I’m in the camp of, “Tattoos sees like a silly idea for me personally, but they can be cool on other people”. FWIW, I’m only 25 and I do have a smattering of piercing/stretching, but the idea of me getting a tattoo just seems bizarre and highly undesirable. I do enjoy looking at others’ well-done and intricate inkings, but I cringe every time I see a barbed-wire armband or looney tunes character. (I’m from the South. Rednecks love them some Tweety Bird and Taz, I tell you what.)
In other words, I don’t like tattoos. But sometimes I do. And I would never think less of anyone for having one, unless it’s just ridiculous. Even then, it would mostly be that person’s taste which I would call into question. (Once heard tell of a large lower-back inking of the outline of Tennessee, containing the words “thug life” in the classically gangsta Old English script. Oh, redneck thugs, will you ever cease to amuse me?)
I never comment on other folks’ tattoos. It’s none of my business. That doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion, or that the opinion is positive. But if that’s what you do to your body, go ahead.
Well, it would have to be one of those two things, wouldn’t it? Or are you expressing the extremes and hoping someone will clue you in about the middle of the curve? I hope you’re kidding/being sarcastic, but in case you aren’t, there are almost as many motivations and shades of motivation for tattoos as there are tattooed people.
If you’re getting a picture of a grouse tattooed on yourself, that’s okay by me. If you’re getting a tattoo put on a grouse, the consent issue gets really complicated. I mean, is it an adult grouse? How do you know if a winking Tweety Bird on her back is what she wanted? Maybe she’d want “Born to raise chicks” instead.
Many tattoos I have seen are beautiful and I am surprised at the depth of the meaning of some of them for the person who is wearing them. My best friend in university got the emblem of the Rolling Stones tattooed on her bikini area- just under the panty line. I hope that if she ever has to have a hip replacement it makes the surgeon chuckle. At this rate, the band will still be together!
I once got a henna tattoo- a beautiful flower near my belly button and then it became a circlet of vines/leaves winding around my waist then up my body and onto my breast. I thought it was so pretty but it eventually faded over the course of a few weeks.
Sometimes I wish I had the courage to get a permanent one.
I had not noticed the user name Abraca Deborah before now! It is my new favorite.
I have two tattoos and am planning more. Got my first one when I was 40. One’s on my back and is partially visible if my hair is pinned up or my shirt has an unusually low neckline in back. The other is on my ankle and even when it’s been plainly visible, it’s very rarely noticed. I have had people manhandle me (just a little) to get a better look at the one on my back, but I’m very good at the shocked and appalled reaction, and can get them to back off shamefacedly very quickly.
Mirrors, my friends, mirrors…
To elaborate:
Why would I not know what it looks like? I can stand with my back to a mirror and look over my shoulder and see it just fine.
Anyhow, as Farmerchick said, all of my tattoos are deeply personal and very meaningful to me. I don’t really care if people see it or not. In fact I really don’t like showing it to people unless they are into tattoos themselves. It gets a bit old “come over here Mike, you gotta see this guys back…Hey apocalypso, show him your back!”. “Um, no”. “Why? Aw, common!”.
It’s only as cliché as people who get other types of tattoos that are symbolic of their beliefs; is a cross or a hammer or any other religious symbol really that cliché if it has meaning for the person who possesses that symbol? It’s still an expression that’s individually meaningful.
I’m not tattooed yet, but I’m planning on getting something that symbolizes my transition into an adult and keeper of the household/wife. I’m also thinking of getting a pair of puffins tattooed, quirky and silly as it may seem. It’s got more meaning to me than just being goofy birds. Why should a tattooed person have to justify their ink to anyone else?
Puffins are awesome. I am of the opinion that tattoos don’t even necessarily have to mean anything or be symbolic of anything – it can be completely aesthetic or not remotely aesthetic, or anywhere in between, because as you say, it’s your own body and your own personal choice and you shouldn’t have to justify it to anyone.
Something else I also try to remember when the ‘oh-my-Og-not-another-cartoon-character!’ tattoo issue comes up is that, although it might just look like the tenth Mickey Mouse band wagon jumper you may see, in reality it could be something as important to them as the symbol of the favorite stuffed animal the child they lost loved.
But as nashiitashii already said, it shouldn’t be necessary for anyone to have to justify themselves anyway. Apparently they thought it special enough.
I’ve seen any number of tats that are definitely not to my own taste, but I think the only one that really threw me was a young (early 20s) co-worker who had a tattoo of the Nestle Quik bunny. I asked her what the significance was, imagining a really interesting story. She said she just really liked the Nestle Quik bunny.
Tattoos don’t bother me because I guess what other people want to do is their biz. I have one really small tattoo (like the size of small thumbnail) of a shooting star on my left lower abdomen. I’ve had it for 24 years and I really don’t even notice it anymore, but when I do notice it I still like it.
It is funny; after all of this time, I’m thinking about getting another tattoo; I’d like to get this one on my left shoulder, high enough so that you can’t see it if I wear a polo shirt or tee. I never wear anything sleeveless, so the only way anybody would ever see it is if I were naked or in a bathing suit.
I’d like to get another star; this time a solid black one about an inch in diameter. I have no idea why I like stars so much.
