I dislike tattoos. Who else does?

[Argent Towers]

I hate the fact that tattoos are trendy. I have never seen a tattoo that I liked, no matter how interesting or artistic - I just don't believe that art belongs permanently inscribed upon one's skin. For me this is nothing more than a matter of personal opinion. I would never criticize anyone to their face for getting a tattoo if they wanted one, because everyone is free to do as he or she pleases. But I personally do not like looking at tattoos.

I hate the tribal tattoos that so many frat-type guys have - what do you think you are, some kind of warrior from New Guinea? You're a business major from Bumfuck, Middle America. Are you really going to want that tattoo when you're 65?

I hate the flowery/flourishy/tribal-esque small-of-the-back tats that every damn girl in college with a tight body and a tan seems to come back from Spring Break with. The next time I see a girl with one of those, I'm going to stare down the crack of her ass until she asks me to stop, and then tell her I was only looking at her tattoo. If she doesn't like that I'll ask her why she got it in the first place, and then showed it off with her low-rise jeans besides.

These tattoos are the kinds that irritate me the most, even though I don't really like the idea of tattoos in general. I didn't want to put this in the pit because I'm not really condeming anyone or calling them less of a man/woman, I'm just sharing my personal feelings on the matter. If you have a tattoo, I don't hate you - I don't even wish that you didn't have the tattoo. It's your body and your life, and you are free to do whatever you want. If you like it, do it! But I don't like it.

I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on this. I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of people with tattoos, since they seem to be very popular.

[Liz]

I'm a big lover of body modding, but I'm with you on the mallrat/frat jock trend. If I see one more idiot 17-year-old with Winnie the Pooh or some poorly drawn fairy on her shoulderblade, all the while screaming about "I was SOOO FUCKING DRUNK WHEN I GOT THIS!", I'm gonna.. well. Nothing. Just stew in my juices, I guess.

Argh. Just... argh. You numb cunt, that's going to be there the rest of your life. Every time you wear a tank top, every time you want to wear a SO AWESOME strapless gown, every time you wear a swimsuit. You had damn well better LOVE you some Pooh bear or that ugly ass fairy!

Leave the tattoos to freaks like me who think about them forever, plot them out, have them drawn up by 60 different people, and pay an arm and a leg. :p

[Kitchen Wench]

I agree with you on the ubiquitous tribals and small of the back tattoos. It's kind of like how Harleys became the new status symbol for accountants, attorneys and business execs. Back in the day, a dude worked his ass off at the plant for his Harley and poured endless hours maintaining and babying it. These new Harley owners take their bikes to the shop for a simple oil change and don't deserve to call their machines "hogs."

I have 3 tattoos, myself. But they're all in places that are covered when I'm in public. I got them because they're a very personal and permanent reminder of certain stages of my life, and not even close to the trendy styles young folks opt for.




I'm glad this isn't the Pit. I'd get flamed to hell and back for the Harley thing.

[Broomstick]

Dunno about that - I agree with you 100% on the Harley thing.

And, like tattoos, Harleys can leave the stupid and foolish with permanent "reminders" - like missing limbs, skin grafts, and brain damage. Which is arguably worse than a really bad tat in an embarassing place.

[Idlewild]

It's just skin to me. If the most regrettable thing you've done by the time you're 65 is get a silly looking tattoo, then you've done well. If my tattoo/s remind me that I was once young and a little nuts when I get to be older, then they'll have paid for themselves many times over.

I understand the slight bitterness over something that used to be a serious subcultural status marker being absorbed by the mainstream... but since lovers of tattoos are capable of discriminating between the type of tattoo someone has and making assumptions about the intent behind getting it done, that doesn't worry me too much either.

Full disclosure: One tattoo where no-one gets to see it unless they're going to be sleeping with me or they're my doctor, and plans for one on a much more public area of skin once I can find an artist I want to do it. As I heard someone say once, you only get one body, might as well decorate it!

[Rushgeekgirl]

I don't like tattoos either. Just a personal preference...nothing against folks with tats.

I REALLY hate my SO's tattoo; his first girlfriend's initial. BLah.

[Kitchen Wench]

I REALLY hate my SO's tattoo; his first girlfriend's initial. BLah.

I can relate. My husband has numerous tattoos, several of his former girlfriends. Imagine trying to uh, provide oral pleasure while looking up at "KAREN" under his belly button. :dubious:

That one's the first to be lasered off.

[pullin]

Nuthin' against the wearers, but I've never seen a tattoo that improved someone's looks. But I don't think I'm really the target audience.

[AngelicGemma]

I like them and dislike them. If that makes any sense. Some of them look nice, or even good. But the idea of having something permanently drawn on me? No way.

But of course, this is just all my opinion. No offence to anyone with a tattoo. It's your body and all that jazz.

[An Arky]

I agree with the Harley Correlation (as it shall be known). I'm not a fan of tattoos and so hey, I didn't get one. I don't care, whatever people want to do is fine by me.

But now that it has trickled down to the wannabes/mall rats/fratjocks/accountants, it's off to the Hall of Shamefully Unhip Outdated Things along with acid-wash jeans, etc. But that's a good thing, really, to let tattoos go back to the seedy underside again. Wheat/chaff, and all that.

[Khadaji]

I do not in general find them attractive on a woman, but to each their own.

[Dung Beetle]

I don't like them either. I wouldn't like them even if they washed off...I just think they're ugly. Lots of times I see them from a distance and think they're a bruise or a smudge of dirt.

Something I've noticed about myself in the last few years may be of interest here: I don't really care for art. I know that sounds bizarre, but it seems to be true. Maybe I just haven't run across the right combination of shapes and colors that I would care to look at for more than a moment or two.

[Nature's Call]

I REALLY hate my SO's tattoo; his first girlfriend's initial. BLah.

Nods violently in agreement (Mrs. Call, too, was once young and foolish and I get to be reminded of it daily in glorious bruise-blue).

My brother just got his first tat - a small, tasteful maple leaf on his shoulder. Safe.

I can't imagine that I would get one, two reasons: 1) can't think of anything I know I'll still be into later in life. 2) I've heard that some people discover ink in places far from the tattoo, like under the armpit. That thought more than anything scares me.

If I did though, I'd probably get a barcode pattern on my shoulder encoded with something nasty. I heard of a guy who had his name in ASCII binary tattooed around his arm. Now that's cool too (I'm such a geek).

If I was really drunk, I'd be tempted to get 666 tattooed on the back of my hand or forehead.

[Licentious Ectomorph]

Argent Towers, you are my new best friend! (I change best friends here about once a week, but you are the latest who seems to have read my mind :D )

I've said something similar at least once before on these boards, though less diplomatically and I think I offended a few folks. For that I'm sorry, but I still dislike tattoos. Like pullin said, they never improve someone's looks; to my eye they're only a detriment. I've never understood why an otherwise attractive person with a nice body would mar it with a tattoo. Not trying to be inflammatory with the word "mar," that's just how I see it - sort of like, oh I don't know, painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

To me tattoos carry a connotation of low class. Bikers have tattoos. Truck drivers have tattoos. Bowling alley waitresses have tattos. Intelligent, attractive, well-groomed professionals who aspire to a classier image don't have tattoos. My knee-jerk reaction when I see a tattoo is to wonder what trailer park or ghetto this person lives in.

This is strictly a gut-level feeling that I can and do disregard when dealing with people. There's no need to point out to me that many well-bred people have tattoos, and many truck drivers and bowling alley waitresses are perfectly classy people. I know this. My brother is a Harley guy, with the requisite long hair and head-to-toe tattoos, and he's an okay guy. Maybe not one I would choose for a friend, but an okay guy. What's more, my SO, who is intelligent, educated, professional, conservative, clean-cut, and from a well-to-do family, has a tattoo. So it's not a deal breaker or even a significant criterion for judging people. I just prefer the absence of tattoos to their presence.

With regard to the ubiquity of tattoos, I have a friend who calls them "me toos." :D Pretty apt, IMO.

[Argent Towers]

Something I've noticed about myself in the last few years may be of interest here: I don't really care for art. I know that sounds bizarre, but it seems to be true. Maybe I just haven't run across the right combination of shapes and colors that I would care to look at for more than a moment or two.

I could make a joke about the amount of artistic sense one would expect a DUNG BEETLE to possess, but...well, I guess I just did. No offense.

[Hamadryad]

Not trying to be inflammatory with the word "mar," that's just how I see it - sort of like, oh I don't know, painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa. You mean like Marcel Duchamps (http://www.studiolo.org/Mona/images/LHOOQ.jpg)?

;)

[Larry Borgia]

My advice for any of you young people going into med school: Dermatology. You should graduate just as the tatoo trend stops, and man the money will be pouring from the skies.

I don't get it either. An out of date haircut? all you need is a quick trip to the Barber. Regrettable clothes? Goodwill. But that tatoos going to be a pain in the ass--maybe literally--to get rid of.

Not a slam on people who are really into tatoos. But even then, have you thought about what it's going to look like when you're sixty?

[Cat Whisperer]

<snip>With regard to the ubiquity of tattoos, I have a friend who calls them "me toos." :D Pretty apt, IMO.
I like that. Can I be your best friend next week?

I don't like tattoos (or Harleys). The only tattoo I would even consider getting would be a maple leaf on me somewhere inconspicuous, but I wouldn't even get that, cause I don't like tattoos. I would get those air-brushed ones, though, if I was in a trendy mood.

