The Curious History of Ignorant Tattoos... 

Thanks so much for watching!!! Huge shout out to the people who helped me make this: Editor & Collaborator: Cameron Davies (2 Cams) Tattooing me: (my wife) Felicity Handley: instagram.com/floppyhotdogs/ The Incredible Fuzi: instagram.com/fuziuvtpk/ And my amazing team at Struthless Studios: instagram.com/struthlessstudios (and of course everyone who watches hehe that is you xoxo)

Five Swedish guys were at my film school and they had never heard of the phrase ‘can you not’ which they found hilarious. Halloween rolled around and a guy dressed as a gay Steve Jobs (black crop turtle neck with low rise jeans) had a tattoo gun and all the Swedish guys got CAN YOU NOT on the ass. My legacy lives on

One of my favorite tattoo artists does ignorant style, and the characters are always having an existential crisis of some kind related to how they are a tattoo. It's amazing and really breaks the 4th wall

I came for the bad tattoos, stayed for the existential philosophy.

I saw a guy with a lower back tattoo of a postage stamp that said “tramp” on it once like 15 years ago, and I still think that’s so hilarious

I survived art college with no tattoo. I felt like a proper freak.

Somehow I lived among bikers, druggies, musicians, jugglers, tattoo artists and assorted crazies for decades without getting inked. Nothing against tattoos, I just always had better things to spend my money on (like bikes, drugs and guitars). Then, a couple of years ago, I needed 37 radiotherapy sessions to blast a pair of pretty naughty tumours. On day one, a young nurse used a needle and bottle of ink to tattoo 3 dots on my hip and groin, as registration marks for the machine.. my tattooed ex wife thinks it's hilarious! Now I tell people that the dots are a skull with a dagger through it, a wizard riding a dragon, and a full-length super realistic portrait of Dolly Parton... just done really really small.

did not expect absurdism to be explained in a video about a tattoo style but def here for it

This video should just be called "incredibly detailed and well researched history of tattoos". The amount of information and history packed into this is much much more than just explaining one recent style. Incredible video.

idk why I love the idea of "ugh all old people have tattoos 🙄" and imagining it said in an annoyed teenage way 🤣

"Old people in 2070 will be hilarious" I love that you phased it that way. I had a conversation with some family members once how our generations (Millenials, Gen Z) will be like when their old. We came to the conclusion that the nursery homes will be full of people with piercings, overstretched ears and wrinkly (ignorant) tatoos. The imagination was hilarious! Now I am curious if we'll be "cool" old people one day.

While "Ignorant tattoos" might be relatively new, their style really hearkens back to old-school school notebook sketches. The simple but clean line art of simple separate charms and sketches was super popular in the early 2000s and very prevalent in skateboard culture. The art is easy to do one at a time in the margins of your notebook with a pen or pencil. Millennials who can afford tattoos now were drawing this style in school back in the mid 2000's. It makes sense when "party thighs" became a thing, that it would inevitably be the style of grade school doodling they did when younger. Look back at the snowboarding video game SSX On Tour (2005) and you see that this style of notebook art was literally used to style all the in-game menus. That's how prevalent the precursor style was to what is now "ignorant tattoos"

The idea of absurdism really made sense. I have a few ignorant tattoos (I'm especially fond of the one on my forearm that says "I like your dog") and I've found that as I get older I'm more into the idea of these weird, goofy tattoos. Maybe a sign that with age things just don't feel so serious anymore.

I’m a great-grandma with many tats! I started in the 70s! They are for everyone☮️💟

"Old people in 2070 will be hilarious", saying this has put a curious thought into my head about what younger people will be seeing of us when we get to our old age. What we have to go off of people in 1920 - 1950s, who are the old people of today, is pictures mostly. Whether its magazines, old films, illustrations, we don't have too much to go off of from that time. Whereas with today, when we get to 2070, the young people will have the entire internet to see what life was like back in the 2020's and will actually get a somewhat accurate depiction of the wide variety of people that live now. Like I'm just picturing a person in their teens in 2070, watching this video to find the origins of what would be considered vintage tattoo style to them.

