Gen Z Wanted Matching Tattoos... but the Suggestion was a Nazi Symbol

The idea for a Gen Z matching tattoo first sparked after @smoothavacado on TikTok suggested the idea. The now deleted original post said that this tattoo would be "as not only a symbol of unity in our generation, but also as a sign of rebellion" implying that great changes would be made in the future because of Gen Z. Below is the image of the original design.

Many Gen Zers were super stoked by this idea, and started making altered designs, creating stickers and other purchasable things with this logo, and getting it permanently tattooed on their bodies.

The above image shows what comes up when you search "gen Z tattoo" on Redbubble now. This picture was taken after many people deleted their content with the original symbol.

But why was the content with the original symbol deleted? Well, the problem is that the original suggestion for Gen Z tattoo resembles the Nazi symbol wolfsangel.

Here is a link to another article with more information about the symbol itself.

Many people already got the tattoo without knowledge of the symbol and its meaning.

As you can see in the left image, that person's does have an equals sign rather than a solid line. Although it differs from the symbol, it could easily get mistaken for the wolfsangel because of its size. Adding the equal sign has been proven to be better than the original, but for many it still too closely resembles the hate symbol.

This tattoo idea backfired almost as quickly as it went viral.

Many people have been trying to solve the issue by creating a different design for the matching tattoo, such as adding a G to represent the word "generation." Below is a video that the girl who had the original idea posted with new and improved designs for the tattoo.

A lesson can be learned from this mistake. Jumping on trends immediately after they get popular impulsively could lead to some consequences.

There are many people that are latching onto the original idea and saying that we should try to "reclaim" the wolfsangel symbol. That is not a good idea, as it is not an entire generation's symbol to reclaim in the first place. To compare, Black people have reclaimed the n-word and gay people have reclaimed the f slur, but only people in those groups can say the word. You cannot reclaim a symbol that was never used derogatorily towards you in the first place. And, on many accounts, I have seen TikTok comments (now wishing I screenshotted them) of people who are Jewish wishing for this symbol to not get "reclaimed."

It's best to not use that symbol at all and get something else if you're still wishing for a Gen Z tattoo.

As someone who is gen Z myself, I have seem first hand many comments and opinions regarding the idea as a whole. Many excited people have left comments where they speculated with the idea of using the tattoo as a symbol to get into exclusive places. Many played with the idea that Gen Z would have to create an "underground society" and having the tattoo be used as a way in. This goes to show how many dystopian novels we grew up with, and how desperate some of us are for some sort of revolution. However, maybe it's a sign when the youngest generation desires revolting against the government. Maybe the system is not doing well in the eye's of its citizens who will one day be in charge of said government. Side note: Make sure you vote on November 3rd.

Other commenters said that this whole idea was embarrassing and seemed like a cult-like thing to do.

At least we can agree that we should learn more about a symbol before getting it tattooed onto your body.