[Robot Arm]

I've never seen a piece of art that was improved by being on someone's skin, and I've never seen skin that was better because it had ink in it.

[UncleRojelio]

I heard of a guy who had his name in ASCII binary tattooed around his arm. Now that's cool too (I'm such a geek).

Or Hex (http://nickciske.com/tools/binary.php) even.

[The Tooth]

I don't care for them. My girlfriend has one, the nicest thing I can say about it is that it's discreet. I don't admire ornate tatoos on others, and I've never wanted one for myself.

[monica]

I don't think I'd ever get a tattoo. I have a couple of piercings, but I can always take them out and have a not-that-noticable hole, whereas with a tattoo that's not feasible. I want to get one of those henna ones right before I come home on break from college, though, just to freak my mother out. Or a fake nose piercing. :p

[elfbabe]

I have nothing against tattoos, conceptually. In theory, I really like them. But the vast, vast, VAST majority of the ones I've seen are just stupid-looking. I browse a body modification website regularly, and I very rarely see a tattoo that actually looks good to me.

[Miller]

Not a slam on people who are really into tatoos. But even then, have you thought about what it's going to look like when you're sixty?

Old, faded, and wrinkly, just like the rest of me. Never really understood this argument. You think tattoos look bad on young people, so you think tattoos look bad on old people. Fair enough. I think tattoos look good on young people; what makes you think I'm going to suddenly start agreeing with you when we're talking about old people?

[Catalyst]

I've never seen a piece of art that was improved by being on someone's skin, and I've never seen skin that was better because it had ink in it.Agreed.

Alas, my girlfriend is intent on getting one. At least it'll be small and discreet.

[UncleRojelio]

I just don't get the narcissism of tattooing. I certainly don't want to look at art inked in my skin and I'm fairly certain no one else does either. If you say that your tattoo is for your own reasons and pleasure then there is a little too much self-love going on there. If you get tattoo for other people to look at ( like in the small of your back where you can't see it yourself) then that is just plain old conceit.

[Revtim]

The reason I'll never get a tatoo is because there's nothing I can imagine that I think will look good *the rest of my life*. My tastes change too much.

When they develop technology to make them still permanent but easily and cheaply removable, then I'll consider it.

[Misnomer]

Unfortunately, most of the guys whose profiles I see on Match.com agree with y'all: I get drawn in by a nice picture, and as I read about the guy I start thinking that he'd be a good one to write to, and then near the very end of the profile are the turn-ons/turn-offs lists . . . and he's picked "tattoos" as a turn-off. Honest is good, and if he doesn't like my tattoos he won't like me, but it's frustrating. Where are all of the non-judgemental guys in NoVa?! ;)

[Beware of Doug]

I don't like tattoos because they say to me, "This person has decided to make hi/r one and only body, which is a real live work of art created by Og, into a permanent — DO YOU HEAR ME PEOPLE I SAY PERMANENT canvas for some not-nearly-so-worthwhile art, created by some skeeve for pecuniary compensation, which will very likely not reflect anything of lasting meaning in this person's life."

Tattoos are a waste of human skin. Which is too precious to give up for the sake of a fad. If there were a good way to do nonpermanent tats, I probably wouldn't mind them so much.

[Sunspace]

The thing that bugs me about tattoos is the way they seem to turn blue with age. Is that the colour they start out with, or is it really a kind of fading? If it's fading, then... blecch.

Other than that, I have no strong feelings about them.

[chaoticbear]

Put me in the doesn't-really-like-tattoos-but-they're-not-a-dealbreaker-unless-they're-huge-and-gaudy-with-flames-and-skulls-and-such camp. I've already started a thread about how I don't really like guys with long hair, either. Or motorcycles, unless they're quiet, and used to get from point A to B, without too much showboating along the way.

Figures that the people who possess the physical characteristics that I dislike are the most apt to be wearing large quantities of leather, which I do enjoy. Fayetteville, AR is home to a huge bike rally every year, and although I don't like tattoos/long hair/loud bikes,

TMI below!







I still walk around with a hard-on the entire time.

[jsgoddess]

I'm honestly afraid that tattoos will become the leisure suits of body modding.

A leisure suit that you can't take off and hide in the closet. It gives me chills.

[HPL]

I'm not a big friend of tatoos either. I have friends who have them, and so does my sister, but they don't bother me. I do get a little bugged by the fact my sister keeps saying "If you ever want to get one, let me know. I know a great place". I've already told her that I have no interest in getting one......ever. I'm not sure she fully grasps this(She's younger then me and has two tatoos and already planning for a third).

[Nature's Call]

If ever I got a tat, forget the geeky barcode or binary. Nosiree, I'd go for one of those ornate heart with a scroll running across it. In the scroll, the word "Moth"

Wait, wouldn't a permanent Simpsons reference be even more geeky than the barcode?

[Robot Arm]

. . . and he's picked "tattoos" as a turn-off. Honest is good, and if he doesn't like my tattoos he won't like me, but it's frustrating. Where are all of the non-judgemental guys in NoVa?!I don't think that's entirely fair. If someone listed tattoos as a turn-on, that's just as judgemental as what you're describing.

[Argent Towers]

If I got a tattoo, it would say "tattoos suck." Nothing like paradoxical irony.

[Clothahump]

I agree. It is a total turnoff to me, literally.

Several years ago, I spent a fair amount of time courting a young lady. We liked each other, had lots of things in common and were great friends. One day, we decided to do the deed. When we got nekkid, I saw that she had a tattoo. Nothing garish, just a little butterfly. But it was a tattoo. She might as well have had a suppurating cyst. I got dressed and walked out.

Total turnoff.

[Argent Towers]

Uh...I have to say, I don't really care for tattoos, but in the situation you've just described, I hardly think I would let a little butterfly get in the way.

Har har.

[UntouchedTakeaway]

They're OK - but not for me.

VCNJ~

[butler1850]

Personally, I never found anything that I wanted on my skin for the rest of my life. YMMV. Plenty of my friends have them, and some of them are pretty cool, but certainly not for me.

The other problem I've found with them, is that the folks that can least afford them, seem to have the most of them. Thoughts? (Not my place to tell them how to spend their money, but it seems accurate in my experience)

-Butler

[LadyMack]

Put me in the doesn't-really-like-tattoos-but-they're-not-a-dealbreaker-unless-they're-huge-and-gaudy-with-flames-and-skulls-and-such camp. I've already started a thread about how I don't really like guys with long hair, either. Or motorcycles, unless they're quiet, and used to get from point A to B, without too much showboating along the way.

Figures that the people who possess the physical characteristics that I dislike are the most apt to be wearing large quantities of leather, which I do enjoy. Fayetteville, AR is home to a huge bike rally every year, and although I don't like tattoos/long hair/loud bikes,

TMI below!







I still walk around with a hard-on the entire time.


:D

:::hides my leathers in back of closet:::

*pancakes my 2 tattoos*

[wheelie]

Don't care much for them, myself. They're not an instant turn-off, like piercings.
The other problem I've found with them, is that the folks that can least afford them, seem to have the most of them. [jeff foxworthy]Three more payment's, and that baby's mine.[/foxworthy]

[The Weird One]

Tattoos I like: anything well thought-out, significant to the wearer. Tattooes I don't like: "tribal" (Really? Which tribe?); Chinese characters (1. Almost always worn by someone who doesn't know Chinese, so they're assuming that the tattooist wasn't playing a practical joke on them. 2. If it's so damn important, write it in your native language.); meaningless girly butterflies, flowers, hearts, etc; SO's name or initials (just stupid).

Good tattos: my step-sister would like to get a tattoo of a lizard on her ankle. She's been thinking about it for years, and she's used lizards as her symbol for years now (her name is Liz) so it doesn't seem likely to be something she'll regret. I want to get a tattoo on the back of my neck that says, in simple letting, "ouch." Again, I've been thinking about this for more than a year. I don't think my sense of humor will ever leave me, or my penchant for BDSM.

As for why folks that can least afford them, seem to have the most of them
my guess is, because they're most likely to be friends with a tattoo artist, or know that you can get cheap tattoos at body mod conventions.

[DiosaBellissima]

The thing that bugs me about tattoos is the way they seem to turn blue with age. Is that the colour they start out with, or is it really a kind of fading? If it's fading, then... blecch.


In most cases, that is fading. I don't see why someone would let your lovely black lines fade into blue- I get mine redone just for that reason. Ick.

That said, I have two tattoos (one on the right side of each ankle). ::Ducks:: A butterfly and my name in Arabic Anyway, I like that it is something, well, not me. Most people don't expect GAP shopping, Poli Sci studying, history book reading, debate team captain me to have two tattoos. It is neat to look down at my legs and see something colorful- it makes me smile (as silly as that seems).

For the record, mine were both pretty spur of the moment, but I love them. Am I following the whole, "OMIGAWD IM LIKE SOOO DRUNK! TATTOO ME WITH A BUTTERFLY!!" trend? No. I hate a whore tattoo as much as the next person, but mine make me smile. That's all that really matters :D
--

Random story to share: I was in the grocery store the other night and I noticed a 40ish woman out of the corner of my eye. Over tanned, over bleached, belly pierced, low rise jeans, belly shirt that says in the front: What happens at Spring Break--back: Stays in Spring break!". But then, she had a lower back tattoo: ~*~Sexxxy~*~. I was embarassed for her kid. Aye.

