# Tattoos--should they be meaningful? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382 "2009-12-15T18:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/41 "2009-12-16T19:05:41Z")
I got my tattoo in my early 20s just because I wanted a tattoo, and I picked it off the wall because it was pretty. It’s a rose, which wasn’t especially meaningful and which I later learned was pretty cliche-ish. But my grownup daughters each got different roses as their first tattoos, so it _is_ meaningful to us _now._ ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/42 "2009-12-16T20:15:24Z")
My [tattoo](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/3270212957_07dc44fef4.jpg) isn’t particularly meaningful. It was a piece of flash that caught my eye when I went in with a friend who was getting her bellybutton pierced… just a simple dancing fairy, but there was something about it that I really liked on a purely aesthetic level. Love at first sight, if you will. I waited a whole year before finally booking an appointment with the artist, because I didn’t want to do anything rash. Ten years later, I still don’t regret it one bit. People give me odd looks when I tell them I picked it because it was pretty, but I don’t see any point in giving it a deep meaning just to make total strangers more comfortable… if they think it’s shallow, too bad for them. > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Having said that… the best piece of tattoo advice I ever recieved is to ‘‘wait a year and see if you still want it.’’ Ditto. I’ve used this line quite a few times when someone tells me they’re thinking of a tattoo, and it’s also the reason why I don’t have any other tattoos despite the fact that I’d like to get a second one someday. Buyer’s remorse is definitely not something you want to risk if you’re dealing with something inked permanently into your body. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/43 "2009-12-17T00:32:23Z")
I don’t see why a tattoo has to be meaningful. All that matters to me is whether the bearer actually likes it. My first tattoo is a bunny. It’s small. I got it because I like bunnies. The fact that it looks exactly like the bunny I had had to put down earlier that year was a coincidence. My second was a piece of flash I found in a book while waiting for my boyfriend’s sister to finish getting her tattoo. It looks tribal. To the person who drew it, it probably IS tribal. To me, it’s a cool geometric shape with flames. I like geometric shapes. I like watching fires. People keep asking me the meaning in it - since it’s obvious that I am not a tribal type (blue tinted white with red hair and blue eyes). No one is ever satisfied with my answer that I thought it looked cool. I’ve had it since 2004 and I still think it looks cool. I don’t care if it looks tribal to other people and I don’t care if they think I’m stupid for getting it. It’s my arm. I don’t understand why people get Taz tattoos. But, I want to get a tattoo of the Discworld covering my back and I’m sure that a lot of people don’t understand that. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/44 "2009-12-17T01:13:32Z")
No, but it helps, maybe. Pick something that you like as a graphic and go with that. I’ve got [8 Escher geckos](http://vintage.cucamongatype.com/_geckos.html)\* on my arm (in just black and white), mostly because I liked the image - I like plain black-and-white graphics and recurring images / wood press art, a bit because it felt sort-of-meaningful-but-not-that-specific at the time but I did not get (for example) a tribal or kanji tatoo because I think having something that’s meaningful in another culture but not to you is stupid unless you really like them. I do like the japanese-style cherry-blossom tattoos I see occasionally, though. For those that don’t know Escher, he was a Dutch artist who did some amazing graphic work (wood cuts etc) in the early 20th century. - You can’t really see in that image, but the black spots are geckos too. eta: better source here: [http://www.rtsq.qc.ca/aiguillart/projet/rech/artmath/escher/oeuvres/gecko.jpg](http://www.rtsq.qc.ca/aiguillart/projet/rech/artmath/escher/oeuvres/gecko.jpg) - though my tattoo isn’t as detailed. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/45 "2009-12-17T22:27:09Z")
Most people get flash!? I never would have guessed that. Everyone I know designed their own tattoo. Even the ones who couldn’t draw still compiled different elements and had a consult w/ the artist before settling on a design. I always wanted a tattoo. When I was 19 or 20 I started doodling with a purpose and after a semester of sketching the same thing I got my first and only tattoo. It was really fun working out the design and talking to the artist. It was interesting and a good rush getting the tattoo. I was stone sober and I went alone, it was a personal endeavor. After the fact I realized that the design reminds me of the Fenris wolf but that’s not the reason I got it. I just wanted the experience of getting a tattoo - that reasoning never seems to satisfy people. _shrug_ I don’t regret my tattoo, it still makes me smile, but I enjoyed getting it _way_ more than I enjoy having it. I’d love to come up with a large design and get it done but the thought of paying a lot of money and carrying it around forever isn’t appealing. It’d just be fun to have that pain/pleasure rush and watch the design emerge again. I can see how people end up covered in tattoos. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/46 "2009-12-18T09:16:17Z")
