No comment from anybody on the use of Japanese language for Tokidoki Barbie? "Tokidoki" means "from time to time" - a sentiment that embodies the opposite of tattooing.

And I would point out that in Japan, tattoos are still very much associated with deviance - case in point: http://www.stripes.com/news/japanese-water-parks-banning-people-with-tattoos-from-entering-premises-1.80904

Até o comentário é interessante - 

In my opinion it is just a matter of time before prominent and visible
tattoos become commonplace in professional and public settings, tattooed
Barbie notwithstanding.

oh I agree and yet, studies indicate that half regret their choice of tattoo in only two years.  Didn't bookmark it, sorry.   But honestly, have you seen the junk people put on their bodies?  A four year could draw better.

What I have always found interesting about the alarmism and argument against tattooing is the degree to which they focus on the permanence. As if this is the only decision you ever make as a young person that you are going to have to live with for the rest of your life.

I think part of the reason for the current moral panic surrounding tattoos is the increasing desire for them shown by *girls*, and I think that's why Barbie there annoys people so badly. Note the other tattoo toy shown is strictly gendered male, and most of the tattoo-type art/toys aimed at kids that I have seen (granted, I'm in New Zealand) are also aimed at boys. But there is beginning to be some cross over into girl's toys and I suspect that's what's, in part, driving the panic.

What gets me about the Barbie outrage is that the parents seem to be outraged at the fact of the tattoo, and yet have no problem with the ridiculous proportions and obsession with consumerism that Barbie has.

I was going to write a serious comment about this, but then I got to the cactusdog and I just went "WTF" and had nothing else to say.

Another thing having to do with the concept of children, girls especially, developing a liking for tattoos, is that some parents still, whether blatantly or subconsciously, see their children as property to some extent, or at least have strong opinions about the kind of person that child is going to grow up to be.

Getting a tattoo is a mark of ownership of oneself, and that of course is not going to sit well with some parents. It's sort of like virginity, except more visible---they want their daughters to remain respectable, unblemished goods, decorative and sweet and wholesome and willing to marry some man Daddy approves of who probably shares his opinion that tattoos don't belong on respectable women.

(My mother once asked me, "but what if your future husband doesn't like it?" I responded that any man (my bisexual self is laughing here) who dislikes my choice of tattoos for myself is really not husband material.) (Ten years later, oddly enough, one of my current crushes is covered in tattoos, most of which I don't particularly like, but that's actually not a problem. I like the overall effect, and it doesn't matter that I'm not into some of the individual tattoos---they don't bother me. But someone who thinks tattoos are automatically trashy? So much goodbye don't call.)

Personally, my tattooing has shifted over the years from identity-marking to ritual-marking.  The process has become more important to me than the product.  My last tattoo helped me release a lot of pent-up anger over how a family member treated me during a traumatic event in my life.  The artist who did it was shocked that I sat for 4 hours without flinching, but a big part of the reason I did it was to feel physical pain as a controlled manifestation of the emotional pain I was feeling.  I wonder if I am alone in that.

I think that, more than their association with criminality and deviant subcultures, the real problem that people with tattoos encounter is the tendency for 'body art' to be read as symbolic of poor decision-making ability and a lack of foresight (because one's interest in designs/characters/people/rock-bands/etc often changes as one matures, and tattoos are permanent). It doesn't really matter if there is an *actual* correlation between a person having tattoos and tending not to foresee the long-term consequences of his or her actions; as long as potential employers and romantic partners perceive it to be the case, visible tattoos are going to negatively impact the tattooee's social and economic prospects -- and the failure to foresee *these* 'secondary' consequences (and, thus, the failure to avoid them by not getting tattooed in the first place) only further reinforces their stigmatizing nature.

This is not the first tatoo barbie.  I have a Hard Rock Cafe Rockabilly Barbie from a few years ago, think Amy Winehouse, when she looked good.  I am an adult, it was a gift from my mom.

I don't know that objection to tattoos is about deviance as much as it is plain old class prejudice.

Even in the military (especially the maritime services), where there's a long tradition of tattooing, tattoos are more likely found on *enlisted* servicemembers, not the officer corps. Tattoos are becoming more common among officers, but (anecdotally, which I know is worth next to nothing), you're still more likely to find tattoos on mustangs (officers who started out as enlistees).

If a tattoo is understood to be a marker of low class status, then to a
parent who is middle/upper class (or aspires to that status for hir
child), a tattoo suggests the child is permanently rejecting the higher class identity.

I think there's a lot of interesting information (or judgement?) encoded in where a person's tattoo(s) are, not just whether they have them.

Tattoos on the limbs and parts of the back seem relatively "mainstream" and acceptable, at least among younger people, but the upper chest (particularly for women) and the neck and face are not as widely accepted -- tattoos that can't be covered by clothing are often considered a deathblow to traditional employment, among other things, and face tattoos seem to be strongly associated with gangs, hategroups or prison.

I'd like to read Strohecker's pro-social analysis of body modification, but that link goes to the amazon.com listing for the tattoo Barbie.  

where was this when I was a kid?!

How about we stop forcing our children to meet the standards of what is socially normal (especially when it comes to superficial characteristics) and focus more on what kind of person they grow up to be on the INSIDE.
Tattoos or not, I want my daughter to grow up to be a kind, caring and GOOD person.... end of story.

Regarding tattoo prejudices, the TTR is a commonly used slang in the emergency room (for those interested in pursuing the medical angle of this).
Tattoo-to-Tooth Ratio (TTR): Number of tattoos/Number of remaining teeth. Some define it as the product of the number of tattoos and the number of missing teeth, but that's not really a ratio (doctors suck at math and writing). The TTR directly corresponds to the dirt bag index (DBI) and the number of days since the patient last bathed.

i thought this tokidoki barbie doll was cute!!!!! i dont understand why its super expensive but hey it works

I personally do not think that this is a good practice for those kids out there. As a matter of fact, it is going to be harder for them to look for a job in the future. 

I personally do not think that this is a good practice for those kids out there. As a matter of fact, it is going to be harder for them to look for a job in the future.