My favorite ignorant tattoo I’ve ever seen (maybe my favorite tattoo period) is some type of wild cat that looks a little jacked up, and it wearing a t-shirt that says “Covid-19 made me do this.” It really speaks and captures the feeling of an entire year in a way that I’ve never seen any other art do. And I think a big part is the fact that it’s utterly ridiculous and permanent on someone’s body. It wouldn’t have the same effect at all in any other medium.

back when I got my first tattoo machine and started to practice on my thighs I had the brilliant idea to tattoo "left foot" on my right foot and "right foot" on my left one. years later I did it self-tattooed and now it's my favorite most absurd tattoo that I got hahaha

My first ever tattoo was when I was 17, which is technically illegal where I live so you can imagine the sketchiness of the guy I got it from. I drew up a very basic shitty guideline of what I wanted and when I arrived he had just printed out the shitty sketch I sent and I was too nervous to say anything so now I have a very shitty sketch that I made on my wrist lol

My brother accidentally discovered that one of his "Japanese inspired" tattoos was also a symbol for BDSM.

I'm an illustrator and I used to hate this art style, and in general not only in tattoos. I used to think that the line art was lazy because it is not straight, those line art are little bit shaky. But now, I like so much that I illustrate using this style. I found some artists that make a shaky lineart but those lines are consistent, so is a balance between caos and order. I know that I'm being too much philosophical describing a line art, but I mean, it's what I feel about it.

I have an ignorant tattoo of just a smiling rubber duck. When my mom asked why I did it I said “I like ducks”

Yo real talk; who’s old enough to remember what tat shops were like before the Insta boom? Full of these horrendous dudes who looked like they would straight up kill you if you looked at them funny, who were giving people the most jacket up tattys(or at least they were round my end). Bless Instagram for changing everything omg, fabulous art, fabulous people, fabulous spaces. Proper can’t wait till we’re all wrinkled looking like multicoloured teabags at 80yo. BLESS YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY

As someone who's just starting out tattooing, I've noticed a lot of gen z/early millennial artists doing that style and I was so confused on the appeal. You explained it perfectly! It makes total sense especially during/after the pandemic and all the uncertainty it brought. Great video!!

One of my cousins used to draw these weird little demon doodles as a kid, and they were really strange, but kinda cool and cute at the same time. My aunt who has always had a lot of tattoos saw one of them and loved it so much that she she had it tattooed on her arm. It’s even more hilarious because a lot of her stuff is patchwork and generally American traditional, so it’s just funny to look at her arm and see a seemingly random little fine line children’s drawing of a demon. 😂

Really glad that this video is informational and optimistic! I see a lot of hate online towards ignorant style tattoos from people with more traditional tattoos, so its refreshing to know that the tattooing world isn't completely split by some sort of "traditional vs. ignorant" thing. I think almost every style of tattooing is cool and unique, so there should be no hate surrounding the styles people choose. After all, tattoos rose in popularity in attempt to strike out against the idea of an "ideal" person, so why hate a whole style because its not your "ideal" tattoo? Have fun!!

Saw a dude working in a food truck at Darling Harbour a few years ago with all the characters from "Where the wild things are" in a sleeve tatt. His response when asked about itnwas "its my favourite book" . Beautiful tatts

I don't know if it counts, but I have "The Movie is Called Memento" tattooed upside down on my thigh. I went through a stage where I kept referencing the movie and forgetting the title. So now it's on me forever. If I ever forget it I can just roll up my skirt a bit, and voila!

I’ve got “party tattoos” and “ignorant tattoos” from like 2008. And I’d never heard these terms until just now. And the description of what they are and how they came to be was so spot on, I feel incredibly attacked right now 😂🎉

For me what appeals with this style (for myself) is that I'm VERY self critical to the point that I go crazy over my own decisions. If I were to have something on my body that was supposed to be meaningful or beautiful I would stress out over it to an absurd amount if it wasn't perfect(don't think it ever could be for my mind). When a big part of the tattoo's identity is being butt-ugly it takes away the entire idea of stress for me, it can just exist there and be ugly and I don't care. So I think it's the only style I'll ever be able to have, which I'm totally fine with

i love the way you guide us through all your interests so seamlessly, like this is a diff vibe than your latest vids, but im so here for it 🤩 ps - your post-production is goals 🖤

I tattooed my own ear when I was 24- just 3 lines near the edge. Last year I read an article about Otzi's tatts, with pics, and was delighted to see how similar to mine his are. In the article they mentioned that his tattoos could have been for a medicinal purpose, by causing inflammation in an area it would draw extra bloodflow and help tackle aches or injuries in that area. I liked that explanation because my tattoo was medicinal too. I did it when I was at a job I hated and going mad. It was a release valve saying "wait, I'm still me, I can't be controlled, I belong to myself."

