Under The Needle Tattoos Popular With All Types Of Teens

Not all tattooed and body-pierced teenagers are into riding motorcycles, swigging vodka and spitting on people in mosh pits. Most of them actually involve themselves with such school activities as National Honor Society, SADD and athletics while working hard for good grades.

So why would such talented students - or anybody, for that matter - want to mutilate their flesh with tattoos or body piercings?

Raul Doughty, owner of Rings of Fire, a body-piercing shop in downtown Spokane, offered an explanation: Body piercing and tattooing are ways to claim your body as your own. They’re symbols of adulthood.

Navel-pierced Molly Albright, a Mead graduate, just shrugged and said, “I don’t know why I did it. It was just a last-minute type of thing.”

Whether a whim or a spiritual journey into adulthood, tattooing and body piercing are gaining popularity among all types of teens, from drop-outs to academic champs, from “stoners” to “gangsters,” from the nerds to the social bees. Everyone wants a symbol of individuality.

Charissa Doughty, Raul’s daughter who tattoos next door with her mother Constance in a shop called River City Tattoo, turns heads when she walks down the street with her eclectic collection of facial piercings.

“I never fit in, even when I really tried to,” said Charissa, 19. “My piercings are a symbol of me being pushed from society.”

The only complaints Charissa got about her piercings came from her boyfriend’s mouth. Although he disliked them at first, Charissa gave him no choice but to tolerate them or leave. He stayed.

The biggest problem teens face from their piercings or tattoos usually come from irate parents. Autumn Wade, a 1995 graduate of Coeur d’Alene High School, cringed at the thought of letting her mother and father see the ladybug tattooed on her ankle.

“My parents both said they would kick me out of the house if I ever got one,” Autumn recalled. “But when my mom noticed it one day, the first thing she said was that there wasn’t enough red dye. My dad still doesn’t know.”

One girl, who chose to be anonymous, said her mother told her she should have gotten the tattoo somewhere she could show it off. The majority of teens interviewed, however, never told their parents for fear of punishment.

That’s a mistake. Constance Doughty, owner of River City Tattoo, urges kids to talk to their parents first, and parents to listen to their children instead of denying them.

“Parents need to help their children make a wise decision,” she advised. “If the parents simply say ‘no way,’ many children will go out and get one done illegally (you must have parental permission if you’re under 18) or attempt to do it themselves, which is incredibly dangerous.

“Parents should instead help them decide if they truly want one and help them research where they should have it done and what would make a suitable tattoo,” she said.

The Doughtys say it’s rare when a teenager or another client leaves without a smile. Every instrument is sanitized, and the tattoo artists make sure all clients are certain of their decision before beginning. Because of these two things, customers tend to feel completely comfortable throughout the procedure.

Raul Doughty even uses aromatherapy to help customers feel calm and more “spiritual” before being pierced.

Or course, there is the pain.

“Getting my navel pierced didn’t hurt at all while it was being pierced,” said Molly Albright. “I couldn’t believe it was done. It did ache a couple of hours afterwards, though.”

Other people tell of infections from piercing, though, which can be very painful.

The pain of a tattoo depends on where you get it and how large it is.

“It really didn’t hurt at all,” said Josie, a 1995 West Valley graduate who got a tattoo on her shoulder. “It’s mostly mental.”

But Josie’s friend, who got a rose on her hip, disagreed. “I had to hold back from screaming.” But, she added quickly, “If I had to, though, I would do it again.”

Surprisingly enough, the pain seems to scare guys away more than females. Girls outnumber boys five to one when it comes to body piercing and tattooing.

“It’s just the thing for girls to do,” said Josie.

Ferris grad Aaron Regan jokingly attributed this to “the fact that guys have more common sense. Personally, piercing gives me the creeps.”

Girls, however, choose some uncreepy and endearing portraits to scribe onto their flesh. Suns, daffodils, roses, frogs and sunflowers are popular choices. Least favorites include skulls and naked women, which goes without saying.

After the scab heals, which takes a couple of weeks, the tattoo can be studied as an intricate work of art.

“People judge others too quickly by thinking, ‘If you have a tattoo, you’re gross,”’ said Autumn. “But I think tattoos can be absolutely beautiful.”

Raul Doughty believes body piercing embodies a similar beauty. Although simple compared to the tattoo, piercings weave an amazing story through history. To the Inuits and many Indian tribes, navel piercing was an initiation rite, and lower lip piercing was done during marriage ceremonies.

The greatest aspect of body piercing is its non-permanence. Just pull the ring out and the piercing usually heals in a few weeks.

Unfortunately, some people don’t seem to understand a tattoo’s eternal mark. Permanence, teens say, is the scariest aspect of receiving a tattoo and parents’ No. 1 argument against them.

One excited teenager stormed into River City, sought out Constance and demanded she tattoo a “huge pot leaf like right now, dude” on a visible section of his body. She told him no, she had other customers before him. Depressed and sullen, he emitted a low “bummer dude” and left.

“Stay away from trendy tatoos such as Tazzes (Tazmanian Devil) and pot leafs,” Constance said. “They may seem cool as a teenager, but as you grow older they become less attractive. Choose something that is lifelong.”

Molly and her best friend of 12 years, Tracy, a 1995 Gonzaga Prep graduate, recently had matching tree frogs tattooed on their hips.

“We’re both going separate ways for college,” Tracy said. “This will kind of keep us together.”

And it says something about them, the two agree.

“Tatoos and piercings put a little bit of what’s inside a person on the outside,” says Constance Doughty.