Men with Tattoos and Women Who Date Them Survey

Are Women Attracted to Men with Tattoos?

By: 2SC Staff

Recently, a fellow counselor friend of mine (we’ll call her Ann) shared with me over coffee that she had a major fetish for men with tattoos. When I probed a bit to find out more about her attraction to inked up men, she initially found herself at a loss for words.

I think part of the reason she initially struggled was simply because felt a bit embarrassed. This made sense to me – after all, I’m a dude and she had just revealed something pretty intimate regarding what turns her on in a man.

As we chatted more about this topic and discussed some of the best tattoo shops in Chicago, she began to feel more relaxed. Eventually, Ann began to really open up, becoming increasingly animated as she described her thoughts and feelings about what she described as “hot guys with tattoos.”

What follows are what Ann described as her almost animal like magnetism towards guys with tats.

Tattoos and Men: Ann’s Perceptions

• – She thought guys with tattoos were more fun
• – She perceived men with ink to be more masculine
• – She felt that tatted up guys were more erotic

Tattoos and Bad Boys

As our time together hit the halfway point, Ann then shared with me that she perceived guys with certain types of tattoos to be “bad boys”. These tats include skulls, crosses and to a lesser or greater degree, “arm sleeves”.

Perceptions of Guys with Tattoos

First, let me say here that just because a guy has tattoos does not mean he is a bad boy. It also doesn’t mean that guys who have ink are more masculine or that they are “hotter” per se’. My own sense is that people tend to generalize when it comes to these types of topics.

Tattoo Survey

With that shared, I decided to do a bit of research a few weeks ago and put together an informal web-monkey survey. I asked 50 women between the ages of 18-50 if they were more attracted to a guy if he had tattoos. The response was a shocker! A whopping 93% of the women surveyed shared they were more drawn to a man if was sporting tattoos. About 75% of the respondents also said that tattoos made the guy look more like a bad boy.

And it needs to be stated here that the vast majority of respondents threw in the caveat that the guy’s body (aka being in shape) was an important consideration when looking at the total picture. Several wrote something like, “If the guy is fat or out of shape, the tattoos don’t matter.”

Tattoo Summary

According to some research, one in five U.S. adults has at least one tattoo. Perhaps these numbers have something to do with influence of celebrities and sports players, like Colin Kaepernick, who have made tattoos all the rage. There is no doubt about it, tattoos are certainly popular and women seem to like guys who have them. And the tattoo studies that have been conducted to date suggest women hold certain perceptions of guys who are inked up that very much mirror the thoughts of my friend Ann.

All of this of course has me thinking. Are women attracted to tattoos or to the bad boys? I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. A poll had been included for you to register your thoughts. Please feel free to post as well.

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