The first tattoo I tattooed on myself with an ebay bought machine in my kitchen and I wrote under my knees "not worry" "make happy" and I'm still very proud of it and love it and it basically describes the essence meaning of the ignorant style. Don't take life too seriously.

my favourite party thigh tattoo belongs to a highschool friend of mine. done in a cluttered bedroom, with nothing but a sewing needle, thread and hand sanitizer, she got ‘TEMPORARY’ added to her collection. It became a master piece amongst other phrases like, time flies dogs die. love u jada

The guy who did my first tattoo had a thigh tat his 5 y/o had done, like not just the drawing, but with the actual machine, needles, and ink. I think b/c of that, ignorant for me initially felt very childlike, in a positive way. I don't have any ignorant, but I love that it celebrates the experience between the 2 ppl on either end of the tattoo in a way that is specific, self-referential, and joyful, even if it is gallows humor circling the death of our culture. Cool vid, ty!!

Someone once showed me a tattoo that said "simple plan lyrics" while I was watching their livestream. That was pretty absurd.

my friend's housemate made a QR code tattoo of a website he made for his ex-gf to win her back, and after a while he stopped paying for the website so it's just a qr code that goes to a blocked page. but he's together with the gf still so i guess it served its purpose. this was an awesome video btw!! loved it and i learned so much

I've got probably 100 tattoos, 2 were done by a professional in a parlour, 5 were the classic party tattoos by friends, and the other 90something are by me, bent, many very ignorant or just poorly done with a real meaning, people always ask when I'll cover my horrible half-sleeve of dozens of different small pieces, and the answer is definitely never, I remember each one and what it meant to me at the time and with my memory being what it is I always want to remember those moments

i got a fish in a business suit as my first tattoo a few months ago and i love it to death! it really does remind me to not take life too seriously :)

My partner's friend tattoos under the handle "Discount stab shack" and tattoos almost entirely in the ignorant style. My partner has a lot of them now. My favorites are a balloon animal dog hat with the words "Heavy is the crown" and a bee with a top hat above the words "Straight stangin." 💯 Great video, I loved to learn the backstory.

The ignorant style might not have been reaching the mainstream until Instagram, but it's been around in the punk scene (stick and poke) since forever.

I don't know what it would be categorized as but I love it when ignorant style imagery is done in a very serious black-and-gray application. I saw a 5 hr tattoo of a ramen monster and everything down to shading, and white ink was in detailed black and gray

Great video once again! Here's the best tattoo I've ever seen: I was hanging with a band after their concert and talking about tattoos with deep meanings and the singer starts explaining and showing that he had a tattoo of a wristwatch on his wrist, but instead of a clock face it was a pizza and that's because it's always time for pizza!

I loved the little history lesson, cheers for that! Weirdest tattoo I've got is the evil criminal penguin from Wallace and Gromit's The wrong trousers (Feathers McGraw). He's a penguin wearing a rubber kitchen glove on his head as a disguise in order to look like a rooster. I feel like having a chuckle every time I look down at my bicep and see him ahaha

I’ve been getting ignorant style tattoos since like 2009 😹 my weirdest one is probably a line drawing/self portrait of a sibling with a banner underneath that says “this is dumb” Glorious.

When I was 18 I got “¿Qué pasa?” tattooed on my right palm. It’s been nearly 15 years now so it’s barely visible now, but I still chuckle every time I see it :)

Interesting video, I remember seeing guys in prison in the 90’s with tattoos mostly scratched in with a pin and ink put on. These weren’t called Ignorant tattoos at the time but they looked a lot like some of the examples. It had a sort of “so bad it’s good” appeal and added a bit of humour to peoples grim situations

you mentioned the resilience required to survive an apprenticeship with hazing, unpaid labor, and weird power trips. this stuff is rampant in tattoo shops with just a bunch of cishet white guys, forget about women, LGBTQ ppl, and BIPOC. ignorant style opened the door for a lot of marginalized groups. it allowed for safer environments for tattooers and their clients, it gave people a lot of autonomy. i really loved watching this, i genuinely smiled through a lot of it, especially at the end. great stuff, thanks for making the video!

I have a short attention span and don't love educational videos yet you had me entertained the whole time without even taking a break

I only have 2 tattoos and they both fit into this style. I never understood why i enjoyed it so much but drawing the parallel to absurdism made alot of sense to me. I also like the tattoos because the meaning and the appreciation for the tattoo dosnt come from the application and execution but more from the meaning you bestow upon the concept. The meaning behind the idea not the art itself

I have've got two in this style, one of two angels holding up a Cool S on my arm and one of Bobby Hill crying on my leg

10:21 I thought the "escape through a leap of faith" was the "fun way to say suicide" not a second option lol 😄

I'm a tattoo artist who, strangely, struggles sometimes with the idea of tattoos being on me forever. although as an art form it's my favourite thing to provide for others, i always get a sense of anxiety when getting a new piece myself, "what if people are right and i WILL regret this when i'm 70?!". but this video, and especially your point at the end felt like it calmed every anxiety ive ever had about it and put it into perspective. to choose to revel in the absurdity of life, to realise that in 2070 we will all be old and wrinkly and covered in scribbles and that that doesn't matter in the best way, makes it all feel a bit silly to actually worry about it like that. love your videos as always, but it was extra special to watch this one about a topic so important to me!

