Our dad cut us off when we came home from New York at age 19 with a lower back tattoo and a lip piercing. Maybe he thought we were joining the ranks of drunk sluts. And maybe in his day that kind-of reason might have applied. But not anymore. Not too long ago — and today in many circles — tattoed and pierced women were perhaps perceived as a little slutty. Even a recent study found that women with piercings and tattoos were viewed by college students as "more sexually active and more heavily drinking (and less attractive) than their peers. In fact, these students assume women with three tattoos (on the arm, hip, and ankle) chug eight drinks in a night out, versus only four for women with no ink."

Eight?! We'd say more like 5, but anyway...

That theory has been somewhat debunked by the fact that soccer moms sport tattoos (or "tramp stamps") these days — even if they were slutty in college. But a tattoo doesn't make you anything but tattooed.

We think the real point here is that tattoos and piercings don't make us drunk sluts; we were drunk sluts long before we were pierced and tattooed. Not necessarily because we got something(s) pierced or inked when drunk (come on, who hasn't?), but because, as the author of the Psychology Today article pointed out in an email, "sensation seeking and promiscuity are correlated with body modification, and sensation seeking is correlated with alcohol use."

Yes. We like sensation. Don't you? Actually, we love tattoo pain. It's the most empowering kind-of pain as far as we're concerned, probably because it's not very deep and it's self-imposed. 

Do you like tattoo pain? And are you a drunk slut? (Just joking about the slut part.) 

[Psychology Today: Your Skin is Your Canvas] 

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