The taboo formally known as tattoos

At one time a tattoo was something found on a big burly man, brandished with the name of his wife, child or favourite football team. But times have changed and more and more women are getting tattoos every day. Even your nan's probably got one by now.

Despite what you might think, tattoos on women is something that can be traced back as far as Egyptian times, and even Winston Churchill’s mum had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist.

Tattoos have been used on women in the past as a symbol of fidelity, or a measure of pain threshold. But as they have become more and more common and affordable to the masses, many women now get them as a fashion statement rather than a reflection of their character.

But has the taboo of tattoos on women really been eliminated?

Charlotte Bannister, 20, is an English and Drama student in Liverpool and has seven tattoos, getting her first one at the age of 16, two years under the legal age in Britain.

“All my tattoos have a personal meaning to me,” she said. “I have never taken the decision to get one lightly, it’s a big commitment, but I don’t regret getting any of them.”

Charlotte is amongst the millions of women in the UK who have tattoos, with more than one in four women over the age of 18 having one or more tattoos.

“In many ways I have them for fashion, I like the way they look,” she said. “I think if they are done well and have nice designs they can look great on both men and women.”

But there are still many people who are opposed to women getting tattoos. Liz Jones of the Daily Mail referred to tattoos on women as ‘tramp stamps’ claiming they “instantly turning the classiest, chicest woman into trailer trash”.

Lena Dillon, 25, a tattoo artist from Manchester said: "I think, certainly within our generation at least, you don't tend to meet anyone who hasn't got at least one tattoo, they seem like a rarity in a way.

“I'm not sure that it's completely accepted by everyone, but it's probably not noticed as much. And I think that the number of celebrities that have tattoos is definitely an influence."

Hear more from Lena and her mother in Claire Wilson’s YouTube documentary above