Permanent milestones

When Millie Gignac walked into A-1 Tattoo Co. on Robert Street in St. Paul one day last fall to choose a rose design from the look book for her first tattoo, she doesn't recall feeling nervous.

"The man who was going to do it looked a little surprised," she said. "But a group of guys who walked in later looked at me and gave a big thumbs-up."

Gignac, of Eagan, is 89. Her interest in tattoos might have seemed remarkable even 10 years ago, but no more.

What used to be a symbol of hard-life rebellion for sailors, inmates and bikers became a niche urban-hipster fad in the 1980s. Since then, it has spread to the masses like spilled ink.

Getting a tat has become a rite of passage for tweens and teens; girls now go to get their first butterfly tattoo at the age their mothers got their ears pierced. Parents have newborns' names etched on their biceps or ankles. Two reality-TV shows, "L.A. Ink" and "Miami Ink," are about the goings-on at tattoo studios. There's even a children's book titled "Mommy Has a Tattoo."

"Getting a tattoo is just something I've always wanted to do; I've seen so many pretty ones," said Gignac, a former benefits director for Sperry Univac, founder of its retirees club and a volunteer for Dakota County social services and the Minnesota Historical Society. "At my age, I thought I'd better get going. After I got mine, the gal next door got one, too, on her back."

Thirty-six percent of Americans ages 18 to 35 have at least one tattoo, according to a 2007 study by the Pew Research Center. Tats have been so warmly embraced by the mainstream that true enthusiasts have to cover their whole bodies and get multiple piercings to proclaim their uniqueness.

Since the 1950s, when we were all encouraged to look as much the same as possible, American culture has shifted toward a focus on customizing ourselves through body modification, from cosmetic surgery to tattoos and piercings. The result: Tattoos, once symbols of rebellion, are fashion for the masses.

Family values

On the opposite end of the spectrum from pinup girls, Yosemite Sams and skulls are more sentimental tattoos meant to mark personal milestones. Celebrities lead the way, or at least get the most attention.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon got his-and-her tattoos just before getting married in 2008. Heidi Klum has a tattoo of husband Seal's name with three stars containing her kids' initials (and no doubt plans to add a fourth, since she recently gave birth to a daughter). Vikings players who have commemorative tats include Anthony Herrera (family-themed) and Tarvaris Jackson (religion-themed).

"It's become the norm," said Keith Hieserich, owner of Defiant Tattoo and Body Piercing in Uptown Minneapolis. "A few years ago, I tattooed two stylized angel outlines on the back of a woman in her 80s. She said she couldn't do it before her husband died because he was so against it, but she always wanted to."

Scotty Schaefer of Minneapolis is no tattoo newbie. He was noticeable even at a recent tattoo convention for the masses of intricate designs covering his arms and legs like perma-sleeves. But one stuck out like a sore thumb -- or rather, sweet foot. After Schaefer's son Tyson was born in July, Daddy photocopied his footprint from the birth certificate and had it imprinted on the top of his own right foot along with the baby's name.

And what did Tyson's mother think about this gesture?

"She's over there on that table getting one herself," said Schaefer, pointing to his partner, Jessica.

So, Mom, how old should Tyson be before he gets his first tat?

"At least 18, but I don't know if he'll last that long," she said. "His dad's already bringing home the sticker kind."

A visible memory

Memorial tattoos, a tradition among military troops, police forces or biker gangs honoring a fallen comrade, have also become popular among a broader demographic. Chris Schiferli of Anoka, who comanages a lawn-care company, lost his 2-month-old son to sudden infant death syndrome last May. He recently had a photo of the infant and his name, Carson, tattooed on his chest, just above his heart. It provides him daily comfort.

"It's a picture of him from when he was starting to smile," Schiferli said. "It was difficult to focus on that kind of memory over the heinous stuff, like the ambulance ripping down the road from my house. Now I look at this every day in the mirror." He is considering getting celebratory tattoos of his two young daughters' names as well.

Some skin-art motivations are strictly practical: At Get to the Point Tattoos in White Bear Lake, one photo in the look book showed a man's bare, broad back with the words "No Funeral" etched in black, 4-inch-high Gothic letters.

In September, Gignac got a second tattoo -- a heart with vines -- on her right forearm, because her first one, the rose, wound up being in a spot she doesn't expose very often.

"It was a little too low, and at my age, I wanted it to show," she said from the sofa in her cozy living room, with Nat King Cole singing "Mona Lisa" in the background. "As long as I'm not hurting anyone else, why not do what I like?"

Kristin Tillotson • 612-673-7046