Do you have any? If your willing, tell us where they are and what they’re of.
Do you find them attractive? Do you find them ugly? What’s your general opinion about them?
I personally take it on a case-by-case basis. There are some seriously hot tattoo’s, and a lot of, what I would consider, poor choices. I don’t have any tattoo’s and probably never will. It’s a HUGE decision that I worry is hastily made all too often. I think most chest tattoos on women are absolutely not for me.
Like all art, it depends on the work itself. I know people who were made more beautiful by the tattoos they put on themselves, and beautiful folks with horribly chosen and executed tattoos. In the right context, even the latter can be kind of beautiful.
I have no tattoos myself. Since I can’t seem to commit to any visual work, that’s probably a wise choice.
For some people, tattoos are deeply meaningful. Others just decide they want a tattoo and figure out what it will be later. I call them the “permanent bell bottoms” crowd. When the tattoo fad ends, it’ll be like any other unfortunate fashion choice people make except a lot harder to get rid of. But if there are any companies involved in the tattoo removal industry, I’d definitely advise an investment.
I have four, all done between 1979 and 1995. Each “means” something to me and each was done by a professional, and well-done. They’re easily hidden under clothing if need be. I don’t regret any of them; they’re part of me. I’m 56 and female.
OTOH I’d be lying if I said I’d be hard-pressed not to make negative assumptions about people with neck tats, racist symbols or obvious fad tats (like the cartoon kid peeing, or tweety bird or other inane subjects.)
Or it’s a totally insignificant decision. Maybe people think it’s a big deal and then it turns out to be less important than buying a new pair of shoes?
Tattoos could be a big deal if they made you less or more sexually attractive to a certain demographic. Or if they affected your ability to work in certain jobs. My opinion is that tats have reached a level of acceptabilty that they won’t often have those kind of effects – although anything that is still uncommon can make people initially treat you differently… Such as completely covering a limb, or having face tats.
As far as the art, there’s pretty much none of it I’d care about if it was hanging on a wall, or used as a screen saver. Tattooing just isn’t a very versatile medium – (“The point isn’t that the bear rides the bicycle well.”)
It’s mostly just a question of what you want to spend your money on, and tats won’t often change your life more than a granite countertop.
I have five. Only two have significant meaning to me - I have a small ladybug behind my ear (I call TheKid “my bug”) and the dragonfly on my back was done at a particular point in my life. My other three I had done because I like them (cat face on ankle, trailing roses over my other foot and ankle, flowers on my shoulder). I have a few more planned in the near future - one that I will have done to commemorate my (hopefully soon) organ transplant two just for fun.
I’m a 45 year old woman who got her first ink at 25.
Obviously, I like tattoos and I prefer to date guys with ink. The more ink the better.
Mmm, I’m not sure I would call them “ugly.” “Unfortunate” would be a better adjective, especially if the person is otherwise nice-looking.
For me, they’re never a bonus. I’ve never said to myself, “Gee, he/she looks better with that tattoo.” But very often I have thought to myself, “He/she looks worse with that tattoo.”
I don’t have any. One reason is because the parts of my body where I’d feel comfortable getting a tattoo are always clothed or only exposed for fleeting moments. So it would be waste because no one would ever see it.
But another reason is that I just don’t have a desire. Though, I understand why other people like them (though I can’t really say I’ve ever seen a tattoo that I loved. Most of them are just “meh” or “okay”).
I really don’t like tattoos, but I try to not judge people who have them - we all have different tastes. From a purely aesthetic point of view, though, skin is a terrible medium for art. Even in those “10 Amazing Tattoos” slideshows or whatever, it just doesn’t look good to me, no matter how much talent it took to create.
Still, there’s definitely a difference between “I got this small [whatever] on my shoulder in memory of my parents” and “Tattoos are awesome! Let’s get a tattoo! ALL the tattoos! We’re so hardcore, man!”
I never understood that POV. My arms and legs are heavily tatted, along with my chest. My back is a clean slate. But every piece I’ve ever had done has been for me.
Same here (the bolded bit.)
I suppose that’s another difference, as Octarine pointed out - people who get inked to make a statement, or for shock value or whatever v those that get them for more personal reasons.
Yes, I know that a Kanji tattoo is a cliche. That being said, My daughters took me to get a tattoo for my 50th birthday. I have a plaque on my den wall of the characters for “harmonious peace” that has been there for many years. That evening I came home with a tattoo to match it on my right shoulder.
I feel the same way. They’re mostly cool on other people, I’m just not one of those people.
And I’ve never found a symbol, drawing or idea that spoke to me so profoundly that I had to get it painfully injected under my skin for lifelong display (and very possible regret).
I had to check to see if this was a zombie thread from 2005. Tattoos are mainstream. They are no more unusual today than earrings on men. (Neither my Wife nor I have any art yet but most of our peers seem to have at least one small tat.)
Notice that I said where I would feel comfortable getting a tattoo. I wouldn’t want to get a tattoo on my chest, arms, or legs because then I’d see it way too often and it would lose it’s appeal to me. But if I got a tattoo in a less conspicuous place, like the small of my back or on a shoulder blade, I would never see it and neither would anyone else since I don’t show off a lot of skin.
Maybe it’s all about how comfortable you are with your body. I have never been 100% comfortable with my body, so it makes sense to me that I wouldn’t want to spend a whole lot of time decorating and admiring it.