This is my favorite part about all the people who got super meaningful tattoos that are perfect, try to budge in with their own stories that nobody cares about when everyone else is asking people about their party tattoos

I entered 2020 with 1 poorly done professional tattoo and left with over 20 I did myself while having black mold poisoning. They are mostly meaningless but got me through so much. One of my strangest ones is a naked portrait of myself on my thigh.

These vids are my comfort viewing. Nothing makes me happier than curling up with a bowl of food and seeing a new Struthless vid pop up on my homepage. Love you Cam

i tattoed the word "tattoo" on myself as one of my learning practices. it looks shitty but it's for sure one of my favourite tattoos ever. i'm down to add that word to all the tattos i make if the victim wants to :)

The edit on this video, the typography chosen, the sound effects, there's something about this video that stands out to me other than the content itself. GREAT VIDEO

These video essays are SO cool! The self help stuff youve been up to has been really awesome, but taking the same struthless approach to more documentary style subjects is SUCH a good fit, really really enjoying these

Thanks for all the research! I have tons of issues with abusive old-school apprenticeships, BUT I also don't think anyone should buy a cheap tattoo kit and tattoo their friends- the risks for hepatitis, HIV and even just bacterial infections are no joke. Tattooing without any knowledge of bloodborne pathogens and cross-contamination could easily ruin someone's life.

I always thought Struthless always filmed alone until I hear those laughter in the back … 🤯😂 love your video man, as always! Great content and appreciate the interview with Fuzy as well!

The history, the research you’ve done, the storytelling and the edit🙌🏼🙌🏼 this vid was too good!! Loved it

16:55 - I don't know how "absurd" this is, but the tattoo that I think most captured my attention in a long-term way was one of the words from Shelley Jackson's _Skin_ -- described as "a 2095-word story published exclusively in tattoos, one word at a time, on the skin of volunteers", in case anyone is unfamiliar. One of the volunteers was a teacher of a class I took once, and had... I think it was the word "piece"?? I might be mis-remembering, though. Anyway, the whole project idea just kinda fascinates me.

the way you called out why i get all my tattoos... life is not that serious just live and do what you love and have fun this video is awesome

I've had this in my bookmarked videos for months, finally got around to it, and so glad I did! This was such a wonderful and concise history of how we got to this moment. A pleasure to watch!

Ok I was curious and clicked on this video thinking it would be “a not so amazing video about a style I really don’t appreciate” and I just literally got a masterclass. Really good research and insights! I love all your videos and obviously this one would not suck. Thanks for the awesomeness!

I am so glad you brought up Camus and absurdism! That is certainly my philosophy and coping mechanism for late stage capitalism and a notable generational attitude. I also totally love ignorant tattoos

I got plenty tattoos from a swedish artist called Pastilliam. One of my favorite is a simple bow with an arrow aiming at the wrong direction

i don't know why i love this video so much, but it's just so comforting to hear the definition/history behind this particular style because it is so laid back

Man this is such a cool video I haven’t been this engaged in a while so thank you struthless, I was totally captivated from start to finish and learnt so much about a subject I knew so little about!

The tattoo that has stayed in my mind since I first saw it as a kid was at a water park. A guy emerged from the water and it looked like his back was bleeding, as if the skin had peeled off to the point of showing bone. For a second, I was terrified and probably assumed that it happened coming off a water slide like in Always Sunny, but as soon as I realized it was fake I just thought it was really cool art work. It kind of made me want my own back tattoo, but I would do as realistic angel or butterfly wings as I could get. Also the amount of work that went into this video really comes across, from the editing to the content.

Loved this video. Loved that you drew a connection to camus and absurdism. I think a lot of us are feeling like we are in a parallel time to sometime close to 100 yrs ago. I've heard a lot of people parallel 1890 and 1930 particularly.

one of my fav videos of yours thus far! thank you for sharing this informative content with your philosophical flair and love for life! happy to see you happy Campbell!

This is incredibly researched and well done. You can tell a lot of thought and effort went into it

I never knew what these types of tattoos are called but I've always been so interested on how imperfect they are. I think it also relates how patchwork sleeve tattoos are getting popular esp to younger people bc it gives you more choice to have a variety rather than having just one big arm tattoo.

