# Kaley Cuoco's tattoo **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619 "2013-12-06T00:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/21 "2013-12-06T21:16:24Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Maybe it’s Penny’s last name (which would, of course, leave more questions than answers… in a 42 sort of way) Her last name is “Soup”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/22 "2013-12-06T22:39:47Z")
Kaley says it means faith. [http://www.ellentv.com/2013/05/14/kaleys-tramp-stamp-full-version/](http://www.ellentv.com/2013/05/14/kaleys-tramp-stamp-full-version/) ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/23 "2013-12-06T23:33:17Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I know - her sister is in the Valentine’s Day episode as the girl her ex proposes to while she’s out to dinner with Leonard, Howard and Bernadette. She also competed in the current season of The Voice, where she did reasonably well, but has since been voted off. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/24 "2013-12-07T09:18:03Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [http://instagram.com/p/hbafhpOWeE#](http://instagram.com/p/hbafhpOWeE#) > > I know it is probably not “soup”. But what does that character mean? It’s in the wrong location for the “soup” tattoo. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Depakote\_Chopra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@Depakote\_Chopra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Depakote_Chopra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/25 "2013-12-07T10:57:24Z")
Tattoo means “I’m a dumb white bitch wallowing in cultural appropriation”. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/26 "2013-12-07T12:27:19Z")
> [@Depakote\_Chopra](#): > > Tattoo means “I’m a dumb white bitch wallowing in cultural appropriation”. Might as well close the thread, I think this is it. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/27 "2013-12-07T14:38:59Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m going straight to the picture with no problems. > > My, that’s a pretty back. Same here, on both counts.😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/28 "2013-12-07T16:05:40Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Kaley says it means faith. > > [http://www.ellentv.com/2013/05/14/kaleys-tramp-stamp-full-version/](http://www.ellentv.com/2013/05/14/kaleys-tramp-stamp-full-version/) It can mean trust, believe, faith, or oddly, letter, according to my reliable translator. 🙂 Why the ‘soup’ reference? What’s the joke behind that? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/29 "2013-12-07T16:10:55Z")
It may not mean soup but I’d still give it a taste. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/30 "2013-12-07T16:14:24Z")
Bloody hell, I do believe that is the Chinese symbol for “aim here.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/31 "2013-12-07T17:35:19Z")
> [@Depakote\_Chopra](#): > > Tattoo means “I’m a dumb white bitch wallowing in cultural appropriation”. > [@rsat3acr](#): > > Might as well close the thread, I think this is it. This probably belongs in the pit, but WTF? Are you trying to make a case that no one of a particular “culture” can \*never \*admire, use, or in any other way adapt an object, thought, or symbol from any other “culture”? On a scale of racist to horribly racist, that’s insulting to all humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/32 "2013-12-07T17:48:05Z")
It’s a commentary on the common practice of people, especially Westerners, getting tattoos of “meaningful” words, but getting them in a language which the bearer does not themself understand, which one would expect if anything to render the message of the tattoo less meaningful. If you want the word “faith” permanently inscribed on your body, why not do it in English, rather than in a language where you’re just taking the word of the tattoo artist that it doesn’t actually mean “soup”? Now, maybe Ms. Cuoco actually does speak some dialect of Chinese, and finds the choice of language itself significant for some personal reason, so it’s possible that this doesn’t apply in this case. But it’s far more likely to be yet another example of the phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/33 "2013-12-07T19:42:11Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > It can mean trust, believe, faith, or oddly, letter, according to my reliable translator. 🙂 > > Why the ‘soup’ reference? What’s the joke behind that? Comes from a Big Bang Theory episode. Penny falls in the shower, Sheldon is helping her and ask why she has the Chinese character for soup as a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/34 "2013-12-07T19:48:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > This probably belongs in the pit, but WTF? > > Are you trying to make a case that no one of a particular “culture” can \*never \*admire, use, or in any other way adapt an object, thought, or symbol from any other “culture”? > > On a scale of racist to horribly racist, that’s insulting to all humanity. Not racist at all, everyone I’ve ever asked about a tattoo in a language they don’t speak has said something to the effect of it is cooler in Chinese/Hebrew etc. Always seamed shallow and pretentious to me. Maybe I was making an assumption I shouldn’t have but it sure wasn’t racist. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/35 "2013-12-07T19:53:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s a commentary on the common practice of people, especially Westerners, getting tattoos of “meaningful” words, but getting them in a language which the bearer does not themself understand, which one would expect if anything to render the message of the tattoo less meaningful. If you want the word “faith” permanently inscribed on your body, why not do it in English, rather than in a language where you’re just taking the word of the tattoo artist that it doesn’t actually mean “soup”? > > Now, maybe Ms. Cuoco actually does speak some dialect of Chinese, and finds the choice of language itself significant for some personal reason, so it’s possible that this doesn’t apply in this case. But it’s far more likely to be yet another example of the phenomenon. And so what? People have borrowed from each others’ cultures since the first time two tribes met. Doing so does not make one a “dumb white bitch”. Getting a tattoo in a different language is no more “cultural appropriation” than using a phrase from a language one doesn’t speak. Are you not allowed to display Asian art with calligraphic letters if you can’t personally translate them? The Japanese regularly wear shirts with English phrases that are essentially meaningless. Does that make them “dumb yellow bitches”? There are lots of bad things cultures do to one another. This isn’t one of them. Calling someone with a Chinese tattoo a “dumb white bitch” is bad, top to bottom and every which way. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/36 "2013-12-07T19:55:20Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Not racist at all, everyone I’ve ever asked about a tattoo in a language they don’t speak has said something to the effect of it is cooler in Chinese/Hebrew etc. Always seamed shallow and pretentious to me. Maybe I was making an assumption I shouldn’t have but it sure wasn’t racist. Well, not that I would ever get a tattoo (shudder) but for an English speaker, Hebrew or Chinese or Japanese characters are exotic and interesting whereas Latin letters are mundane and boring. So if you someone wanted “faith” tattooed, I can see why the choice would be something exotic vs. mundane. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/37 "2013-12-07T20:30:20Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There are lots of bad things cultures do to one another. This isn’t one of them. Perpetuating orientalism isn’t a bad thing? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/38 "2013-12-07T22:49:20Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Perpetuating orientalism isn’t a bad thing? Edward Said is rolling in his grave. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/39 "2013-12-07T23:20:47Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Comes from a Big Bang Theory episode. Penny falls in the shower, Sheldon is helping her and ask why she has the Chinese character for soup as a tattoo. Season 3 episode 8 “The Adhesive Duck Deficiency” Here’s the quote from the episode. Sheldon: Oh, oh, red light, release accelerator and slowly apply the brake. Nailed it. While we have a moment, may I ask you a question? Penny: What? Sheldon: Why do you have the Chinese character for soup tattooed on your right buttock? Penny: It’s not soup, it’s courage. Sheldon: No, it isn’t. But I suppose it does take courage to demonstrate that kind of commitment to soup. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619/40 "2013-12-08T04:46:13Z")
it also takes much faith and trust to believe a tatoo guy’s interpretation of a foreign word. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaley-cuocos-tattoo/675619.md?page=3)