants, the
majority (72.7%) had one tattoo, 13.6% had two tattoos,
9.1% had three tattoos and one participant (4.5%) had
six tattoos. Of the total sample, 71.3% indicated that
they would consider having a tattoo in the future, which
is again consistent with previous reports (Armstrong &
Murphy, 1997, 1998; Benjamins et al., 2006). Partici-
pants response on both binomial questions (whether
they had any tattoos and whether they would consider
having tattoos done in the future) did not have a main

Table 1
ANOVA results with main effects of Hair colour, Tattoo and their interactions for physical attractiveness, sexual promiscuity and number of alcohol
units consumed
Source Trait df F Effect size (h2p )

Hair colour Physical attractiveness 1, 158 74.79* .32

Sexual promiscuity 1, 158 33.29* .17
Units of alcohol 1, 158 51.60* .25
Tattoo Physical attractiveness 5.56, 877.71a 69.18* .31
Sexual promiscuity 4.63, 689.39a 37.90* .19
Units of alcohol 4.50, 711.47a 108.67* .41
Hair colour  Tattoo Physical attractiveness 5.58, 880.80a 5.42* .03
Sexual promiscuity 5.52, 871.62a 2.36** .02
Units of alcohol 4.63, 730.90a 5.97** .02
Hair colour  Participant sex Physical attractiveness 1, 158 1.84 .01
Sexual promiscuity 1, 158 .49 .00
Units of alcohol 1, 158 2.20 .01
Tattoo  Participant sex Physical attractiveness 5.56, 877.71a 1.79 .01
Sexual promiscuity 4.63, 689.39a 1.10 .01
Units of alcohol 4.50, 711.47a 1.30 .01
Hair colour  Tattoo  Participant sex Physical attractiveness 5.58, 880.80a 2.73** .02
Sexual promiscuity 5.52, 871.62a .28 .00
Units of alcohol 4.63, 730.90a 1.47 .01
a
GreenhouseGeisser corrected.
*
p < .001.
**
p < .05.
348 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
effect on any of the ratings, nor an interaction effect
with the tattoo or hair colour variables.
Ratings analysis
For all ratings, a 2 (Hair colour)  8 (Tattoo)  2
(Participant sex) repeated measures analysis of variance
(ANOVA) with 160 participants was computed, with
Hair colour and Tattoo treated as within subjects factors
and Participant sex as a between-subjects factor. The
GreenhouseGeisser correction was applied to results
involving Tattoo and the Hair colour  Tattoo interac-
tion, as the Mauchlys Test of Sphericity was shown to
be significant for these variables. A summary of the
ANOVA results and the main effects of Hair colour,
Tattoo and their interactions are shown in Table 1.
For ratings of physical attractiveness, the ANOVA
revealed significant main effects of Hair colour
(h2p :32) and Tattoo (h2p :31), as well as a
significant interaction between the two, although the
effect size of the latter was very weak (h2p :03). In
Fig. 2. (a) The main effect of Tattoo on ratings of physical attrac-
tiveness and (b) the interaction with Hair colour (dotted line = -
blonde).
terms of hair colour, participants found the brunette
figures significantly more attractive than the blonde
figures. For tattoos, it can be seen from Fig. 2(a) that
ratings of physical attractiveness decreased system-
atically with increasing number of tattoos, and that the
butterfly design was generally preferred over the ankle
and arm bands. Post hoc tests of the interaction between
Hair colour and Tattoo showed that there were
significant differences between brunettes and blondes
for all tattoo conditions except arm and ankle bands,
where brunettes and blondes were not rated signifi-
cantly different from each other (see Fig. 2(b)).
Participant sex only had a significant effect on the
Hair colour  Tattoo interaction, although the effect
size was very small (h2p :02).
For ratings of sexual promiscuity, there were again
significant main effects of Hair colour (h2p :17) and
Tattoo (h2p :19), as well as a significant Hair
colour  Tattoo interaction (h2p :02). For hair colour,
blonde figures were rated as significantly more sexually
promiscuous than brunette figures. In terms of tattoos,
Fig. 3. (a) The main effect of Tattoo on ratings of sexual promiscuity
and (b) the interaction with Hair colour (dotted line = blonde).
