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Are face-tattoos the latest anti-boomer trend?

The recent spike in teen face tattoos might not only be a response to trend setting celebs, but another symptom of Gen Z’s rebellion against the boomer status quo. 

Tattoo artists across the UK are calling for stricter age restrictions on those wanting face tattoos – known in the industry as ‘jobstoppers’. But why are face tats so damn fashionable atm anyway?

If you don’t frequent the bookey-er ends of London; your Shoreditches, Camdens, or Wappings, seeing people with hand, neck, head, and/or face tattoos probably isn’t a super regular occurrence for you. But if, like me, you’re partial to heading to the bougier ends for a pint of warm ale in a plastic cup and a vintage sport wind-proofer, then you’ll surely have noticed a spike in people donning jobstopper stamps in 2019. Hell, maybe you’ve even considered one yourself.

But tattoo artists countrywide have been calling for government officials to raise the legal age for face-tattoos from 18-21 after Lee Clements, a spokesperson for The British Tattoo Artist Federation, revealed that there has been a ‘huge increase’ in teenagers wanting face ink in 2019. The chief issue being that, rightly or wrongly, these tattoos are hindering them from traditional job prospects.


The influence of new wave celebs

Despite Gen Z being champions of individuality, the truth largely remains that, like always, young people continue to adopt the latest trends. In the 90s the mod-haircut was all the rage thanks to Oasis, Greenday’s Billie Joel had teen boys wearing guy liner in the mid-2000s, Blake Lively brought the full female suit back to prominence in 2018, and now a ton of edgy musicians are inadvertently making face tattoos fashionable in 2019.

Eminem’s summation on Kamikaze’s ‘Lucky You’ – ‘All the lean rapping face tats syruped out like tree sap’ – was a bitter inditement of current rap tropes, but personal peeves aside there’s no arguing it was pretty accurate. The recent progression of mumble rap and trap has brought forth a diaspora of artists who largely promote a recreational drug culture and an alternative fashion style complete with face tats.

Rap sensations XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, and more recently Post Malone took the notion of physical self-expression and individuality and upped the ante. Traditionally, negative mental health has been a concept discussed behind closed doors but through wearing personal struggles not on their metaphorical sleeves but on their faces (with tats like ‘Always Tired’ ‘CryBaby’ and ‘Alone’), these music icons became instantly identifiable with youngsters pushing to eradicate the stigmas attatched to mental health. Their big presence in the popculture zeitgeist ensured their bold statements transcended beyond just fashion too.


A slate on the Boomer Generation?

If you haven’t heard of the Boomer Generation, you’ve almost definitely heard the now ubiquitous retort used against them by millennials and Gen Zers: ‘Okay Boomer’. Check our article here.

The internet meme has become so important to Gen Z as it defends us against those who believe we’re too accepting, too expressive, too liberal, and too ‘soft’.  Like millennials, Gen Z are now coming of age, gaining a sense of justice (and definitely injustice), and are seizing the initiative to shape the world they want to live in – all the while dismissing intolerant and problematic views from the current political powers at play.

It’s in this same vein that social norms are being now being challenged in regard to self-expression and creative freedom. Young people feel they should have the right to look how they want without it effecting their viability in the world of work – to the extent that they’d rather not work for an employer or company who oppose their aesthetic, and implicitly moral and political, choices.

It boils down to the fact that young people today would much rather work with like minded people who share the same values. Gen Z are tossing aside the once rudimentary formalities in favour of creative spaces that promote individuality and inclusivity, and the act of getting face tattoos is a deliberate deterrent against rigid and impersonal workplaces.

In many ways it can be seen an indictement against boomers too – the physical embodiment of #okboomer. It’s one of the most extreme acts of challenging pre-determined ‘social norms’, particularly given Gen Z’s views that the group who created these norms also corrupted the planet.

As someone with a few tattoos myself, and a bunch more in the pipeline (pending paychecks) I’m all for people getting whatever they want. So long as you aren’t a schoolteacher with profanity on your cheek, or a covert army spec-ops with a luminous star on your forehead, I don’t see any reason to discriminate.

But, unfortunately, we don’t live a society that judges solely on merit or employability, yet.

Why do you think face tattoos have come into such prominence this year, and where do you personally draw the line with creative expression… if at all?

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