[Misnomer]

I don't think that's entirely fair. If someone listed tattoos as a turn-on, that's just as judgemental as what you're describing.Part 1: My bad! This is another time when I've forgotten to explain something about Match.com, sorry: for each list (turn-ons and turn-offs), there is a predetermined set of things you can choose from (e.g., tattoos, long hair, thunderstorms). You don't have to pick anything for either list, or you can pick whatever combination you want. I'd rather not see tattoos listed as a turn-on or turn-off, because you're right. I only complained about guys who put them in the "turn-off" list because that's what was germane to the OP.

Part 2: I was only half-kidding about the "judgmental" thing: I don't really think that every guy who lists tattoos as a turn-off is being judgmental, just like I don't think everyone who identifies as anti-tattoo in this thread is being judgmental. But some guys/responses are. I was mostly just exaggerating/whining for effect. ;)

[Dung Beetle]

*snip* just like I don't think everyone who identifies as anti-tattoo in this thread is being judgmental.
Good to know. I've pretty much quit kvetching about tattoos IRL because every time I do, I put my foot in my mouth because someone I really like will turn out to have one, and I never knew it. I don't like tattoos, but I like plenty of people who have them, including you, Misnomer!

[Stonebow]

I've always been anti-tat...recently, due to my wife's interest in them, I've revisited it with her...and, while I've moderated my views somewhat, we've both come away realizing that it's not for us.

For me, it's like nose rings- I've known a few women that can carry it off, but never one that was made more attractive by it.

Also, I will admit that, for me, there are some serious class implications involved. And I'm nothing if not a snob.

[FilmGeek]

Older inks tend to fade like crazy into that "old sea dog" blue. Newer inks don't fade as much, especially blacks.

I've got a tattoo with plans for more. I just like them, who knows why? Ardred has three with plans for more.

[Cervaise]

I don't mind tattoos. Most of my friends have them, and some of them look pretty nice. One friend has a Celtic-type thing on her boob, and it works well on her.

I, however, don't have any. I've thought about it, but I think it'll be neat, when I'm old and gray, to be the only person in my former demographic not to have any tats or piercings or anything. People today get tattoos to set themselves apart; eventually I'll be able to set myself apart because I don't have one. :)

Although, and I think I've mentioned this before, I've idly considered making an exception for a "Do Not Resuscitate" message, so I don't end up all Terry Schiavo. The only problem is where to put it so (a) the medics don't miss it and (b) it doesn't look dumb.

[SolGrundy]

Chinese characters (1. Almost always worn by someone who doesn't know Chinese, so they're assuming that the tattooist wasn't playing a practical joke on them. 2. If it's so damn important, write it in your native language.);
Well, you've got to admit that the Chinese character for "peace" or "strength" or "bagels" or whatever else people pick is a lot more pleasing to the eye than the English word spelled out.

That's one thing I've always wondered -- do people who can read kanji look at Chinese/Japanese character tattoos and see it the same way as an English reader would see a woman with "Foxy Lady" tattooed on the small of her back? Or do you still appreciate the calligraphy, even when it's your native language?

[Misnomer]

Also, I will admit that, for me, there are some serious class implications involved. And I'm nothing if not a snob.That strikes me as kind of funny, coming from a guy who likes to dress up in armor and play with swords. ;)

[bouv]

Another person who's not a big fan of tattoos. The best thing I have been able tosay about one is,
"Well, it doesn't make you look worse."

Whereas in most circumstances it, IMO, DOES makes someone look worse. I was once dating a girl who had a large (6" tall) unicorn tattoo on her lower right back. I wasn't a fan because 1) It's a uncorn, only one step up from a butterfly (oh, but in her case it's different than all those other unicorns, because she likes unicorns) and 2) it was really off putting, being so large, that I didn't enjoy sex from behind. And I usually LOVE sex from behind.

[LouisB]

Here in tourist land, one often sees "older" women wearing minimal clothing in shops, supermarkets, etc. One is continually surprised to see what appears to be fresh, new, tatoos on bodies that shouldn't be exposed at all and much less so with anything that draws the eye. I've often wondered what the young folks, who the older ones seem to be emulating, think about such antics. In short, I don't like 'em. On the other hand, I had occasion to work with a perfectly beautiful young lady who was really into tatoos. She had them everywhere and would cheerfully exhibit them to all and sundry. I have to admit that I sometimes pretended to admire her tatoos just to get a look at the background. I doubt she was fooled by my interest, either.

As to Harleys, I've always felt that the right to own and ride a Harley should be earned, as opposed to simply earning enough money to buy one. For the record, I've never earned one.

[Hippy Hollow]

Personally, I don't like them for me. It reeks of trendiness. I'm in my 30s, and I remember the time when the only people who had tattoos were sailors and ex-cons. (FWIW, I think those tats are cool, 'cuz they're old school!)

Now tattooing has replaced dying one's hair as the way to express nonconformity, which makes it conformist, at least for a good segment of the population. Problem is, as many have noted, it's a little harder to move on once you've decided that your rebellion is over. For those who have thought it through and are of the opinion that you're happy to live with the tat when you wrinkle up and stretch out your skin a bit, respect!

I agree with the poster who mentioned that there is a mint to be made in tattoo removal business in the next 15-20 years!

[Misnomer]

I see a lot of the anti-tattoo sentiment falling into several categories. So, if I may, I'd like to paraphrase what I seem to be hearing/seeing and then pose thoughts/questions in response.

"They're too damn trendy."
You may be seeing a lot of "trendy" tattoos (and I agree that I hate that they've become a trend), but that's simply not a good enough reason to be anti-tattoo in general. Why be prejudiced against an entire culture just because of a few people who make it look bad? Besides, give it time: all trends are cyclical.

"They don't make anyone more attractive."
This misses the point so much that I've had to think hard about how to respond, and I'm still not sure if I'll be able to put it into words. But here goes: I have never known (or heard of) any reasonable person who got a tattoo because they thought it would make them more attractive. Tattoos are personal, and have nothing to do with being more or less physically attractive. If there is any heightened attraction because of one, it's generally because someone recognizes a kindred spirit -- or recognizes that getting a tattoo takes a certain personality type. Likewise, any lessened attraction usually has more to do with personal preference and personality than the tattoo itself.

"People with tattoos obviously haven't thought about what they'll look like when they're 60."
This may be true for some of the "trendy" tattoo-getters, but the same admonishment applies: don't assume that everyone with a tattoo was drunk or acting on a whim just because you think that a lot of younger people were (emphasis on "you think"). People who are serious about their tattoos have thought about how they'll look in 20-30-40 years -- and don't care.

"Tattoos reek of being low-class."
That's only because the tattoos on higher-class folks tend to be discreet, and probably not shown to the likes of you. ;) You can say "it's just how I feel" all you want, doesn't make it less of a silly prejudice.

"Tattoos are narcissistic."
Like the attractiveness crticism, this totally misses the point. For some insight, check out "Who is your tattoo for? (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324386)" (shameless mention of a thread that I started)

Of course, I haven't responded to every criticism shared in this thread: I just saw posts falling into certain categories and found myself thinking the same thing over and over, so I thought I'd take a crack at putting my thoughts in writing. :)


I do not claim to speak for every tattooed person on the face of the Earth; please imagine an "IMO" at the front of any sentence that you are inclined to take as a statement of fact. Thanks!

[Robot Arm]

Part 1: My bad! This is another time when I've forgotten to explain something about Match.com, sorry: for each list (turn-ons and turn-offs), there is a predetermined set of things you can choose from (e.g., tattoos, long hair, thunderstorms). You don't have to pick anything for either list, or you can pick whatever combination you want. I'd rather not see tattoos listed as a turn-on or turn-off, because you're right. I only complained about guys who put them in the "turn-off" list because that's what was germane to the OP.In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I'm more than passingly familiar with how the profiles there work. I just think this is a purely aesthetic issue; and if it's wrong to look down on people with tattoos, it's also wrong to look down on people who just don't happen to like them. People will never all like the same things.

Tattoos are personal, and have nothing to do with being more or less physically attractive.Which still leaves the question, why ink on skin? It's not as though I'll forget my girlfriend's name if it's not written across my upper arm. There are things that are very personal to me, without needing to be reminded of or display them.

While tattoos leave me a little cold, I am thrilled that there is still such variety among people. I can think of few things worse than if we all liked and wanted the exact same things. Misnomer, may you be as different as you want, and love every minute of it.

[Anne Neville]

Needles scare the living @#$*! out of me.

Tattoos involve needles.

Some people with tattoos enjoy telling the story of getting their tattoo, which involves needles.

So tattoos scare me.

There is not enough alcohol in the galaxy (http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126626/evo/evolution%20of%20the%20universe.formation%20of%20the%20stars.molecular%20cloud.htm) to get me drunk enough that the thought of getting a tattoo would be anything other than horrifying.

So when I see people with tattoos, I try desperately not to look at them or comment on them, for fear of being told how it took 14 hours to do with needles the size of your finger :eek: (or something like that)

[Misnomer]

I just think this is a purely aesthetic issue; and if it's wrong to look down on people with tattoos, it's also wrong to look down on people who just don't happen to like them.I don't look down on anyone, and am not quite sure what I wrote that makes you think otherwise...

