[mr_overalls]

This. I live in Madison, Wisconsin (aka, the "Berkeley of the Midwest") where tattoos and facial piercings are absolutely the norm - even my kids' daycare teachers openly sport them.

When I return to my small Mississippi hometown, only "rough" people openly display tattoos, and generally only a small minority of men are not clean-shaven with short haircuts. Male jewelry is minimal, things like facial piercings are heavily frowned upon, etc.

Regional norms can be very different.