I was noticing the other day that a piercings and tattoos on women weren't terribly attractive to me. I can handle ear piercings but they don't make an ugly woman prettier. At best they have no effect, and sometimes, depending on the earrings, they have a negative effect for me. Face piercings? Forget about it. Ugly as shit.

Tattoos are the same way. There are attractive girls with tattoos, but they are not themselves attractive because of the tattoos. I know plenty of girls with tattoos that I think would be prettier without them.

I was wondering if anybody had some insight on this one. The best I've thought of is this:

Tattoos on men are attractive to women because they show that men can make permanent decisions with ease. This shows risk, as we know women are attracted to risk seeking behavior from men. (which comes down to the main tenants of masculinity).

Women being attracted to men with tattoos must then assume the attraction would be symmetrical.

However, risky behavior in women is something men avoid. Showing that women can carelessly make long term decisions that may not best suit them shows that this person is not a good choice for childbearing.

Any other ideas?

I'm sure plenty of guys here are going to say they like tattoos on women, and maybe it's just where I live, but I find the tattoo'd women are also sluttier and more rough around the edges.

Before anybody links to suicide girls, I want to make my point again. A pretty girl with tattoos may still be pretty. But it's in spite of, not due to, the tattoos.