Which still leaves the question, why ink on skin?In the very post you quoted from, I linked to a thread called "Who is your tattoo for?" Check it out.

Misnomer, may you be as different as you want, and love every minute of it.Gee, thanks, but I really wasn't looking for your approval/permission. Nor do I strive to be "different" -- we just all are. :)

[Ashes, Ashes]

There has been one person who looked better with a tattoo than not, that I know of. I was watching tv and the woman had gotten a big, beautiful tattoo of flowers across her chest. She'd not opted for reconstructive surgery after having a double mastectomy and the flowers really looked good. She'd had them placed thoughtfully so they looked like they belonged there.

Which is a damn sight more than you can say about a lot of butt tattoos. Why would you want to look as though you've butterflies or flowers growing out your ass? People may not get tattoos to make themselves look better, but there is an element of attraction in them for many. It is not attractive to look like you need to see a proctologist about that butterfly invasion going on in your rectum.

That's my main complaint about tattoos, so many are just slapped anywhere, so they look like a distracted child's human sticker book. The next problem I have is that the art is so often just crap. Dogs playing poker is high art compared to some of it, and then it's poorly done half the time, to boot.

Of all the people I know who've gotten tattoos, the most positive response was that they really didn't actually hate it. Most would have rather not done it all. My cousin's ex is going through removing a tattoo on her neck, done when she was younger and sure it would be a symbol of great power to her forever. She's somewhat ashamed of it and now hates the thing. She isn't that person anymore, which I think is a good sign. I would hate to be the exact same person when I'm sixty, as I was at 16. If I'm going to do something foolish, I don't want to look at the evidence once I've wised up. Bury the bodies deep is my motto.

I do like to doodle on myself and have gotten quite good. I can make a real-looking tattoo from markers and seal it with clear acrylic spray paint, so it lasts a couple three days. At which time I'm happy to wash it off. A little art for effect at halloween or whatever, is more my speed.

[tomndebb]

I have no desire to get a tatoo.
I do not find tatoos interesting or sexy or otherwise attractive.

I STILL do not understand why this thread has over fifty condemnations of tatoos. (Well, the folks with reminders of their current lovers' previous lovers is understandable.) They are not hurting anyone. They do not require that you look at them (excepting the previously mentioned situation). Even if you, personally, find them less than desirable, why the need to make a public issue of it?

YMMV, obviously.

[Robot Arm]

I don't look down on anyone, and am not quite sure what I wrote that makes you think otherwise...It was just the way you described people as "judgemental" who had said that tattoos were a personal turn-off. You probably didn't mean it as strongly as I took it, and I've been having trouble finding just the right words here to describe a preference without sounding combative to people who don't share it.

Gee, thanks, but I really wasn't looking for your approval/permission. Nor do I strive to be "different" -- we just all are. :)I just needed something to lighten up my post a little bit. We're sharing opinions, which I like, but I didn't want to mine to put anyone else on the defensive.

[fishbicycle]

It's none of my business what anybody else does to their body, but I don't like tattoos and I wouldn't get one, either. Somebody has to stick a needle in you, repeatedly. If you aren't my doctor, and your needle isn't full of medicine, there ain't no kind of way you're getting anywhere near me!

[Rubystreak]

First of all, I think there's a difference in aesthetic sense operating here. I do not find most tattoos attractive. I have friends who find them wildly attractive. Is that me being judgemental? Well, yeah, the same way me saying I don't like baroque art is judgemental. I'm not trying to be mean, I just don't like them. I'm not condemning the people who have them (since I'm one of the few of them who has none). It just doesn't appeal to me in a strictly visual sense.

That said, I have seen some that were amazing and beautiful, that complimented the person, and found them wondrous to behold. This is a rare occurrence, just like the aforementioned baroque art. Never say never, though. Then, there are the tattoos I see in body mod mags and stuff that are beautiful as art but I cannot understand why someone would want in on his body rather than hanging on his wall. To each his own. It's not for me to get or not get.

My brother has one on his arm that he got when he was in the Marines. It's ugly and he agrees, but he doesn't really seem too worried about it. That's another difference between the tattooed and non-tattooed. I would go insane if I had a tattoo on my body that I thought was ugly and couldn't get it removed or fixed for lack of funds. Everyone I know who has multiple tattoos (read: more than 3) has at least one that they think is messed up, or didn't turn out quite right, or is crooked, or whatever. This does not bother them, which is great-- but it bothers me to see it. It looks bad. I look at a messed up tattoo the same way I'd look at a broken nose that healed wrong. Ouch. That sucks, too bad for him/her. Not sexy, certainly.

That said, I would never forego dating someone because of a tattoo, or even several. They don't bother me THAT much. If the person is happy with the art, and s/he likes it, I think that's great. I considered getting one for deeply personal reasons, but I chickened out because, as I said, if it came out wrong, I'd freak.

[Beware of Doug]

I have no desire to get a tatoo.
I do not find tatoos interesting or sexy or otherwise attractive.

I STILL do not understand why this thread has over fifty condemnations of tatoos.I do. Just look at the header.

[mza662]

I find tattoos interesting and often a small visual insight into someone's personality. For instance, the trendy tribal arm rings, etc. could indicate someone is shallow. Of course, these are generalisations. I intend to get a tattoo soon, but i've been considering this for about 3-4 years now, as it's not something you should rush into. And it will have meaning to me for as long as I live and will be in a discrete place. I intend to have several actually, simply because I like them, when they mean something.

[Dunderman]

Generally speaking, I'm not much into tattoos. Some look good, many look bad. The former Pricegal had one small-of-the-back tattoo (she got it before it was trendy, though, and she was very pissed that it had become a trend and everyone assumed she got it to be trendy) which I found very attractive, especially during certain amorous activities that are often described as being canine in nature. Tattoos are not the huge turnoff for me that they are for some, though.

Piercings, however... man, those things are ugly. I've never seen a piercing I liked. Not even an ear piercing, but lifelong conditioning has lessened my revulsion to them. The only thing that could make me do a Clothahump and get out of there would be a pierced nipple.

[Evil One]

To me tattoos carry a connotation of low class. Intelligent, attractive, well-groomed professionals who aspire to a classier image don't have tattoos.

Well put. I feel exactly the same way.

[MrO]

But it was a tattoo. She might as well have had a suppurating cyst. I got dressed and walked out.

Probably ruined her life. I doubt that she'll ever get a guy to sleep with her now. Man, you dodged a bullet there.

Don't like tattoos? Oh no! I doubt this is possible, but maybe the people who got them weren't thinking about you and your likes or dislikes when they got tattooed. (Or maybe they were, and they specifically wanted people like you to stay the hell away from them.) If you don't like them, perhaps I can suggest a solution: don't get tattoos.

Permanent? Pppht. Nothing's permanent.

Sure, there are lots of stupid and ugly tattoos. I don't like the trendy ones either, but I would never start a thread about it. Lots of things I don't like. I don't like something; I look the other way. I've yet to see a tattooed person start a thread saying, "I dislike non-tattooed skin."

Idlewild, Misnomer, tomndebb, and a few others, thanks for some intelligent posts.

[Nic2004]

I too have a tatoo. Upper right arm. Did the design myself and my brother an I got the same one at the same time. We will have this between just him and I forever. Permanent is okay with me.

I agree with the comments by Seeker74
I agree with you on the ubiquitous tribals and small of the back tattoos. It's kind of like how Harleys became the new status symbol for accountants, attorneys and business execs. Back in the day, a dude worked his ass off at the plant for his Harley and poured endless hours maintaining and babying it. These new Harley owners take their bikes to the shop for a simple oil change and don't deserve to call their machines "hogs."
I have built every Harley I've ever owned including the '79 Shovel in the garage. Most of the newbee's haven't got a clue.

Broomstick
Dunno about that - I agree with you 100% on the Harley thing.

And, like tattoos, Harleys can leave the stupid and foolish with permanent "reminders" - like missing limbs, skin grafts, and brain damage. Which is arguably worse than a really bad tat in an embarassing place.
I lost my right leg in a bike wreak in '89. I was riding again two weeks after a four month hospital stay. No brain damage...that I'm aware of anyway.

I saw a tee shirt in Daytona once that said:
The difference between people with or without tattoo's is... the people with tattoo's don't care if you don't have any

[Misnomer]

No worries, Robot Arm. :)

First of all, I think there's a difference in aesthetic sense operating here. I do not find most tattoos attractive. I have friends who find them wildly attractive. Is that me being judgemental? Well, yeah, the same way me saying I don't like baroque art is judgemental.I should have known that I couldn't say "some people are being judgmental" without getting defensive replies from the people who aren't being judgmental.

Of course there's a difference between aesthetic preference and being judgmental: simply not liking tattoos, preferring skin without them, never wanting one for yourself, etc. is perfectly fine. Everyone has preferences. I don't like the color pink, I never wear it myself, and I don't think anyone ever looks more attractive in pink, but I really don't care if anyone else wears it; it doesn't make me think more or less of the wearer. I don't think that people who wear pink only do so to be trendy (even though it can be argued that some do) or that it indicates something about their intelligence/class, nor would I reject a potential date out-of-hand just for wearing pink -- even if it were his favorite color. Though we might have to talk about that.

The difference between people with or without tattoo's is... the people with tattoo's don't care if you don't have anyExcellent!

