Lower-back tattoo
Beginning in the late 1990s the lower back tattoo became popular, especially among young women. Lower back tattoos are often oblong in shape, following the slope of the back on either side of the woman's spine. The lower back tattoo is body decoration, sometimes intended to emphasize sexual attractiveness. Generally, a lower back tattoo will be designed to emphasize the shape and curvature of the female figure.
While such tattoos have become popular in recent years, in many parts of the world, they are sometimes derided as suggestive of promiscuity or as associated with Raunch Culture.[1] In the United States, they have been pejoratively referred to as "tramp stamps," "retarded ass tattoo surprises" or "California license plates" in Australia and Germany as "arse antlers" and in the UK as "slag tags". [2]
Location
Several attributes of lower back tattoos have made them popular. While the lower back is not the widest area of the human back, it has abundant space for a large design, and horizontal tattoo designs can be worked easily. In contrast to the abdomen, which is otherwise a similar location, the lower back does not stretch significantly during pregnancy, thus providing a more stable site. An additional consideration is that while a lower back tattoo may be easily revealed by casual clothing or during intimate moments, it may just as easily be concealed by conservative clothing as circumstances require. Lower back tattoos are often displayed in conjunction with halfshirts and bellyshirts (also called crop tops) designed to expose the midriff, and low-rise jeans that are worn low around the hips.
Health concerns
An urban legend claims that lower back tattoos may interfere with epidural injections during childbirth. This belief is unfounded; once healed, tattoos of either lower back or elsewhere created no added risk of infection, and injections through tattoos are unaffected by the tattoo.[3] Anesthesiologists may, however, choose to inject around tattoos to avoid damaging the tattoo. Tattoos in general are contraindicated during pregnancy to minimize risk of infection.
References
- ^ Levy, Ariel (2005). Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-4989-5
- ^ It's almost English when dictionary does Australish., 10-01-2008. Retrieved 23-04-2008.
- ^ Lower back tattoo: Can it prevent an epidural for labor pain?, Mayo Clinic