I am perpetually astonished at the growth in popularity of tattoos, particularly these wild and outlandish ones. Which is not to be judgmental - everyone has their own style. But the thing is that for the most part, these tattoos seem to be very youth-oriented. Some of these tattoos that you see seem to be incompatible with middle age, let alone old age. But unless you are planning to die young, you have to reckon with what you will look like when you get older. But tattoos are semi-permanent, in that it can be an expensive and painful hassle to remove them.
Same goes, to a lesser extent, for the possibility that you might adopt a more conservative image at some point, which might be incompatible with your tattoos.
So the question is: what are the people with these tattoos thinking? Are they thinking that they will never change their preferred image, and that they will be able to carry it off at any age? Or are they just not thinking at all? Or something else.
Hmmm, I did actually consider what my tattoos would look like when I got older and picked less trendy designs. But I think the answer to your question is that “it made sense at the time”. Heck, when you’re twenty you have no freakin’ idea how much your world view may change. You know in your heart that you’re gonna stay cool forever and never get old and boring and go to sleep before 1 am and stop listening to newest music and ever regret a nipple ring like all those other guys.
Confession from someonw who once got a tattoo on her hand so that she wouldn’t ever get a (shudder) real job and now works as an engineer.
I got a celtic cross on my left shoulder about two years ago, and I’m 24. I made sure it wouldn’t be visible in case I ever had to work in a more conservative environment than the one in which I currently work.
I’ve been considering getting a tatoo for about six years or so, but I’ve always been broke and never found something I wouldn’t mind being a part of my body for the rest of my life.
I have my son’s footprint on my calf. I don’t think I’ll ever regret that one. The Calvin on my shoulder, maybe someday, who knows, but not the footprint. I’d do it again if I were 50. It marked a very special and important milestone in my life, and that’s the only reason I had for doing it.
I’ve had my first tattoo for ten years, and I’ve never regretted it. It’s not somewhere that can’t be hidden if necessary. Which, I can’t imagine what occasion would call for it to be hidden. If I didn’t have tattoos, I’d probably be planning to get one. haha.
I am certain that the relative ease and lack of expense of tattoo removal of late is directly correlatable to the fact that body ink is so trendy now. Most people who get tattoos nowadays know in the back of their head that it won’t be that big a deal to get it erased.
I got my first tattoo at 23. I’ve had it for a year and it makes me smile every time I look at it. (it’s original art… mine). My boyfriend’s tattoos (he has three) are as much a part of him as anything. We both want more, but I’m waiting to find just the right thing (as well as saving up the tremendous amounts of money they cost).
I do have to correct something said in the OP.
(italics mine)
Tattoos are permanent. Usually a faint outline of the tattoo remains and in some cases, the color cannot be fully removed.
Saying a tattoo is semi-permanent invites idiots to get anything they want on their bodies on the spur of the moment and ‘just get it removed later’.
The permanency of tattoos is mentioned in the article linked by the OP. I want it to be clear, though to anyone who doesn’t click on the link. I’m just doing my part to stamp out ignorance.
I plan to get a design that will represent a part of me that won’t change, no matter how many years I live.
As well, I’ll be putting it on my back, where a) my skin won’t change significantly enough to make it warp and b) any kind of work-appropriate clothing will cover it.
I’m sure there are a lot of stupid kids out there who get a tattoo on the spur of the moment without putting any thought into what it’s going to be like in ten years. On the other hand, properly planned and thought-through tattoos don’t have to be an embarassment when you get to be 50.
mine is an expression of my religion and milestones that have marked my life. Rites of passage commemorated on skin. I’ve designed all of them and haven’t regretted one.
I’d also like to mention that the article is pretty poorly written. More people have been getting tattoos these days, so more people will be getting them removed as well.
I could hardly disagree more. Speaking as someone who knows firsthand the amount of energy, pain, money, and emotional investment involved with getting tattoos, I can say that, honestly, advances in tatoo removal technology were just about the last thing on my mind.
Actually, the very last thing on my mind were thoughts of how the opinions of people like OP would be affected. I didn’t start getting tattooed until I was 25, and currently have one half-sleeve (and plans to get the other one done), as well as several other rather large tattoos. They’re all done in a very traditional American vernacular style, which admittedly is a far cry from what I think the OP is talking about (Grim Reapers, gang insignia, the dreaded Taz). Even so, I would feel very uncomfortable dismissing anyone’s aesthetic preferences on this issue, as long as they were mature and well-informed. I’m sure lots of people find my tattoos to be silly, if not downright stupid.
Still, though, that whole “do you really think they’ll look good when you’re elderly?” argument drives me batty. Its not as though I really want to look at wrinkly, sagging untattoed skin, so why should tattooed senior flesh be any worse? I was hardly planning on going after that rest home beauty pageant tiara…
Oh, and since someone else will say it if I don’t, the relevant cliche here is “the only difference between people who have tattoos and people who don’t is that the people with tattoos don’t care if you don’t have any.” Glib and overused, but true.
Put me in the camp that ain’t impressed with the CNN article, either. Plus, I figured out how I’d take care of the ink if I didn’t like what I’ve got on my someday: solid black, all the way from elbow to collarbone.
I got my first tattoo this past June. It’s Alice and the Caterpillar. I haven’t regretted it yet and I’m actually looking foward to getting more done (possibly an entire Alice theme on my back). It’s a story that I’ve always been fond of and have always enjoyed so it just made sense to me to get Alice and the Caterpillar (which happens to be my favorite chapter in Alice in Wonderland).
I may only be 19 but I put a lot of thought into my tattoo before having it done. I ran through dozens of ideas before I settled on the one I picked and then I waited for about a year to see if I still liked the idea. I did so I went and had it done.
I’m not worried about what people think of it. It is a part of me and I am proud of my tattoo so that’s the only thing that matters. I don’t ask anybody else to like it, just to respect my choice as I respect theirs.
And like someone else said before, when you’re 80 years old how much are you really gonna care about what your skin looks like? You’re going to be old and wrinkly anyway, why not have a work of art to look at and be reminded of the fun you had when you were younger?
If someone gets a tattoo with the thought that it can be easily removed at a later time then they have absolutely no business getting a tattoo in the first place.
The ink doesn’t stay put. The fine lines you had at 20 will fuzz out by the time you’re 80. Of course, some careful thought, consultation with a true artisan, sunscreen, and perhaps a touch up every couple of decades can mitigate some of this.
A “Death Before Dishonor” tattoo looks really bad on some geezer lying half-dead in bed hooked up with a feeding tube and wearing diapers. The nurse in the home will try very hard to not show any visible signs of amusement when wiping your ass also requires revealing such a tattoo. Whether or not they will laugh when they are out of your earshot is another question.
Keep those two points in mind when choosing permanent skin art. Fading butterflies and roses might inspire poetry. Full sleeve treatments may acquire a certain patina with age. Some “tribal” designs might be easily retouched. But some things just plain look dumb after half a century.
True, but supposedly the needles and inks used are much better then even 20 years ago, and shouldn’t fuzz as much as you get older. This was told to me by a friend that is a tat artist, but I would take it with a grain of salt.
I have a little green lizard on my right ankle I got seven years ago. I don’t regret it at all. I even got it retouched a few weeks ago. (YOWCH!) I don’t feel the urge to get any more, but this one I like.
Why a lizard? I’ll admit it was a fairly spur-of-the-moment decision (yes, yes, I know, I KNOW!) but I like reptiles. I don’t see that changing anytime in the future.
