Self-help Articles

by Ida E. Lyons & Rita Snyder, Ph.D.

Males and females often do the same thing for different reasons, including getting tattoos and body piercings. Researchers at Denison University in Ohio asked 31 men and 19 women who had two or more tattoos and/or body piercings (other than ear piercings) to describe them and their reasons for getting them.

The Gender Differences in Tattoos and Body Piercings
One of the gender differences that emerged was that while both men and women had tattoos on their trunk and below the knee, "a greater proportion of men than women had tattoos on their arms while a greater proportion of women than men had tattoos on more private body sites."

Among those with piercings, nose, mouth and nipple piercings were reported by about a third of the men and women. While about a third of the men also reported genital piercings, very few of the women did. In contrast, while only a quarter of the men had pierced navels, almost half of the women did.

As for why they get tattooed or pierced, the men reported that it was for both personal and symbolic reasons, often to identify themselves to a particular group.

Women, on the other hand, rated tattooing "to establish personal uniqueness" as more important than the men. Women also attributed more importance to sexual aspects of their body markings than men did.

Presentation:

by Ida E. Lyons & Rita Snyder, Ph.D., Denison University. American Psychological Convention, Toronto, Canada, 1996.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.