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I was reading my anthropology text book and it was discussing Tattoos as a culture, with both tattoo artists and those with tattoos. part of the discussion was on the fact that there is a social ranking to the culture. And I began to wonder, what rank would i classify as? While I have multiple tattoos, they are all fairly simplistic and really not that great of quality (i picked bad artists, chain tattoo parlors aren't the best). So with my tattoos, I would probably rank myself at the very bottom, maybe a step above the people who get the heart tattoos with Mom, or a lovers name in it. And I find myself almost being ashamed, wondering why I got such simple things, and why I didn't have better art (a pretty classic sign of wanting to move up the ranks, the main reason my tats are sucky, is money). So i decided that from now on, I want my tattoos to be fairly high detail, and to be awesome artists.
Now my question is, how would you view yourself in the ranks of tattooed people. What strata do you belong to?

(And yes, I know I sound like a geek, its the anthropology talking)

I plan on moving up a few ranks with my next few tattoos

I wouldn't mind if my tattoos were covered up, with the exception of one, which i got as a memorial.
But im prob getting the ones on my shoulder blades covered to have enough space for my big back piece

it really would depend on how intense your wings are, cause wings by themselves are fairly common, though some are much more intricate that others, I almost got a pair when I was first looking at tattoos

since im not really part of the tattoo culture, i don't know really, though im sure if i went to a convention i would be considered a poser or wannabe

the area i lived in before didn't really have much of it, you were considered a poser if you went to one parlor over another
i went to the cheaper parlor
im sorry, but the other place wanted to charge almost $250 for something that i had priced in other towns at $125
so that area didn't really have a subculture for it, now im just having to find a parlor that i like here, and start getting inked again

im a poser cause of what my tattoos are, supposedly, they are simplistic, like my devil duck on my hip, or a rose on my shoulder, and then i have the standard kanji on the ankle

thats something that would be conisidered pretty detailed is my guess, becuase for it to take that long, in that small of an area, it would have to be high detail.
but i think there are aslo rakes within that culture of the different styles of tattoos, such as original art versus tribalized
ive found a lot of people ive talked to think that unless you area ctually part of atribe that uses those markings, you shouldn't get it.
I know there has been at least once person that questioned me on getting celtic work done, until i reassured him, I'm scotish, I'm allowed to lol

i get tribalized stylings, but generally more pacific islander than native american, though i did want to get a mayan one
im not more than 1/6th, but i am part, and im celtic, so i consider it fair game, cause a lot of the patterns are gaelic in origin