 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
there was a general pattern of increasing perceived
sexual promiscuity with greater number of tattoos
(see Fig. 3(a)). Finally, post hoc tests of the Hair
colour  Tattoo interaction showed that there were no
significant differences between brunettes and blondes
for all tattoo conditions, except for the butterfly, and
ankle and butterfly tattoos, where blondes were rated as
more sexually promiscuous.
For estimates of alcohol consumption, there were
likewise main effects of Hair colour (h2p :25) and
Tattoo (h2p :41), in addition to a significant interac-
tion between Hair colour and Tattoo (h2p :02). Results
showed that blonde women were perceived as
consuming more alcohol than brunettes on a typical
night out. In addition, the perceived units of alcohol
consumed generally increased with greater number of
tattoos (see Fig. 4(a)). Fig. 4(b) plots the Hair
colour  Tattoo interaction. Post hoc tests showed that
there were significant differences between blondes and
brunettes for all tattoo conditions except butterfly, arm
and ankle bands, and ankle and butterfly tattoos.
Fig. 4. (a) The main effect of Tattoo on estimates of alcohol units
consumed on a typical night out and (b) the interaction with Hair
colour (dotted line = blonde).
349
Discussion
The results of the present study extend those of earlier
research (e.g., Armstrong, 1991; Hawkes et al., 2004) in
showing that women with tattoos were perceived more
negatively than women without tattoos. Specifically, the
present results suggest that women with tattoos were
considered less physically attractive, more sexually
promiscuous and heavier drinkers in comparison with
untattooed women. Moreover, the strength of these
associations became stronger with increasing number of
tattoos. In addition, these associations are stronger for
blondes than brunettes, although it should be said that the
effect sizes for these results were relatively weak.
Our results also support the extant literature on
prevalence rates of tattooing among young adults
(Forbes, 2001; Laumann & Derick, 2006; Martin, 1997;
Roberts & Ryan, 2002), with fairly equal numbers of
women and men reporting having had tattoos done.
Indeed, the majority of the present sample indicated that
they would consider having body art done in the future,
which is again supportive of previous findings
(Armstrong & Murphy, 1997, 1998; Benjamins et al.,
2006). These findings suggest that, insofar as our results
are indicative of broader trends (cf. Benjamins et al.,
2006; Laumann & Derick, 2006), young adults are
interested in obtaining body art, even though relatively
few have actually done so.
This finding is all the more interesting because
participants in the present study appear to hold negative
perceptions of women with tattoos. That is, despite
perceiving women with tattoos as unattractive, pro-
miscuous and likely to consume large amounts of
alcohol, more than two thirds of participants in the
present study still indicated that they would consider
getting a tattoo. One possible explanation for this
paradox is that there is a dissociation between
perceptions of the self and others, which leads to
others being judged more negatively in comparison to
the self (cf. Kenny, 1994). Alternatively, this paradox
may be a function of the limitations associated with the
methodology and stimuli used in the present study (see
below).
In terms of ratings of physical attractiveness and
sexual promiscuity, this study found that women with
greater number of tattoos were perceived as less
attractive and more promiscuous. This is consistent with
the results of previous studies showing that women with
tattoos are perceived more negatively than their
counterparts with tattoos (Armstrong, 1991; Hawkes
et al., 2004). More generally, the present results
highlight the importance of examining the influence
350 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
of non-bodily characteristics on perceived attractive-
ness (cf. Swami, Greven, & Furnham, 2007). Clearly,
interpersonal judgements do not take place in a vacuum,
and variables such as body art, clothing, personality,
body language and so on, all have the potential to alter
interpersonal perceptions (Swami & Furnham, 2007).
Overall, the results of the present study may be
explained as the result of pervasive stereotypes about
women who have tattoos done. In Britain, at least,
tattooing among women is often associated with
ladette culture, the female equivalent of lad
culture, which typically involves a proclivity for
alcoholic beverages, sports, fast cars and a plethora of
mens magazines (cf. Jackson, 2006; Wilkinson,
1998). Jeffreys (2000) has similarly described tattoo-
ing as a cultural practise of self-mutilation sought by,
and carried out on, groups who occupy despised
social status, such as women, lesbians and gay men,
and the disabled. To the extent that participants held,
and agreed with, such stereotypes, they may have
been negatively rating the present stimuli based on
negative attitudes they hold towards women who have
tattoos done.
