I saw recently, in the May 2007 issue of Esquire magazine, a story called “Obits of 2007” by A.J. Jacobs. I was interested, though not sorry, to read of the passing of the lower-back tattoo:
Lower-Back Tattoo, 13, Is Dead
The trend of getting a tattoo on the lower back as an erotic decoration died February 4 inside a Safeway supermarket in Bethesda, Maryland. The cause of death was Kathleen Dawkins, a forty-eight-year-old mother of three who leaned over to get a large package of Brawny paper towels, exposing a band of Celtic characters above her ass crack to a horrified stock boy. It was thirteen. Born in 1994, the lower-back tattoo was designed to accentuate the curvature of the lower female figure. It was soon adopted by a number of influential women, including Nicky Hilton, Jessica Alba, and Christina Aguilera. Inspired by her eighteen-year-old daughter, Dawkins got her tattoo three months ago to celebrate the escrow closing of a new five-bedroom split-level home in a gated community. “I wanted to give my husband a sexy surprise,” she told friends. She also bought size-16 Paige Premium low-riding blue jeans, which she was wearing during the fatal incident.
DAVID YAMANE 