I love tattoos and I love looking at the amazing art on one's body. I am in a gym in Bangkok that is 99 percent HiSo type guys. I started noticing that none of them have tattoos. Not even a small one. Not just the older guys but the younger ones as well.

 

Do others think this is common with those in Thailand that have money? Have tats not moved into that class yet?

In my experience - no!

Fascinating article on the Thai custom of yantra tattoos.

 

Thailand’s Magical Tattoos

 

Cedric Arnold was on assignment in Thailand when he first saw a shipyard worker covered head-to-toe in tattoos. This was Arnold's entry point into the yantra tattoo tradition, one that goes back hundreds of years and spans several countries in Southeast Asia.

 

Arnold's project, “Sacred Ink,” consumed four and a half years of his life and took him all over Thailand to cover this tradition in its entirety, from the giant ceremonies for devotees to the rare tattoos that are only found in certain parts of the country.

 

Incorporating elements of Buddhism, Animism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism, the tradition is believed to go back as far as the ninth century, and there’s even historical evidence of soldiers wearing the tattoos for protection in battle during the 16th and 17th centuries.

 

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2013/05/17/cedric_arnold_sacred_ink_examines_the_tradition_of_yantra_tattoos_of_southeast.html

I've been noticing more heavily tattooed farangs in Pattaya.

Some with bald heads completely covered in tattoos, others with

no skin showing that wasn't tattooed. Some with facial tattoos.

I think low life convicts, biker gangs and trouble and steer

clear.

No problems with Thai guys unless extreme or badly done.

If you take a closer look at some tattoos on lo-so Thais, you will find that they are unprofessional, probably done by their friend, and can start at age 15 or even younger.

 

I agree with your observation, the higher the education of the Thai I met, the fewer tattoos they had.

I've been noticing more heavily tattooed farangs in Pattaya.

Some with bald heads completely covered in tattoos, others with

no skin showing that wasn't tattooed. Some with facial tattoos.

I think low life convicts, biker gangs and trouble and steer

clear.

No problems with Thai guys unless extreme or badly done.

It is funny you say that as I have always wanted a tear drop on my face but the Thai boyfriends get very upset as they say that only convicts have them. They are so against this they say when I sleep, they would cut it off.

 

And, this is the BF with multiple tattoos. But, he says the face is off limits.

Have tats not moved into that class yet?

Hopefully tattoos will go out of fashion long before high society types consider them.

. . .the face is off limits.

 

That's a shame! There are some fantastic photos of facial tattoos here.

 

Hopefully tattoos will go out of fashion long before high society types consider them.

 

Tatoos are as old as the hills and defy any particular logic as to the perceived class of those who go in for them.

 

http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html

It is funny you say that as I have always wanted a tear drop on my face but the Thai boyfriends get very upset as they say that only convicts have them.

 

 

The preception is the same in the USA.   Tear drops appear mostly on convicts and gang members (or at least, this is the perception)

 

It would be an interesting study to see the difference in your reception at the USA border crossing by their personnel to you   with   AND   without   a tear drop.  I am just guessing, but I would expect that there would be a demonstrable difference in their greetings to you.

It is funny you say that as I have always wanted a tear drop on my face but the Thai boyfriends get very upset as they say that only convicts have them. They are so against this they say when I sleep, they would cut it off.

 

I called a few of my - let's say - less sociable friends here in California, and was told several different things about the teardrop tattoo under an eye. They all had to do with unpleasant behavior, that much was agreed on; the least friendly being that you'd killed someone.  I'd side with your BF on this one, but hopefully he was joking about the "cutting it off" part, especially if he was thinking of Lorena Bobbit!

I have hi-so relatives in Thailand and quite frankly, I have always been much happier with the lo-so ones. But having said that, I plan to have a white chrysanthemum tattooed right in the centre of my forehead someday.

I have told my bf if he gets a tattoo he is out the door. No problem he says because tattoos are lo-class. The popularity of tattoos among Thai youth gangs grows, like a badge of honor, so that should tell you something.

Again in my experience, Thai hi-sos live in a much rarified atmosphere compared to their low-so contemporaries that any thought of adopting a lo-so tradition would be anathema to them. It doesn't need an alien from another planet to work out that rarely do the two mix - in any way.

Do others think this is common with those in Thailand that have money? Have tats not moved into that class yet?

 

It is also my understanding that there is discrimination in the Thai military regarding tatoos; officer candidates are rejected if they have tatoos. Another way of keeping hi-so separated from lo-so and another reasons for hi-so not to be tatooed.