What’s the best location (bodywise) for a tattoo? Meaning, as one ages, it won’t stretch or sag? Ankle, foot, back? SNL did an uncharacteristically humorous skit about the lower back tattoo and it’s migration… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/47 "2009-12-18T13:47:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > If by involved with photography you mean willing to take off her clothes for what she considered to be “artsy porn,”…then…sure. It’s [a good legacy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Prin) to aspire to… Me, I only think (as many in this thread seem to) it matters for my own skin, and don’t really care about others. But meaningful to me could very well be meaningless to anyone else. I mean, if I have something similar to [this](http://www.cas.usf.edu/~jryan/GranitePL.JPG), only more artistic, put on my shoulder, there are few people who’d even know what kind of thing it is, let alone the specifics or the significance. But to me? Highly meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![cdsilv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cdsilv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdsilv)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/48 "2009-12-18T14:24:32Z")
In the book ‘Tattoo Blues’, a dancer gets a tattoo in chinese that she thinks means something like ‘pretty girl’, but is actually ‘with hot sauce’ copied off of a chinese restaurant menu by the inker… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/49 "2009-12-18T16:33:03Z")
What’s “flash”? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/50 "2009-12-18T19:05:48Z")
[Flash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_%28tattoo%29) is the array of pre-made example tattoo designs on posters and in the books in tattoo shops. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/51 "2009-12-18T19:07:15Z")
Ah, thanks. I would have guessed those would be most popular among the subset of tattoo-seekers who are drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/52 "2009-12-19T16:43:10Z")
A relevant [link.](http://www.cracked.com/funny-298-tattoos/) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/53 "2009-12-20T05:20:30Z")
I think so. I actually just sketched one that I’m considering earlier this week. [Here it is](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4189299698_a9c85451e0_o.png), with the symbolism spelled out. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/54 "2009-12-20T05:30:18Z")
I designed my own [tattoo](http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/6017/is00415.jpg) too! Its nothing very meaningful, but I just happen to like celtic knots and spiders. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/55 "2009-12-20T15:04:05Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I think so. I actually just sketched one that I’m considering earlier this week. > > [Here it is](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4189299698_a9c85451e0_o.png), with the symbolism spelled out. It’s beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/56 "2009-12-20T16:59:32Z")
Thanks, **olives**. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/57 "2009-12-21T00:17:28Z")
> [@cdsilv](#): > > In the book ‘Tattoo Blues’, a dancer gets a tattoo in chinese that she thinks means something like ‘pretty girl’, but is actually ‘with hot sauce’ copied off of a chinese restaurant menu by the inker… This is why it’s bad to get a tattoo in a language you can’t read. Hell, I _can_ read Chinese and I still don’t want a Chinese tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/58 "2009-12-21T14:53:18Z")
Mine are all meaningful. I mean, it’ll be on my skin forever, so for me, it better be meaningful. If someone were to get something that wasn’t meaningful, I’d think it’s a little absurd, but they’re the ones who have to live with it all their lives. If they want absurd, that’s their thing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/59 "2009-12-21T16:25:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Ah, thanks. I would have guessed those would be most popular among the subset of tattoo-seekers who are drunk. In my experience a lot of places put up signs saying they won’t tattoo drunk people. They’re not doing blood alcohol tests or anything, but it can’t be good for business if you tattoo someone and they just end up complaining about it. > [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > What’s the best location (bodywise) for a tattoo? Meaning, as one ages, it won’t stretch or sag? Ankle, foot, back? Crotch? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382/60 "2009-12-21T16:57:46Z")
IME _every_ tattoo place does that. Actually, 'round here, they’re prohibited by law from doing so. However, also IME they’ll do it anyway as long as you’re upright and seem mostly in control of your faculties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tattoos-should-they-be-meaningful/521382.md?page=4)