(Despite the apostrophe abuse... ;))

[Stonebow]

That strikes me as kind of funny, coming from a guy who likes to dress up in armor and play with swords. ;)

What? I have a hobby wherein people are obliged (by the rules of our little society) to call me Lord stonebow. I think snobbery is perfectly in character.

[Licentious Ectomorph]

Pink trendy? That is so twenty minutes ago. Orange is the new pink.

Just a WAG here, but I'd bet MrO has a tattoo or twelve.

[Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy]

Probably ruined her life. I doubt that she'll ever get a guy to sleep with her now. Man, you dodged a bullet there.

Don't like tattoos? Oh no! I doubt this is possible, but maybe the people who got them weren't thinking about you and your likes or dislikes when they got tattooed. (Or maybe they were, and they specifically wanted people like you to stay the hell away from them.) If you don't like them, perhaps I can suggest a solution: don't get tattoos.

Permanent? Pppht. Nothing's permanent.

Sure, there are lots of stupid and ugly tattoos. I don't like the trendy ones either, but I would never start a thread about it. Lots of things I don't like. I don't like something; I look the other way. I've yet to see a tattooed person start a thread saying, "I dislike non-tattooed skin."

Idlewild, Misnomer, tomndebb, and a few others, thanks for some intelligent posts.

MrO, I came in here to post something along those same lines, serves me right for taking a shower in order to get my thoughts together before I replied. You said it better than I could anyway. ;)

FTR, I have 16 or 17 tattoos (I forget, too lazy to check) and two Harleys (yes, I am the proverbial tattooed biker). All of them (my tattoos) are between 15 and 25 years old, before they became trendy. My bikes are newer, but I've been riding Harley's for 20 years. Oh yeah, I do not have any of that tribal crap on me. Mine are mostly big cats, couple a dragon's, and a naked lady, and I'm still happy with them.

[Misnomer]

I think snobbery is perfectly in character.Touché. ;)

[pravnik]

Intelligent, attractive, well-groomed professionals who aspire to a classier image don't have tattoos.Oh yes we dooooo!

[FilmGeek]

Intelligent, attractive, well-groomed professionals who aspire to a classier image don't have tattoos.

Wow, is that ever wrong. That may be the perception, but it's incorrect.

[Licentious Ectomorph]

pravnik and FilmGeek, I know that - really I do! :D That's just the stereotype lodged in my brain, but it's easily forgotten when getting to know people as individuals. Like I said, my SO is so "proper" and conservative he makes Al Gore look like Tommy Lee, and he has a tattoo. I just don't think it adds anything.

[MrJackboots]

Chinese characters (1. Almost always worn by someone who doesn't know Chinese, so they're assuming that the tattooist wasn't playing a practical joke on them.

I'm illiterate in Chinese, but I know a reasonable amount of calligraphy theory; my dad is high-school literate but rusty. Sometimes he gets a laugh out of people who obviously had no idea what was going on (f'rex, we saw one otherwise nice-looking, all-American girl who had, loosely translated, 'Ten Thousand Customers Through the Doors' tattooed down the small of her back. Some Chinese stores have signs like that hanging up, just for luck, and our guess is that an artist in a Chinese parlor handwaved it off as 'a good luck saying', then she wanted it and the artist either couldn't or didn't feel like arguing her out of it. After all, another traditional Chinese thought is that even the best doctors can't cure stupidity.

Or do you still appreciate the calligraphy, even when it's your native language?

The thing that cracks us both up is that probably 99% of these tattoos aren't even really done in particularly good caligraphy; probably half of them are actually very poor. If you have a chance, flip through a calligraphy artbook, or go to a museum exhibit, then compare with tattoo flash... the difference is startling if you even have a minimal idea of what to look for. I don't understand it. Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is still very much alive as an artform; it wouldn't be hard to get a highly respected calligrapher to do a book of common words and have people copy out of that, would it?


Responding to the original topic, though, I dislike tattoos in general, largely because they break the unified look of skin. Interestingly, though, once they get really big, if it isn't piecemeal but a big, seamless, unified sort of design, they start getting beautiful, sometimes more than the person would be with just naked skin. Puzzle-pieces and irezumi, anyone?

[Gala Matrix Fire]

Tattoo-removal certainly will continue to be a burgeoning business. I went to the Army hospital on post one day to check up on some records, and the receptionist assumed I was there for tattoo removal, because it was Tuesday and Tuesday is tattoo-removal day.

[Nic2004]

MrO, I came in here to post something along those same lines, serves me right for taking a shower in order to get my thoughts together before I replied. You said it better than I could anyway. ;)

FTR, I have 16 or 17 tattoos (I forget, too lazy to check) and two Harleys (yes, I am the proverbial tattooed biker). All of them (my tattoos) are between 15 and 25 years old, before they became trendy. My bikes are newer, but I've been riding Harley's for 20 years. Oh yeah, I do not have any of that tribal crap on me. Mine are mostly big cats, couple a dragon's, and a naked lady, and I'm still happy with them.
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy- It is very nice to meet you..from one ol' scooter trash to another. :cool:

[Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy]

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy- It is very nice to meet you..from one ol' scooter trash to another. :cool:

Same here. Not many of us around here, don't look like.

[Adoptamom_II]

I, nor Mr. Adoptamom, care for tattoos and have asked our kids not to get them while they live with us. For those of you who will protest that we're stifling their creativity and individuality - tough noogies. They have the rest of their lives to express their creativity after they move out. They can wait.

One of our daughters, who joined our family through foster care, had tattoos when she came to us - the homemade kind consisting of initials on her hand and one knee. She's now a grown, married woman of 23 and a couple of years ago had the names of her children tattooed down the outside of each calf in big, bold letters:::shudder::: . She didn't ask my opinion before she got them, nor did she ask for it after she got them, so I kept my mouth shut BUT my inside voice kept looping "why have you permanently marred your body???" She wants more tattoos but her husband has told her that if she gets one more he'll consider leaving. I silently thank him for his voice of reason.

[Eggerhaus]

I have four tats. Three are under clothing. My most recent one is on the inner aspect of my right forearm, the Greek letters for "Grace of God"...but then, I'm an Episcopal minister in my late 40s. Having preached about all sorts of things, including tats, most of my parishioners weren't surprized to see the latest addition to "The Rev's collection".

If people with tats are low class, poor, uneducated riff-raff, so be it. If I read my Gospels correctly, those are the kinds of folks that Jesus hung out with. Hell, if Jesus were around today he wouldn't be at the White House or some fancy restaraunt, he'd be under a viaduct somewhere keeping company with the homeless folks and drunks.

[Indygrrl]

The kind of people who would look down on me for having tattoos are the kind of people I avoid anyway.

I think tattoos can be extremely beautiful and sexy, and I think they can also be really tacky and ugly. It just depends on the artwork and the person wearing it.

[StGermain]

I don't like tattoos. Sue me. That was the question asked and I answered it. I also think tube tops are tacky and men shouldn't wear socks with sandals. But do it if you want and if it makes you happy. Why do you care what I think?

StG

[SanibelMan]

I don't like tattoos, but whatever. Not the end of the world. I wouldn't get one, I'm happy that my fiancée doesn't have any, but what people want to do with their own bodies is their own business.

I do, however, have an odd, visceral reaction to temporary tattoos - stick-on, henna, that sort of thing. They just gross me right out. I can't stand to see them. It doesn't make sense, but I figure everyone has their odd phobia, and this can be mine. Just don't try to draw on me, please.

[Misnomer]

I don't like tattoos. Sue me. That was the question asked and I answered it. I also think tube tops are tacky and men shouldn't wear socks with sandals. But do it if you want and if it makes you happy. Why do you care what I think?Why do you care what anyone thinks about what you think?

Your first and fifth sentences would have sufficed, no need for the anticipatory defensiveness. Attitudes like yours are what the tattooed folk in this thread have been (relatively) happy to see. :)

[StGermain]

Misnomer[/b[ - I think I was reacting to [b]Indygrrl's post. I have friends and family with tats (although none who were tube tops, thank God). I don't refuse to be seen with them, I eat with them, I even speak speak to them in public. ;)

StG

[Nic2004]

Mmmm... tuuuube tooops!!!! On the right lady....devastating!

[Mama Tiger]

I tend to distinguish between tattoos that are what I consider artistic and those that are just random collections slapped on wherever there's space. I've seen people with lots of tattoos that are a unified theme that look good, or very large tattoos that are beautifully done, but I just don't understand why people want to get bad art slapped randomly on their body permanently. But hey, that's their choice.

The ones I really don't understand are the ones who get eyeliner tattooed on, however. I have a friend who just spent a small fortune for a facelift, and apparently got tattooed brown eyeliner at the same time, so now her eyes will forever look small and beady since they're ringed by permanent lines of brown. Who would do that to themselves? I just really do not get it.

There are also the rare tattoos that I consider almost disfiguring. Like the young woman I saw at a concert a couple years ago who I did a doubletake over when I realized she wasn't wearing a black ribbon around her neck, she had a solid inch-wide circle of black tattooed on with a row of "pendants" tattooed on like they were hanging below it. It went way beyond self-expression to borderline self-mutilation, if you ask me. Obviously just my opinion, but I was far from the only person taken aback by her.

