Every individual has an individual reason for getting their ears pierced or getting tattoos.... it's a personal choice. I believe in personal choice.
And some will maintain their style and others will change.
@Ziggy Yes, it's an individual thing, isn't it? Some ppl do think that it's something recent, but historically it's been widespread; e.g., in the 19th century:
"...one of the major resurgences of interest in tattoos in Europe occurred among 19th century high society Victorian women (as well as men), after British explorers .. brought back the practice to Britain. .. [It] grew during the 19th century, and even Winston Churchill’s mother had a tattoo .. on her wrist. Queen Victoria was also believed to have had a tattoo of a Bengal tiger.. . From Victorian Europe, the craze spread to America. In 1897, (art critic, Margot) Miffin says that an estimated 75% of American society women were tattooed.."
(Black Fire: Women, Tattoos, and the Transformative Power of Body Art )
It's very widespread again now, including in the Bible Belt:
QueenCat said:
Around here (Bible Belt), it is common, especially among evangelical Christians, for the girls under about 40 to have religious tattoos. More do than don't, especially when you get to the under 30 crowd. I hardly know any female at church that is under 30 that does not have a tattoo.
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Clearly there's nothing new about it when it's attested historically, including among Victorian women, and maybe if more Christians that might be considering the personal choice of faith based inkings - Bible verses, etc. - they might hesitate less if they knew for example just how widespread it was in the 19th century.
(All the young Christians - male and female - with Bible verses tattooed with whom I have spoken seem to have had them done for evangelistic reasons, anyhow...)
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