# Do the location of tattoos have any meaning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685 "2003-10-10T15:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/1 "2003-10-10T15:23:37Z")
Just wondering if where you have a tattoo placed has any sort of meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/2 "2003-10-10T15:32:36Z")
Some psychologists believe that facial tattoos are a sign of low serlf esteem. But you didn’t mean that. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/3 "2003-10-10T16:29:33Z")
On bony parts like elbows and fingers, or on the head of one’s penis, it means “I’ve got a high pain tolerance!” ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/4 "2003-10-10T16:31:58Z")
Generally it depends on the person and their culture. I’m sure in some cultures a tatoo in x place means y, but I haven’t heard of that in mainstream Western culture. Most of the people I talk to get tatooes in certain areas for visiblity in the summer (e.g. ankle, arm) and/or because that’s the trendy place to get them (e.g. small of the back). Your best bet is to ask the person with the tatoo. ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/5 "2003-10-10T17:50:38Z")
I have 3 on my legs (2 on my left, 1 on my right), and plan on getting more. However, I will make sure that any tat I get can be covered with long pants and a t-shirt. So, in that case, yes, the location does have meaning 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/6 "2003-10-10T19:17:14Z")
Certain designs in certain places used to mean something. Usually “meant” different things depending on who you asked. Prison tats provide examples of this, like the the infamous teardrop. A spiderweb on the elbow used to (according to some) mean that the bearer had killed somone. Or was it the neck? 😉 Since tattoos have become more mainstream in recent years you would probably not be safe making any assumptions. A lot of people pick location/design combos because they like the look of them. I don’t _think_ my hairdresser has killed anyone anyhow… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/7 "2003-10-10T19:43:13Z")
From what I’ve seen and heard, a tattoo inthe small of your back means “stripper”. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/8 "2003-10-10T23:05:10Z")
Good God I hope not :eek:; around here I’ve noticed the majority of back tattoos adorn the uhm, “larger ladies” in their early 20’s… the type that couldn’t work in that profession. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/9 "2003-10-11T01:23:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gotpasswords \* > \*\*On bony parts like elbows and fingers, or on the head of one’s penis, it means “I’ve got a high pain tolerance!” \*\* Or, just as likely, “I don’t want this to be all stretched out in 20 years”. All of my ink is strategically placed for just this eventuality. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/10 "2003-10-11T01:34:29Z")
My little green lizard (which I had touched up three days ago, so it’s still fresh on my mind…OW!) is on my right ankle. This is so that I can see and enjoy it, but it’s in a relatively nonconspicuous place. I didn’t know until afterwards that I picked a particularly sensitive place to get it, though! Ow, ow, ow! I though tattoos on the smalls of backs were just popular, not a code for stripper. Maybe some places it is? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Sparky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Saint\_Sparky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Sparky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/11 "2003-10-11T06:21:17Z")
My current tattoos are on the upper arms under the shirt line. Meaning if I want to show them, I can, but if I don’t I can do that as well. Any future tattoos will be placed in areas where I can decide easily enough and without fuss whether I want to show them or not. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/12 "2003-10-11T06:56:25Z")
None of my tattoos are placed without any thought other than I like where they are, but I have noticed a lot of people round my neck of the woods with ‘swallow’ tattoos (the bird that is) on their neck or on their hand just above the thumb, I thought for a while that it meant they had done prison time but on second thoughts I hope thats not true because there is a lot of them out there! Any Brit dopers know the meaning of this tattoo? ---
**Author:** ![Lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lola)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/13 "2003-10-11T12:34:39Z")
I always thought that the swallow tattoo was a navy thing. In Ireland, dots on the fingers are used to signify jail time. And small of the back efforts mean “I’m a tit”. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/14 "2003-10-11T12:55:02Z")
Finger tattoos–like the Red Hot Chili Peppers got during their Dave Navarro period–genrally mean prison time. Outer edge of the right hand contains a message for your superiors in the military, as in during a salute; the message is generally of an antisocial nature. Oliver Reed, the late actor, had eagle talons tattooed on the head of his penis. He was uncircimcised. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/15 "2003-10-11T14:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mmmiiikkkeee \* > \*\*Good God I hope not :eek:; around here I’ve noticed the majority of back tattoos adorn the uhm, “larger ladies” in their early 20’s… the type that couldn’t work in that profession. \*\* “Couldn’t work in that profession? (stripper)” Unfortunately, IMHO, this is not true. These days, I don’t go to breast bars, but when I did, I saw the occasional well-padded dancer. Some of the guys in the room seemed to have been waiting for a dancer of that shape. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/16 "2003-10-11T14:17:17Z")
"From what I’ve seen and heard, a tattoo inthe small of your back means “stripper”. I think they put them back there because they are shy & don’t want people to be able to see them. However whenever they sit down you can see it clear as day. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/17 "2003-10-11T14:21:46Z")
I’ve got to confess I find tattoos on the small of a womans back quite arousing…plus it gives you something to read. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/18 "2003-10-12T11:01:29Z")
Olde City Tattoo in Philadelphia has a chart hanging on the wall showing prices with variations for different body parts. I suppose it’s possible that folks pick location by price. I think locations/meanings are easy generalizations both to make and to disprove. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/19 "2003-10-12T13:58:34Z")
If I get any others, which I doubt, I will look for locations which I can at least partly see (because why should I be left out of looking at it) but are easily concealable. As important as those are will be finding out where is more or less sensitive; it’s not all that bad everywhere, but I’d like to avoid a well-known screamingly painful area. (Shut up, all of you. I don’t mean THERE.) ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685/20 "2003-10-12T14:59:59Z")
Some tattoos are strategically placed for identification purposes - normally hidden, but easily presented when necessary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-location-of-tattoos-have-any-meaning/206685.md?page=2)