[Sarah Woodruff]

To me they're just another form of self-expression, like the way you wear your hair, or the clothes you wear. However, the difference is that they are PERMANENT, you can't grow them out or change them for something different. So if I was going to get one, I'd think damn hard about what kind of tattoo I wanted and where on my body it would be. One of my dad's oldest friends, who is now a mild-mannered middle-aged guy, has a giant snarling leopard crawling up his forearm, the result of a whim and peer-pressure when he was 17 and got drunk for the first time. He's been to dermatologists and consulted with laser-surgeons, and they tell him it's too large and uses too much dye to be removable. So he's stuck with it.

[AngelicGemma]

The ones I really don't understand are the ones who get eyeliner tattooed on, however. I have a friend who just spent a small fortune for a facelift, and apparently got tattooed brown eyeliner at the same time, so now her eyes will forever look small and beady since they're ringed by permanent lines of brown. Who would do that to themselves? I just really do not get it.I saw a programme where a young woman got her eyebrows tattooed on. She had a permanent look of surprise, as it wasn't done very well. She was rather pleased with it however.

[Nic2004]

I saw a programme where a young woman got her eyebrows tattooed on. She had a permanent look of surprise, as it wasn't done very well. She was rather pleased with it however.
That's funny!! Imagine the effect if she also was surpised how they looked the first time she saw them!!

[jimpatro]

I think tattoos can be incredible works of art. Of course there are some that are not so great as well. A magician friend of mine has some of the most intricate work I have ever seen. Now I do feel that they don't make someone instantly cool when they get them. And it just seems like strong personality types(musicians, performers et al) seem the most suited for tats. When I see some accountant with a tattoo it just seems out of place.

Getting back to the Match.com thing. Tattoos is listed as one of my turnoffs. I don't like them for myself or my SO. I had been chatting with a lady for a few weeks when she finally asked what I thought of tattoos and I hemmed and hawed thinking she was gonna say she already had one. It wasn't mentioned in her profile so I thought maybe she was about to admit having one. But she brought up the idea of getting her first. Then I didn't think it would be right to discourage her just because I don't like them and since she was iffy it was possible she wouldn't go through with it.

But one day she calls me up and she'd had it done. I was so disapointed, she really was quite a nice woman. So I just couldn't go on after that and we eventually ended all correspondence.

[Misnomer]

I was so disapointed, she really was quite a nice woman.Yep, that's exactly the point I was trying to make when I brought up Match.com: a guy will seem very promising in every other regard, then I get to the bottom of his profile and see "turn-offs: tattoos." It doesn't make him a bad person (I really was kidding with the "judgmental" generalization), it just makes him not right for me. It's frustrating, but ultimately c'est la vie.

And FWIW, it's not just tattoos: the same thing happens when most of a guy's profile sounds awesome but then it says that he's very conservative, or that he definitely wants kids (usually 3, for some reason), or he admits to being a drug user (not on Match.com, but the other on-line service I use has a yes/no for drug use, right after smoking and drinking). Like with the tattoos, I don't think that any of those things (or men) are wrong, they're just not right for me.

[Jillyvn]

Speaking in favour of tattoos.

Ever since I was sixteen, I knew the tattoo I wanted.

I waited until I was 26 to have it done, and I love it!

I had a leonard cohen sketch put on my ankle. No one person has influenced my writing in the way that he has, and the drawing reminds me of my youth when I thought I would grow up to marry Leonard. It also reminds me of blessing, inspiration and beauty.

Since I waited 10 years, and my opinion hasn't changed in that time, I think it'll stick.

I love tattoos and the stories that they can tell. A close friend recently had his forearms done with highly personal illustrations, and I think they are not only beautiful, but a visual representation of his priorities, his mindset and his idea of family.

Beyond that, I find nothing wrong with turning the body into a canvas. We proudly wear our wrinkles as a visual representation of the passage of time. How can it be offensive to mark the passages of your life with art? I'm sure, even in my sixties, I will look at my tattoo and smile, remembering either youthful indiscretion or that feeling I had when I first fell in love with writing.

I invariably find a modified body attractive. I love peircings and I love tattoos. I embraced every second both times I had a peircing done and the time I had my tattoo. I look forward to the second one. It was a rite of passage for me, and I am pleased I had it done. I love the secret connection I have with the people I meet who have been tattooed.

That being said, I have no respect for impulsive tattoos. I thought long and hard about what I wanted, waited until I had the right artist and I knew it was right for me.... no tweety birds on my shoulders!

R

[Knorf]

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Tattoos: blecch. Total turn-off for me as well.

Time + tattoos = ugly crap.

People who follow the herd of sheep and think "inking" themselves is showing some sort of creativity or independence: get a grip. It does neither. I suppose it could, theoretically, but the vast, vast majority of tattoos are crappy, cliched, boring, ugly. People get them for the shallowest and vainest of reasons.

The nicest thing I can say about tattoos is when they're discreet and unobtrusive.

Hookers, pornographers, and strippers wear lotsa tattoos. You want to associate yourself with that crowd, be my guest.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

[Misnomer]

People who follow the herd of sheep and think "inking" themselves is showing some sort of creativity or independence: get a grip. It does neither. I suppose it could, theoretically, but the vast, vast majority of tattoos are crappy, cliched, boring, ugly. People get them for the shallowest and vainest of reasons.You present this as your only reason for vehemently disliking tattoos, but surely you realize that people who fall into your "sheep" category are not representative of all tattooed folk? As I asked way back in post #55, why be prejudiced against an entire culture just because of a few people who make it look bad?

You start and end your post with "there's no accounting for taste," which implies that you simply don't like tattoos, which is fine. Even your first two statements are merely opinion -- no harm, no foul. But there is a difference between opinion and generalized prejudice, and you can't have it both ways.

Hookers, pornographers, and strippers wear lotsa tattoos. You want to associate yourself with that crowd, be my guest.Funny, I have two tattoos yet I have no idea of the tattoo preferences of hookers, pornographers, and strippers. Seems to me that having such knowledge is what indicates an association with "that" crowd, hmm?

[MovieMogul]

Personally speaking, if I don't find a woman attractive, a tattoo isn't going to improve things.

If I do find the woman attractive, I know I'd still prefer the bare flesh over the inked one.

[Cat Whisperer]

You present this as your only reason for vehemently disliking tattoos, but surely you realize that people who fall into your "sheep" category are not representative of all tattooed folk? As I asked way back in post #55, why be prejudiced against an entire culture just because of a few people who make it look bad?<snip>
I don't think it's just a few people making tattoos look bad. I don't think anyone can argue that at this point, getting tattoos is firmly in the "trend" area, and a lot of people getting them are doing it to be trendy. They may have other reasons as well, but "Because all my friends (or all the cool kids) are doing it" is part of the reasons (possibly only subconsciously).

[DrDeth]

I agree- I don't like them. It doesn't rise to hate, just dislike. Unless they are those real ugly gang or prison tattoos, which are horrid.

Add gangbangers and convicts to Knorf's list of what groups are associated with tattos.

[Nic2004]

I agree- I don't like them. It doesn't rise to hate, just dislike. Unless they are those real ugly gang or prison tattoos, which are horrid.

Add gangbangers and convicts to Knorf's list of what groups are associated with tattos.
Don't forget dirtbag Bikers.

[Ephemera]

I'm thinking of getting one and don't worry about what it will look like when I'm sixty because I can just look at my 59 year old uncle or 56 year old father (who I strongly resemble) and see firsthand that faded tattoos on older, weathered skin don't look as ghastly as the detractors in this thread would like to believe.

Of course, I have a very conspicuous birthmark on my left hand that probably inured me to disgusting epidermal blemishes early-on so what do I know?

[Knorf]

As I asked way back in post #55, why be prejudiced against an entire culture just because of a few people who make it look bad?
'Cause it ain't a "few people"!

But actually, whence prejudice? I stated an opinion based on observation, not a preconceived belief, and no hosility is involved. Hence, not prejudice.

The other two comments aren't worth a response.

[Misnomer]

Argent Towers: Part of me feels like I'm starting to hijack the thread, and if you feel that way, I'm sorry. I hope it's clear to you (and everyone) that I don't care whether anyone else dislikes tattoos, I care when sweeping -- and always negative -- generalizations are applied to those of us who have them. When I stop feeling that this can be discussed in a calm, rational way, I promise that I'll bow out.

Don't forget dirtbag Bikers.And white trash ... don't want anyone to feel left out. :D

'Cause it ain't a "few people"!My use of "few" is relative to the whole. Compared to the number of people in the U.S. who have one or more tattoos, I'd be willing to bet that the folks you're complaining about are just a few. What makes you so sure that they aren't? Is it because that's what you think you've seen the most of in the past, say, five years?

But actually, whence prejudice? I stated an opinion based on observation, not a preconceived belief, and no hosility is involved. Hence, not prejudice.You made a judgment about all based on an observation of some (and your " 'Cause it ain't a 'few people' " comment confirms that this is, in fact, exactly what you did). How is that not prejudice?

Claiming that no hostility was involved in your comments is disingenuous: by impugning everyone with a tattoo and labeling them as sheep, shallow, and vain (not to mention hookers, pornographers, and strippers) you accused me of the same. Seems a little hostile to me.

For the record, I'm not insulted by being compared to hookers, pornographers, and strippers; I only included them above because it's obvious that you intended said comparison to be insulting. I do, however, take exceptions to accusations of shallowness, vanity, and the inability to think for myself -- especially when they come from someone who does not know me. (Seein' the prejudice yet?)

