There was a time they signified something, stood the wearer apart from the crowd. A worrying symbol of rebellion for parents; an alluring sign of mischief for impressionable teens. Now, they're so commonplace, they go unremarked.
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Tattoos are everywhere. On the calves, shoulders, backs, forearms and bellies. And not just on tearaways. Suburban mums, desk-bound accountants, cashiers and clerks all seem to sport them.
Some days at the beach, half the swimmers and sunbathers appear to have been scribbled on. Beautiful young people forever marked by ink that will fade and sag as they grow old - just like those dolphins and "tribal" motifs favoured by Generation X in the late 1980s.
According to research and analysis outfit McCrindle, roughly 30 per cent of adult Australians are adorned - or vandalised, depending on your point of view - with tattoos. And women are leading the pack, with 33 per cent of them having at least one tattoo, compared with 26 per cent of males.
Queensland has the highest proportion of tattooed people, followed by South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, the Northern Territory, NSW, the ACT and Tasmania.
These days, tattoos are as ordinary as a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt. But, for me at least, there's something faintly ridiculous about a bloke with a cushiony dad bod and thinning hair sporting an angry sleeve of tatts as he loads the kids and cabana into the Tesla at the beach. Trying to look wild yet born to be mild.
Each to their own, you'd be justified in saying. But new research flags the possibility that what we've grown to accept as skin-deep self-expression might actually be self-harm. An analysis of the popular tattoo inks used in Australia for the Journal of Hazardous Materials found they contain carcinogenic organic materials and toxic metals which don't meet existing European safety standards.
As always, the Europeans were way ahead of Australia. In 2022, they imposed strict limits on the chemicals allowed in tattoo inks, among them arsenic, cadmium and lead. Inks that don't meet those limits are banned from sale in the EU. But here, it's all pretty laissez faire. No regular batch testing and voluntary compliance.
The researchers who tested the Australian inks do not claim to have detected health risks - that would involve further investigation - only that the inks used in Australia would not pass muster in Europe, where the popularity of tattoos has also exploded. But they do argue that better regulation and consumer protection is needed here.
All of which serves to reinforce my prejudice against tattoos. These things are for life and what might seem like a good idea in the reckless flush of youth could very well grow to haunt you later. Much the same as putting on a novelty tie and never, ever being able to take it off.
Add to that the possibility of injecting known nasties into the skin and it's a big no thanks from me.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Have you had a tattoo that you've later come to regret? Has your attitude towards tattoos changed over the years as they've become more commonplace? Would you be more likely to get a tattoo if there was better regulation of the inks used? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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THEY SAID IT: "A tattoo is graffiti on the temple of the body." - Gordon B. Hinckley
YOU SAID IT: Appeasing Trump may have bought Europe a bit of time and some trade concessions. But in the end bullies always demand more.
"I agree with your sentiments and admire your ability to concisely express them," writes Bernard. "If it could make any difference I wonder if Denmark should offer Legoland to Trump, just to highlight the absurdity of the whole situation. Am impressed by the collections of cartoons ridiculing the boy-king, and various songs like the Marsh family Piece of Denmark! Was it ever written in our security plans that the major threat would come from our great stable-genius ally?"
We can't trust the current US regime, writes Sharon, and any future trust depends on American democracy being overhauled: "Democratic governments in the future must demand the US enact legislation curtailing presidential powers, ensure independence of all branches of government, federate the electoral system with an independent body, and enact an independent supreme court with term limits. Another change must be that the US cabinet must consist of elected members to congress and not people picked off the streets or those who pay for their positions or pardons."
"The Europeans should just tell him to 'get stuffed'," writes Brian. "I have substantial reservations about the likelihood of our AUKUS submarines ever being delivered. That man is proving to be a waste of space. Unfortunately he has more than a couple of years to do further damage, both at home and internationally."
Martin writes: "It's too much to expect our government to do anything meaningful like cancelling the AUKUS subs. However, down at the grass roots level, we Echidna readers can do our bit by boycotting anything American: cancel trips to the US and avoid US airlines; buy European or Asian cars; support our own fast food outlets, instead of Hungry Jacks, KFC or McDonald's; avoid Amazon; Uber (use taxis!); Airbnb; or find local alternatives to Coke, Pepsi, Heinz, Kellogg's and Mars. When US businesses start to feel the squeeze, they might just put the squeeze on Trump."
"America's constitution is deeply flawed," writes Phil. "It has major problems with gerrymander. Its 'secretaries' that run departments are unelected and operate exclusively at the behest of a president that operates by edict and not through the elected representatives of the country. It has fewer rights for citizens that the Bill of Rights brought in by William and Mary in the UK in 1689. We are not safer being the friend of the US. Their actions endanger us ... We should align with our Asian neighbours to form a strong pact in the Western Pacific."
Guy writes: "The US is no longer a partner, it is a predator. This is about principles, not weasel words like 'values'. Aligning with China and the local Asian region makes far more sense, for stability, security and economic reasons."
"Donald Trump is an evil, power-hungry psychopath who can lie and deceive as easy as breathing," writes Daniel. "Dealing with the devil has consequences. Australia needs to be prepared to leave an unhealthy alliance with a nation happy to step on the weak. Australia's diplomatic corps need to start using quotes from The Castle with him. When he wants to deal, 'tell him he's dreamin'.' Tell him that Greenland has people who see their country as a home, and 'because a home is not built of bricks and mortar but of love and memories. You can't pay for it and you're just short changing people if you try.'"
