Everybody judges people by their appearance. Everybody.
You can be the nicest guy in the world, and look like a dork, and everyone will assume you're a dork until you prove otherwise. Why people would
want to go out of their way to get people to assume they're a dork is beyond me.
Yet studies have mostly shown that people into outrageous clothing, tattoos or body piercings generally have self esteem issues and would rather you judge them by their perceived disagreeable appearance, then by meeting them and simply not liking them. "You don't like me because you feel threatened by my tattoos!" Yeah, right.
Of course there are some people who just like them, but I'm sure that's a pretty low percentage. If you ask 100 kids in high school about some guy with a sleeve, they'd probably go "Bad ass, tough guy!" Then ask 100 working adults and they'll go "the guy who works at the car wash until he's 65."
The fact everybody seems to hide their tattoos when going for a job interview or to meet the new girlfriends parents tells you even they know it was a bad idea and they know they're going to be judged harshly by it.
I respectfully disagree, and you have not presented enough conclusive information to back your point...It's speculation. The people you are describing in these studies seem to fit a certain profile and are more extroverted...Or, have esteem issues and are trying to fit in. You see the same thing on the HC forum...Some people try to fit in by sounding cool or being funny to appeal to the masses.
Also, many people hide their tattoos because they are placed in areas that are normally concealed by clothing (e.g., shoulder, back, leg, etc.). Most people don't rock neck or face tattoos, unless they are hardcore tattoo enthusiasts