If Orson Welles made the movie Citizen Kane today, would his titular anti-hero have a tattoo that said, “Rosebud”?
Tattoos are more popular than ever in Canada, as the stigma they long carried, deservedly or otherwise, continues to fade. While empirical numbers on tattooed people aged 60 and up are elusive, it seems to follow that the age group is getting tattooed more often these days, as are younger age groups.
So, what’s it like to get your first tattoo aged 60 or older?
“A lot of people [over 60] are getting their first ones,” says Glen Paradis, owner-artist at Barnstormer Studio in Ottawa, “and they're like, ‘it's always been on the back burner,’ Once they realize the tattoos are actually a good thing, as far as the whole stigma being lightened up a little bit, they're all over it.”
Paradis says that in his 24 years of tattooing all ages, those who have come to him for their first tattoo later in life tend to go for the sentimental.
“Most of the time, it’s a family kind of thing. It might be a grandkid’s toy or names, nothing ever really too big, just a nice little keepsake that they want.”
For Lynn Doucette, the sentiment was directly related to her 35 years in the Canadian military, and her wish in retirement for some “connection” to that career. A friend in the RCMP had a tattoo of a Canadian flag on his back, which inspired her to find a local tattoo shop.
“I was turning 60 and to commemorate my retirement, I thought, maybe some kind of a military RCAF type symbol,” says Doucette, who lives in Chilliwack, B.C. “I ended up coming up with the RCAF roundel, and my call sign and years of service.”
Previously, she had “never really cared about tattoos, never thought about them” — which may seem surprising for a woman who was mission crew commander of an airborne warning and control system during the Persian Gulf War, surrounded by military personnel who had tattoos. Now she has her own ink, which is on her calf, and she realized during a winter trip to Mexico how much it got noticed.
“Standing around the pool and this gal goes, ‘Oh, you're Canadian and you're in the RCAF.’ It has been a conversation starter. It's been kind of cool, actually.”
Bonnie Densmore Geens, of Goderich, Ont., says both her parents had passed, so when her husband went to get another tattoo she, aged 64, went along and got her first — a butterfly on her shoulder.
“To me a butterfly means peace and love from above,” says Densmore Geens, who retired in 2005 from the Canada Revenue Agency. “My husband has since passed, so the tat remains a connection between us.”
Louise Meloche’s first tattoo, at age 62, was a gift from her daughters after she retired from her 14 years as executive assistant to the deputy minister for Environment Canada. “I chose a little hummingbird to honour my mother, who loved hummingbirds. [She] passed away eight years ago and this hummingbird represents [her as] a strong and courageous woman.”
Meloche was worried about pain from the tattoo needle, but discovered “it didn’t hurt. You could definitely feel the needle, but it’s not that bad.”
Lynn Doucette described it as “a sting” that was “over before you have a chance say ouch.” She says she researched locations — steering away from places that look like “biker hangouts” — until she found a tattoo shop “that looked like a spa” in nearby Abbotsford. “I did a lot of research on them and went to check them out, and was very comfortable with them and the gal that I found for the tattoo.”
Paradis says his shop is by design bright and airy, its walls lined with original art from the worlds of fantasy, sci-fi and comics. “We wanted to look at more like a gallery first, instead of a tattoo studio.”
Densmore Geens offers succinct advice: “Research the artist and enjoy the results.”
The tote on tattoos
33: Overall percentage of Canadians who have at least one tattoo. By age demographic, millennials, 51; gen X, 43; gen Z, 35; boomers, 17.
One or five: Curiously, Canadians who have tattoos are most likely to have only one (31 per cent), or five or more (28 per cent). The numbers for those with two, three or four tattoos are significantly lower.
Four: Percentage of tattooed Canadians who say “I’m tired of some or all of my tattoos and would have them removed if I could,” while 49 per cent say the love their tattoos and “want to show them off every chance I get.”
27: Percentage of respondents who say their tattoos are “private” and kept hidden “most of the time.” Boomers are the demographic most likely to have their tattoos on less visible parts of their bodies.
(Survey by Narrative Research and Logit Group, conducted March 2024 with 1,230 Canadians aged 18 years of age or older.)