Maureen Dowd recently posed the question, "To Tweet or not to Tweet". As prodigious of a writer as she is, I somehow don't think she came up with that all by herself. So, my question, following along the same lines, is "To Tramp-Stamp or not to Tramp-Stamp"? This my friends, is a question for the ages and one that should be truly considered.

 "Tramp" as in "ho" does not have the nicest sounding of connotations, but I don't think anyone takes that kind of thinking literally, or do they?  One web site looks into some of the negative images that men have about Tramp Stamps. A particularly observant fellow put it thusly, "Those chicks with tramp stamps are the kinds of girls you take home to bang. Don’t get into relationships with them because they are often immature gold digging sluts who sleep with everyone."

WTF? Is this based on his own personal experience or the teenaged fantasies of a boy who has wanted every girl he has ever seen with a Tramp Stamp but never had the pleasure of dating and/or having sex with a girl like this because she was way out his league? Or is he angry because he is too poor to get a "gold digger" himself? Do gold diggers really exist in this day and age? And if so, are they marking their bodies with tattoos on their lower backs in order to indicate their preferences for men with cash?

I guess the true debate lies not on whether girls with the so-called Tramp Stamps, also affectionately known as "slag tags" are actually trampy, but whether men find them attractive or not. According to this blog, Danica Patrick's (of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition fame) had her Tramp Stamp photo-shopped out by some over-eager editors. Whether this was because her tattoo was a "relatively classy" image of the American flag or because Tramp Stamps are not sexy is not known. What is also not known is exactly how the Tramp Stamp factors in with the Muffin-Top on the sexiness scale. Does one negate the other or are they mutually exclusive and should be looked at totally separately? I'm afraid that this is for the men at Maxim to debate and not little old me.

Tattoos are definitely a mode of personal expression, but the only thing to consider is that they are personal mode of expression for the rest of your life (and perhaps even beyond). What's sexy at 20 may not be sexy at 60. That's the only piece of advice I have for you young girls....