The other two comments aren't worth a response.That is a response, sparky. And one of my all-time internet favorites, too ("I have no response, therefore I'll just pretend that I'm above it all"). But hey: if you prefer to believe that you're standing on some kind of intellectual high ground, far be it from me to challenge you. ;)

[Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy]

Don't forget dirtbag Bikers.

And drunken sailors and carnies.

[Cat Whisperer]

And tattooed ladies.

[Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy]

And don't forget Lizard Man. (http://bmeworld.com/amago/)

[Miller]

Hookers, pornographers, and strippers wear lotsa tattoos. You want to associate yourself with that crowd, be my guest.

I can think of worse crowds to be associated with.

[Unregistered Bull]

I don't care for the vast majority of the ones that I see. Most look either stupid or ugly. Or both. My brother's dragon around his non-muscular upper arm looks both.

[BobLibDem]

I don't like them, especially on women. I can stomach a butterfly on an ankle or something. But when I see a woman with tattoos on her butt or boobs, it tells me "I let a strange man get his hands on my butt and boobs."

The trend in basketball where you have your whole forearm done up just looks silly to me.

[MizGrand]

I hated tattoos too until Hub and I went to the county fair and I was feeling exotic so I got a henna tattoo painted on. It was a circle of hearts around my ankle. I loved it! It made me feel so, umm, wild and young. I'm almost 40.

This inspired me to get my first tat 4 weeks ago in college-town Chico, CA. Hubby and I were having our 12th anniversary dinner and I got a hair up my ass and say to the waiter "hey, are there any tat shops around here". He says "yeah, there's one just down the street". So, after dinner ($100!) we wander the streets since it's so warm and such a lovely evening looking for the parlor. Found the parlor and I looked at the walls and found exactly what I wanted...an anklet with pink hearts. Go up to the tat artist and he says I must have ID. RATS! I'm not carrying my license. But...I have an expired license in the car which hub goes and retrieves. That will do. So they set me up and he starts the outline.

Oh! My! GOD! the pain! the pain! I've had two kids and this pain is so totally different, it didn't help that the ankle is a really bony part of the body. OWWW! They had to give me a cue ball to attempt to crush. Anyways, I still love my tat a month later...it's really cute and easily hidden if I want to be "straight-laced".

Hub had 4 tats when we got married. One has been lasered off because it was of a nude native american woman with big boobs. He had the removal done because I insisted that seeing a naked woman on his arm might bring about questions from my two sons..."Daddy, why does the naked lady not look like Mommy?"..."Daddy, why do you have boobies on your arm?" He said that the removal was WAY more painful than the actual tat. Not painful for me at all. Actually made me feel good! :cool:

[elmwood]

I think tattoos look good on young people; what makes you think I'm going to suddenly start agreeing with you when we're talking about old people?

It's not just that the tats get wrinkled; they end up looking really bad. Growing up in the 1970s, my neighborhood was filled with WWII vets who had amorphous blue blotches on their arms, which years ago might have been an anchor or snake.

[elmwood]

The other problem I've found with them, is that the folks that can least afford them, seem to have the most of them. Thoughts?
I think it culd be, in many cases, thsoe folks got them in prison.

Random story to share: I was in the grocery store the other night and I noticed a 40ish woman out of the corner of my eye. Over tanned, over bleached, belly pierced, low rise jeans, belly shirt that says in the front: What happens at Spring Break--back: Stays in Spring break!". But then, she had a lower back tattoo: ~*~Sexxxy~*~. I was embarassed for her kid. Aye.
For some reason, I'm reminded of the SNL fake commercial for Turlington's Lower Back Tattoo Remover (http://slackdaddy.org//wmv/tattooremoval.wmv).

[zweisamkeit]

It's not just that the tats get wrinkled; they end up looking really bad. Growing up in the 1970s, my neighborhood was filled with WWII vets who had amorphous blue blotches on their arms, which years ago might have been an anchor or snake.

You do know that tattoo application technology (and the inks, too!) have vastly improved since the 1940s, right?


I theoretically like tattoos, but I'm hard pressed to find ones I really think are aesthetically pleasing. Part of it, I think, is that it is an image just on skin which would look more appropriate on a canvas, wall, piece of paper, etc. I like tattoos that compliment the surface they're on and seem to weave seamlessly onto the skin like they belong there. I don't see many that meet that (personal and really nit-picky ;)) criterion, but when I do, I drool.

[Miller]

It's not just that the tats get wrinkled; they end up looking really bad. Growing up in the 1970s, my neighborhood was filled with WWII vets who had amorphous blue blotches on their arms, which years ago might have been an anchor or snake.

Yeah, those ninety year old men would be real lookers if it weren't for those faded, blurry tattoos, wouldn't they? Such a pity they defaced themselves like that.

Not that it actually matters, as they don't use the same inks today that they did sixty years ago. Heck, the butterfly tattoo my mom (the banker) got in the sixties has only gotten a little blurry, and she got that thing forty years (and one pregnancy) ago. She could easily have it retouched to look crisp again, were she of a mind to do so. And tattoo you get today is probably going to look fine for even longer.

[Anaamika]

I wanted to make a point about my nosering that is relevant here.

I got my nosering at 18, and in the height of the craze where everyone else was getting them. But I didn't get it for that reason.

I got it because I felt like I was rapidly losing touch with my culture and heritage. I don't look very E. Indian, and many people have confused me for Puerto Rican or Spanish. I wanted some visible reminder and sign of who I was and where I came from. I thought about it for three years before I decided to go for it. It's been eleven years now, and I still love it. It's small and tasteful.

What I'm trying to say is, you don't know the motives of someone who has a tattoo or a piercing. And I'm glad to hear many people say they don't let tattoos influence them for friendships, but at the same time, I'm saddened to hear how many people are apparently judging exclusively on physical appearance for relationships. I know a lot of you think you can read motives in the tattoos, and maybe sometimes you can, but as I said, sometimes you can't. And it's all judging a book by its cover, isn't it? What if that person is your soulmate in every other way? Would you still dump them over a tattoo? What if they got a tattoo after they'd been in a relationship with you for some time? Would you try to control them, or just point out you don't like tattoos and hope for the best?

As for my own opinion, there are some I don't like, but some look really good. And I wouldn't get myself one, but I do love temporary tattoos & henna. For the person who said they hate henna - wow. Your opinion of course, but it's not all trendy. Another deeply cultural thing...it's been stolen a little but I don't mind. But it's meant for the bride's hands at her wedding, and has been part of our culture for thousands of years.

[BoringDad]

Why I do not like tattoos. A short essay.

If I see an attractive young woman, and begin ogling her, and then I see that she has a big tattoo right over her shapely bottom, the private fantasy world I have constructed goes right to heck because I personally find tattoos ugly on women. I'd much rather see nice nekkid skin. So please all of you inked women go out and get your tats removed for my voyeuristic pleasure.

You selfish tattoo people. Always worrying about what YOU like, rather than what I want to see.

On men, eh, they don't bother me since they are not interrupting any fantasy. And I will go against the stream and say that the trend towards tribal pattern tattoos is a good thing. A simple pattern is much better than most drunken drawing choices.

As for those of you who get them "to commemorate" something, I don't understand that any more than I understand people's fascination with gravesites. If you can't remember a person or event without a memory booster, then jeez, how important is this thing to you? How would a daughter feel if you said to her "Honey, I got this tattoo to remember the day you were born." Perhaps.. "Thanks a lot Dad. You mean you would forget about me without that tattoo?"

[Miller]

As for those of you who get them "to commemorate" something, I don't understand that any more than I understand people's fascination with gravesites. If you can't remember a person or event without a memory booster, then jeez, how important is this thing to you? How would a daughter feel if you said to her "Honey, I got this tattoo to remember the day you were born." Perhaps.. "Thanks a lot Dad. You mean you would forget about me without that tattoo?"

I take it, then, that your life is entirely devoid of souveniers, mementos, and photographs of your loved ones? After all, why do you need a picture of your daughter? It's not like you're going to forget what she looks like, right?

[BoringDad]

I take it, then, that your life is entirely devoid of souveniers, mementos, and photographs of your loved ones? After all, why do you need a picture of your daughter? It's not like you're going to forget what she looks like, right?In fact, my life is mostly devoid of souveniers.

Photographs? I have many. Because yes, I have most certainly forgotten what my children looked like at the various stages of their growth. And the oldest is only 7! Heck, I am surpised to see what I looked like many years ago. But I do not need the photos to remind me of their existence, just what they looked like on that long ago day.

[elmwood]

You do know that tattoo application technology (and the inks, too!) have vastly improved since the 1940s, right?

Actually, I didn't. :smack: It might be interesting to see how today's tats fare in the coming years.

[Misnomer]

As for those of you who get them "to commemorate" something, I don't understand that any more than I understand people's fascination with gravesites. If you can't remember a person or event without a memory booster, then jeez, how important is this thing to you?I recommend that you look at last month's "Who is your tattoo for? (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324386)" thread. The question "why get a permanent, visible reminder of something you're unlikely to ever forget?" is both asked and (eventually) answered.

[BoringDad]

I recommend that you look at last month's "Who is your tattoo for? (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324386)" thread. The question "why get a permanent, visible reminder of something you're unlikely to ever forget?" is both asked and (eventually) answered.
Could you point me to the post that it is answered in? I read through and I really couldn't find it. (Other than one that attempted the inapplicable photo comparison.)