Been thinking about getting my first tattoo for a few years now and while I don’t think I’ll go for the ignorant style right away, this video took a lot of pressure off my shoulders and made me realize how fun tattoos can really be. The history was also fascinating and your way of telling it was just brilliant! Thanks for this video! Can’t wait to see what you do next! ^^

I didn't expect this to be so well researched and such a deep dive from the title and I love it!

This is an incredible video man, the editing, the writing, the visuals?!?! All *chefs kiss* - this was so informative and so fun! Like I just caught myself smiling bc it was so fun to watch!

I personally don't have any ignorant tattoos myself, but this style always confused me. This video cleared up that confusion. Thank you.

i didn´t expected that fuzi played such a big role in the tattoo scene, i always liked his graff and i got a few "ignorant" tattoos from my friends while they started out with tatooing. i´m glad this stuff gets mainstream and acceptable, so i don´t need to be shy about my legs since i´m old now and a dad :D

I’ve never watched any of your videos and don’t have any tattoos. This was one of the best videos i’ve ever watched. So enjoyable listening to you

i have a cat with a sword through his forehead, and underneath it says “im okay” my ex has the same cat but holding a sword and underneath that it says “you’re okay” (i wonder if he sees the irony in that😂) hearing the explanation to the style is so great and truly is why i got mine in the first place and i love that!

Yay! I somehow managed to avoid the party thighs. Total fluke tbh. Only got my first two and super meaningful tattoos last year. The second one gets a bit of a knee jerk reaction to it. It’s a dangling spider. Matching tattoo with my bestie, first conversation we ever had was about spiders. Every time I look down at my wrist I now go “shit, I really should text her / text her back” and don’t. But it’s a mutual thing. 🙃

The only piece I had done was a "gao yord" sak yant tattoo at Wat Bang Phra in Thailand. It started out as a tourist adventure until I got to the temple and realized that not everyone is permitted to get the ink done. You have to take the spirituality seriously, from the monk's perspective. You also don't get to choose what you receive. There is a traditional system of application and choices, but the monk tattooist decides. These are done with handcrafted ink which includes snake venom and human bone ash, using long steel or bamboo needles. Also, only men can get tattoos from monks. Monks are not allowed to touch women, so women can only get them from female temple staff. Everybody gets a final blessing from the Abbott and exits through a gift shop though. I found the process became quite profound and experienced some zen peace. I'll go back and get more in years to come, but I'll only go to Wat Bang Phra. That is the centre now of traditional Khmer tattooing.

Awesome piece. Great job setting this up and telling this story in such an entertaining and personal way

Never stop continuously making art work like whose amazing video content forms struthless, much love from FX from Austria. You will be colossal on YT if you need grinding and never stop creating “content”

I didn't actually expect a break down of the history, but I'm here for it!! Loved the style, and quality of the editing :)) I just got my first tattoo this year and I realize after this video that i probably wouldn't have dared to take it without this whole movement/trend/whatever you want to call it

Got your book for my birthday last week and absolutly love it! Thank you for your work.

omg, I loved the history part so much, didn't expect that ! Such a great great great video, thank you so much !

What a high value video in such a short time frame ❤️ I really appreciate it

Just got your book in the mail, so glad!! It’s awesome. Just got diagnosed with ADHD late in life and I’m reading it with my husband and 14 year old, who is stoked that I knew who you were lol. Tattooing and buying equipment online became my latest ADHD hyper focus hobby and a good reason to work on my art more. Thanks for being you!!

Damn, I went into this thinking I wouldn't really be interested in the topic, but you made it fascinating. Awesome job, and I'm looking forward to your future video essays. Also, your summation line had me laughing so hard!

Absolutely wonderful video. Greatly appreciate the research and history provided.

this is such an amazing video!!!! i love how you included such detailed history & cultural analysis without judgement!! soo fascinating! your passion for tattooing really shows :-)

Never seen you before, BUT loved the history lesson. Had a lot of fun with this video, thank you.

I just started tattooing I think it’s so cool I ended up learning so much from a struthless video on something so important to me! I always learn so much from your videos man .. i feel like my life is on track with your videos

Great video, amazing editing! Thank you! Perfect!

My tattoo artists wasn't the person to buy the $ 60 machine. My old roomate was and then I gave it to her with a promisse to lend my skin as their first humans canvas. I love it

As a person without a tattoo and never seeing your content, this was an awesome video. Well presented, educational and interesting and currently relevant. Cheers.

So well presented. The first I watched of yours. Loved it!

Absolutely love this video. The storytelling, the editing and well the tattoos. 🖤