You wouldn’t know it — probably because they’re hiding inside people’s pants — but butt tattoos are becoming super popular.
“Personally, I had a surge of small booty tats right after lockdown,” says Kenzie Shepherd, a tattoo artist with Crow's Nest Tattoo in Royal Oak, Michigan. “I think the isolation took a toll on people, and when the shop sign was open there was an air of ‘to hell with it!’ and the cheeks started appearing.” Shepherd refers to summer 2021 as the “summer of @ss” because of how many butt tattoos she did — and, according to her, 2023 is no different.
“Ever since then, they've been a bit more requested,” she tells Bustle, especially now that bathing suit season is right around the corner. Celebs are in on the trend, too: Olivia Wilde recently showed off her butt tattoo at the beach, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber have each flaunted their outer butt/thigh tattoos (Jenner has the words “Before Sanity” written in script, Bieber has the word Portuguese word “Gente”), Rihanna has a butt tat, Lizzo has her brand Yitty stamped on her bum, and countless influencers have dropped their drawers to show off inked cheeks.
The best part about butt tattoos? “They’re never taken seriously, so it’s an opportunity to get something goofy, sexy, or a bit of both,” says Shepherd. Some examples of designs she has inked: the phrase “bite me”, a slice of cheddar cheese, a rubber ducky, hand-drawn hearts, yin-yang symbols, smiley faces, chili peppers, ’70s-style daisies, and handwritten notes.
The world is more open about tattoos in general — regardless of placement — so there’s no reason to overthink your @ss tat. Here are 15 butt tattoo ideas to use as inspo.
7Cardi B’s Peacock
Cardi B has quite the tat collection, but you can’t deny that one of the standouts is the peacock that runs from her butt and down her thigh.
9Flaming Hearts
Sketchy ignorant-style tattoos can be applied anywhere, whether it’s your arms, thighs, or the side of your butt. This fine line tat of a flaming heart is understated but cool.
10Halsey’s “Hopeless”
Stamp a word you love onto the top of your derriere — a la Halsey’s “hopeless” butt tat.