[Gorgon Heap]

You know, I've really given very little thought to it. My wife has two - neither of which are small, and I've told her I really, really wouldn't like her getting covered in the things, because I like her skin, believe it or not.

However, I don't mind them overall. The vast majority of people I know have them, and who cares?

My wife has two, and she's a teacher. My mother has one that she is always adding to (which she didn't get until she was about 37) and she's a nurse.

Are they low-end riffraff? Not unless you have stupidly high standards or think entirely too much of yourself.


Do I have one? No, but mostly because I either never had the cash or never found anything I thought I'd be happy with for the rest of my life.

I'm frankly amazed at what a big deal it seems to be to some people.



BTW, Nic2004, you rock, man.

[Misnomer]

Could you point me to the post that it is answered in? I read through and I really couldn't find it. (Other than one that attempted the inapplicable photo comparison.)I think maybe you weren't really looking.

Post #19 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6339332&postcount=19), by PookahMacPhellimey

Post #33 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6341063&postcount=33), by WhyNot (probably the most direct answer)

Post #37 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6341978&postcount=37), by Casey1505 (he said "tats don't always need reasons" with a big grin, but it's a definite truth and a valid response)

These are just the first three examples I found in that thread of people who answered the "why a permanent reminder of something you're unlikely to ever forget" question. There may have been more later, but I've done enough work for you today. ;)

[Miller]

In fact, my life is mostly devoid of souveniers.

Photographs? I have many. Because yes, I have most certainly forgotten what my children looked like at the various stages of their growth. And the oldest is only 7! Heck, I am surpised to see what I looked like many years ago. But I do not need the photos to remind me of their existence, just what they looked like on that long ago day.

I'm just going to go ahead and post a link (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4845532&postcount=109) to what I said last time you asked this question. Anything about my explanation that isn't clear to you, now's the time to ask.

And brown mustard still tastes disgusting.

[Telperien]

I like them and I don't. I would never question anyone's getting a tattoo, or criticize what they'd gotten (either to their faces or behind their backs--poor taste in my view). Their bodies, their business. Hell, mine is "flash" and as such is disdained by many tattooed types themselves. But I think a lot of tattoos end up looking pretty bad. It can also cause regret on down the line, as I know only too well. I don't consider the fading or the impression tattoos give to be factors in my dislike.

I do find it amusing that accountants apparently don't get tattoos. Granted, I'm not an accountant yet, nor was I planning to be one when I got my tattoo, but still. I am not happy with mine but that is not and should not be a reflection on other people who have them. I am a completely different person from the one I was when I got my tattoo and that is the only reason it bothers me. I will in all likelihood get it removed when I have the money. FYI, I was completely sober when I had it done, needles don't bother me a bit, and I think tattoos all over the arms of a lean, muscular man are very sexy, but that's merely my opinion.

[Stonebow]

I wanted to make a point about my nosering that is relevant here.
Since I brought up noserings in my response way back in this thread, I feel like I should chime in again. No, really, it's no trouble.

I got it because I felt like I was rapidly losing touch with my culture and heritage. I don't look very E. Indian, and many people have confused me for Puerto Rican or Spanish. I wanted some visible reminder and sign of who I was and where I came from. I thought about it for three years before I decided to go for it. It's been eleven years now, and I still love it. It's small and tasteful.

Um...I know LOTS of Latinas with nose rings. But if it rings your bell, have at it. But I do find it funny that you are 'finding your culture' with a gesture that has moved so far away from it.

What I'm trying to say is, you don't know the motives of someone who has a tattoo or a piercing.

I don't really need to know...there's an asthetic I appreciate, and tats are outside of that paradigm. Your motives are really none of my business, and don't really impact my opinion. However, in my experience, everyone thinks that they can 'pull it off'- whether it be tats, piercings, low-rider jeans, thongs, or open toed shoes. Sometimes I wish I had a big stamp that i could walk around with that reads "No, You can't pull that look off" and slap it on the heads of the folks I encounter every day. I don't care about how good you feel about yourself...shame is sometimes an important tool for self-preservation.

And it's all judging a book by its cover, isn't it? What if that person is your soulmate in every other way? Would you still dump them over a tattoo? What if they got a tattoo after they'd been in a relationship with you for some time? Would you try to control them, or just point out you don't like tattoos and hope for the best?

As someone that met and fell in love with his wife without ever laying eyes on her, i can tell you that I'm neither as crass or superficial as my previous answers might indicate...though I do think we've a long way to go before you remove the physical component from relationships.
If my wife had a tat, assuming she were the same in every other way, I'd probably be okay with it, assuming it was discreet. If it were a full sleeve, or half of her back, etc....well, whatever our common interests, it's clear that she and I have different notions of what is acceptable for polite society- and that difference would make itself more pronounced the longer we were together, I'm sure. As for getting a tat now...we both explored it together, and while I moved closer to acceptance, she moved farther away...so it was a no go. But if I were adamantly against it...well, she'd have to weigh my being pissed off with her freedom to do what she wanted. And whatever she got had better be discreet...I'm not fond of the idea of going to a $1000 a plate White House dinner, and have Orinn Hatch admire the falcon she has inked onto her neck.

[Misnomer]

I'm not fond of the idea of going to a $1000 a plate White House dinner, and have Orinn Hatch admire the falcon she has inked onto her neck.Reminds me of a story: I went on a cruise with some friends two years ago, and there were two formal nights on board. While prepping for the trip I realized that I only had one formal outfit, so I went shopping for a second dress with one of the friends who I'd be on the cruise with. I stressed that I couldn't get anything sleeveless -- partly because I have fat arms, but mostly because of the wolf tattoo on my left arm. My friend agreed, though she didn't really understand about the tattoo.

Until we got on board, and went to the first formal night.

And we saw a woman in a sleeveless gown, sporting a tattoo roughly the same size as mine, also on her upper arm.

After we passed the woman, my friend turned to me and said, "Wow, you were so right! The dress is fine, but that tattoo just does not work with that look. Yeesh!"

That's an example of what I don't understand: people who just don't care about dressing appropriately. What on Earth made that woman think she looked better in a sleeveless gown, big honkin' tattoo exposed and very noticeable, than she would have in something with short sleeves? (I know, I know, the answer is that she didn't care ... and I guess I really don't, either, it's just something I would never do myself.)

[Nic2004]

BTW, Nic2004, you rock, man.

Thanks Man. That comes at the end of a very emotionally heavy day and this was my first chance to smile.
Thanks again

[BoringDad]

I think maybe you weren't really looking.

Post #19 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6339332&postcount=19), by PookahMacPhellimey

Post #33 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6341063&postcount=33), by WhyNot (probably the most direct answer)

Post #37 (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6341978&postcount=37), by Casey1505 (he said "tats don't always need reasons" with a big grin, but it's a definite truth and a valid response)

These are just the first three examples I found in that thread of people who answered the "why a permanent reminder of something you're unlikely to ever forget" question. There may have been more later, but I've done enough work for you today. ;)
Umm, but neither 19 or 37 answer that question. And 33 (reminder of committment to paganism) while fine, is unlikely to be a common reason.

However, Miller's comment pointing me to the other thread reminded me of her answer before. Her answer was reasonable, so I accepted it, but it is so different from the way my memory work that it did not stick in my mind.

[BoringDad]

And brown mustard still tastes disgusting.
Sorry for forgetting your previous answer. But soon we may have to have a straight out mustard duel. Yellow mustard heathen.

[Nic2004]

I'm just going to go ahead and post a link (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4845532&postcount=109) to what I said last time you asked this question. Anything about my explanation that isn't clear to you, now's the time to ask.

And brown mustard still tastes disgusting.
I just now had time to follow your link and I'd like to add Well Said. Very nicely done. I do, however, like just a little Goulden's on my bologna samich :)

[Miller]

However, Miller's comment pointing me to the other thread reminded me of her answer before. Her answer was reasonable, so I accepted it, but it is so different from the way my memory work that it did not stick in my mind.

"His," actually.


You Poupon eatin' bastard.

[Misnomer]

Umm, but neither 19 or 37 answer that question.Well, I think they do (obviously). If you don't see it, I can't make you or anything.

And 33 (reminder of committment to paganism) while fine, is unlikely to be a common reason.Her answer wasn't specific to her paganism, it was about remembering important things in general.

Man, you and I sure have different ideas about what constitutes "reasonable" and "common" ... and, from what I read, we have different ideas about mustard, too. ;)

[The Weird One]

As for those of you who get them "to commemorate" something, I don't understand that any more than I understand people's fascination with gravesites. If you can't remember a person or event without a memory booster, then jeez, how important is this thing to you? How would a daughter feel if you said to her "Honey, I got this tattoo to remember the day you were born." Perhaps.. "Thanks a lot Dad. You mean you would forget about me without that tattoo?"

I don't have any tattoos, but I did wait until I went to college to get my first facial piercing. Not because I was wary of my parents' reactions, but because moving halfway across the country to live on my own for the first time was such a major change in my life, and I wanted to mark that change. I knew that I was going to be a different person, and I didn't want to look like the same person I was in high school. I suspect many people get commemorative tattoos for the same reason.

Oh, and I like spicy honey mustard, myself.