Science Answers: What Lower Back Tattoos On Women Really Mean

"The tat is a telltale sign that the woman who paid to have it permanently etched onto her body is easy... That's really not fair. But many times, life just isn't." 

Results of an interesting new study were released earlier this week, the focus of which was lower-back tattoos on women. The research took place in France, and the results were anything but flattering to the fairer sex. In short, the study showed that most men believe that women who have a tattoo on their lower back are more likely to have sex with them.

Ah, the French.

Now, I'm not here necessarily to argue against the study, or to even poke holes in the testing process. I mean, everyone knows that the best scientific research is done on a beach in the south of France, right? But what I would like to do is give my point of view on the matter.

I, as a single 31-year-old man, tend to disagree with the study

Now, before I go any further, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the term "tramp stamp." Over the course of the past 20 or so years, that term has weaseled its way into the pop culture lexicon. And while it's likely not news to anyone, the term "tramp stamp" refers to a lower-back tattoo. As if the tat is a telltale sign that the woman who paid to have it permanently etched onto her body is easy.

That's really not fair. But many times, life just isn't.

The lower-back tattoo is kind of like the scarlet letter of modern times. In many, if not most, cases, I'd assume that the woman in question got the tattoo at an early age -- I'd venture to guess between 17 and 22. In your teens and early 20s, more than half of the decisions you make in life are hormonally based. At that age, your judgments are all too determined by teenage angst. Perhaps the girl got the tattoo as a way of rebel against her parents. Maybe it was a way to draw some attention from a guy she felt invisible to. Hell, maybe the girl was wasted off Zimas and got it in a buddy's kitchen at a house party. Who the hell knows? Either way, I truly feel that no one should be permanently held accountable for a decision they made prior to turning 25. Next Page >>

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What it is really like to be a dad at home

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"I don't have a boss (except if you count Ava trying to manipulate me) or a calendar, apart from dual NAPs, which are a must."

Once upon a time in my life when I leaned towards what was cool, sharp or in tune with the times. I worked in Hollywood, more precisely in the comedy. I have been a leader of development of TV stars like Adam Sandler and Chelsea Handler, as well as a booker for a late-night comic popular talk show on CBS. I was Movin' and shakin', hopping from meetings in the power of networking dinners and ending my night with a double lookout on the rocks in the back corner of a double show at the Hollywood Improv. Everyone thought that I had the coolest job and did so I.

I'm not proud of it, but I think that it started going to my head. I would be having a conversation with a guy and someone else see walk in which had a little more current, and I would find myself zoning out, nodding the head, saying things like, "Yes, man, I totally agree' or ' Oh, really?"? It is cool." Just call in. It was a little more than three years, until I left the entertainment industry and became a dad at home full time.

A few weeks ago I found myself at a barbecue that had dragged on my wife (reality TV full time Executive) took me to, talk to some Sorin who asked what I did for a living. Here we go again, I thought.

"I'm a dad in the home for two children at a young age," I said.

And just like that, it came a complete turn on me. I could see the look empty on the face of the guy, as he has begun to look beyond the distance, watching as someone else entered the group. He gave me a ' Oh, that's cool, man. '' I wanted to break the stupid microbrewery on his forehead, rip on his intestines and wrap them around his neck, but I couldn't.

I'd be a hypocrite.

I tried subtly to explain that being a dad in the home was really cool. I don't have a boss (except if you count Ava trying to manipulate me) or a calendar, apart from dual NAPs, which are a must.

Think about how awesome it is to introduce these children to something new every day, something that they have never seen before and sit back and watch the looks on their faces. Forget the big deal of closing - I taught just a toddler to aim and pee on stuff with exceptional precision. I am their Ambassador in the world, which represents a huge increase in my last job title.

I've been selline, but I do not know if it was buyine.

At the time, I think that the reason for which I erased on people was because I couldn't communicate with what they were talking about or because everything what they were pitching me just didn't seem very promising.

I guess that the same thing happened to me at this barbecue.

Lots of guys can not connect with the fact that I am a sami. In most cases, they were initially tested me on why I do not work, tell me "it sucks", and they will put me in touch with their buddy who is a head hunter and me squared away for next week. Next Page >

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What I'm really thinking: the unfaithful boyfriend

'No relationship can maintain that breathtaking excitement when you first realise someone is looking at you in that way.' Illustration: Lo Cole for the Guardian

It meant nothing, is what I tell you. But while it meant nothing to me, I know it means something to you. And I knew it would when I did it.

I wish you weren't hurt by it, but I can't honestly say I regret it. It made me feel desired, powerful, successful for a while, in a way that it's simply not possible for you to make me feel any more. So?I?suppose it did mean something, and I just told you another lie.

Does this mean we should break up? I don't think so. No relationship can maintain that breathtaking excitement when you first realise someone is looking at you in that way, that you're going to be completely intimate with someone?new.

I know you're not going to break up with me because of this. Maybe I wouldn't have done it otherwise. But, no, I would have – because I?never intended for you to find out.

But you did, and now you're crying and shouting at me, and I'm aware that my face is hard and set and I must look angry, but I'm not. Not even at myself. I'm numb.

As for the other girl, I'm a little surprised you don't want to know more about her. I suppose that, even through your tears, you know she's not really anything to do with it. This is about me and you, and me doing something even though I?knew it would hurt you.

I know all that and I still don't regret it. But I wish you weren't sad. Because I love you.

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What I'm really thinking: the father-in-law

We were at my daughter's for lunch one Sunday when suddenly there was a loud bang and the lights went out. I watched as my son-in-law remained in his seat, chatting away, blissfully uninterested in the problem. He sat there letting my daughter, who'd been cooking all day, struggle up a stepladder to turn the trip switch back on.

Later, when she and I had sorted the problem (a faulty appliance), we all laughed at her husband's lack of DIY knowledge. To an outsider, it looked like normal happy family banter, but really I was furious. Somehow I can't help feeling disappointed in her choice of partner, even though I hide it pretty well.

I make sure I get on with him, and that I never say what I really feel, particularly in front of my daughter – she's very loyal to him, which I?admire. Yet I feel rage when I see him reading the papers and leaving her to do pretty much everything: run the house, hold down a full-time job, do the DIY, pay the bills.

I treasure my grandson and our time together, but I worry that his father hasn't taken the time to bond fully with him. In my darkest moments I think he doesn't deserve the wonderful family he's got. Yet my daughter rarely complains, and tempted as I am to comment, I?know I would only alienate her. My wife died several years ago and my daughter is all I've got left. However angry I feel, I can't afford to tell her what I'm really thinking. So I keep my mouth shut and my enemy close.

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