For 15 years i toured with bands { new model army, oysterband , levellers} around the world, and never really experienced any negative responses to being heavily tattooed, however in Italy, Spain and Poland i was constantly asked if i had spent time in prison or if i belonged to a firm or organized crime outfit. This was in the early nineties and tattooing wasn't even nearly as popular as it is now in these countries, it was my opinion that tattooing can be viewed as a rebellious stance against the family { in the youth} but teenagers or young adults in predominantly catholic countries tend not to rebel against the family but focus their rebel tendencies on the state or the church.
Not making a big generalisation just on personal experience