This negative association is particularly striking for
estimates of the number of alcohol units consumed on a
typical night out (see Fig. 4(a)). While untattooed
women were estimated to consume just under four units
of alcohol, this rose by over one unit with one tattoo and
by over two units for women with two tattoos.
Strikingly, women with three tattoos were estimated
to consume over eight units of alcohol on a typical night
out, which is over twice the amount estimated for
untattooed women. Clearly, not all women who have
tattoos are heavy drinkers, and some may even be
teetotallers, but participants in the present study would
seem to believe that tattooing among women is
associated with heavier drinking.
The possibility that such perceptions derive from
interpersonal stereotypes is supported by the finding
that blondes were generally rated more negatively than
brunettes in this study. Some authors have made the case
that blonde women are considered more attractive than
their brunette counterparts, at least in the West (e.g.,
Lawson, 1971; Rich & Cash, 1993; Thelen, 1983), but
this was not supported in the present study. Rather,
untattooed brunettes were rated as more physically
attractive than blondes, and tattooing generally exacer-
bated this difference. It may the case that blonde women
are stereotypically perceived as being more promiscu-
ous and outgoing, which influenced our participants
ratings. When combined with body art, such negative
associations may become intensified.
In terms of limitations, it is worth emphasising the
preliminary nature of this investigation. For one thing,
the stimuli used in this study were relatively simplistic
depictions of the female figure, especially in compar-
ison with the three-dimensional images used in some
studies (e.g., Smith, Cornelissen, & Tovee, 2007).
Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that accurate
interpersonal judgements can be made on the basis of
two-dimensional line drawings (e.g., Furnham et al.,
2006; Swami et al., 2007). In addition, line drawings
offer experimenters ease of manipulation, which was
particularly important for the present study. Still, future
studies would do well to incorporate more technolo-
gically advanced and realistic sets of stimuli in their
designs (Swami & Furnham, 2006; Treleaven, Furn-
ham, & Swami, 2006). For example, body art can vary
in terms of size, placement, concealability and artistic
design (cf. Hawkes et al., 2004), all of which could
potentially be manipulated in experimental designs. It
would also be useful for future studies to examine the
effect of tattooing on different stimulus persons (e.g.,
for women and men of different ages, of different
professions, or of different ethnicities).
The repeated measures design of the present study
was a further important limitation, as it may have
rendered the body art manipulation obvious to
participants, thus potentially biasing the results (cf.
Henss, 2000). That is, after the presentation of a few
stimuli, some participants may have caught on that the
experimenters were interested in ratings according to
hair colour and the number of tattoos. Thus, it may have
been the case that some participants stopped reporting
intuitive responses to the stimuli and made their ratings
either more overtly based on their opinions of hair
colours and tattoos, or based on their perceptions of the
experiments hypotheses. Future studies could be
conceived using a between-subjects design in which
participants only see one stimulus figure, which would
allow for an effective follow-up of the present study.
A further limitation concerns the nature of the
sample in the present study. Our participants were
young, middle-class, educated women and men, and
this may have influenced their beliefs about who has,
and does not have, tattoos done. It would be interesting,
therefore, to investigate whether women and men from
other socio-economic classes or from particular sub-
cultures hold the same perceptions as the participants in
this study. In relation to this point, it should also be
emphasised that it would not be appropriate to consider
the present sample representative of British young
adults; rather, this sample was a purely opportunistic
sample of undergraduates.
 V. Swami, A. Furnham / Body Image 4 (2007) 343352
In conclusion, the present findings suggest that there
may be a distinction between an individuals reasons for
getting a tattoo, and her or his perceptions of others with
tattoos. While body art may serve as a mean of
enhancing ones uniqueness (Tiggemann & Golder,
2006), women with tattoos appear to be judged
negatively based on certain stereotypes. This raises
important questions about the positive outcomes of
body art: while body art may serve to distinguish an
individual from others, and in turn improve self-esteem,
negative perceptions may mitigate those positive
outcomes. Clearly, more work is needed to elucidate
the ways in which body art both enhances and is
detrimental to overall well-being, and we strongly urge
follow-up research of greater verisimilitude.
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