Rose Rimler

No, there are real benefits, Blythe.

It's more than just looking cool.

And I have one final guest to introduce you to, to tell us a little bit more about that.

His name is Viren Swamy.

He is a professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK.

So like in the West and in communities colonized by the West, tattooing has been associated with being in an outgroup.

Like think of sailors in the 1700s.

But it's mainstream in other parts of the world, like in Polynesia.

Mm-hmm.

And even though today in the West tattoos are not as stigmatized, researchers still find an echo of that motivation.

So this is interesting.

The demographic in the U.S.

that is most likely to get tattooed, this is according to a Pew Research survey from a few years ago, queer women.

68% of people who identify as queer women have at least one tattoo.

Interesting.

And that makes a lot of sense to Viren.

It goes back to the idea of being part of an outgrowth.

And we do have some evidence that getting tattooed can help people feel better about themselves.

A few years ago, Viren went to a tattoo shop in London and he surveyed people before and after they got their first tattoo and also followed up with them a little bit later.

He did stuff like he was assessing their self-esteem.