# Teach me about tattoos **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368 "2025-06-09T14:30:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/21 "2025-06-10T09:22:32Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Inner or outer forearm? I had my first tattoo made last October, a big one on my inner forearm, and it hurt. The pain wasn’t so much specific as it was cumulative Yeah, I fainted twice while getting one on my inner forearm. But I am needle phobic and my artist was a friend with a tattoo machine… the tattoo itself was free, he needed experience to get into a tattoo shop. So thick needles, inexperience, phobia AND tequila was probably not my best life choice. I love the tattoo, though. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/22 "2025-06-10T09:33:34Z")
None of my beeswax. I don’t have any tattoos, have no intention of that changing. But anybody can reliably read a tattooed name and fathom it’s significance to you. You can’t guarantee that with an inked face. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/23 "2025-06-10T09:36:03Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Point is that not everybody will see your tattoos the way you do. Haha, yes. My wrist tattoo looks very much like a cluster of a specific local gang symbols, the gang is notorious for murder and drug dealing. A certain portion of society treats me with much respect and wide open eyes! It is actually a cloth print pattern from Senegal that I culturally appropriated. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/24 "2025-06-10T10:16:56Z")
A side story: a friend and I were wagering on who would win the CFL’s Grey Cup one year. We made the wager before the season started, and without getting too detailed, let’s just say that he had A, B, C, and D teams; I had W, X, Y, and Z teams. Now, he doesn’t play for money, so some other terms had to be agreed to. One night’s tab at the pub? Well, okay, but we’ve got to do better than that. Streaking down Yonge Street in Toronto? No, that’s a little too much, and “it’s so 1970s.” Finally, we agreed on terms. If I lost, I’d either get a tattoo or get my ears pierced. If he lost, he’d have to lose his head of hair, and his beard (he looked like a lion, with his mane and beard), and end up looking like Kojak. We shook hands, and that was that. We followed our teams through the CFL season. The Grey Cup that year came down to one of his teams against one of my teams. My team lost. Time to make good on my obligation. I opted for ear piercing instead of a tattoo, figuring that I could take the studs out after the job was done, and that would be that. Not at all like a tattoo. But it wasn’t. The piercer told me about infections and antiseptics that would be needed, and that the keepers needed to be in for a number of weeks, and other—well, frankly, horror stories. So I followed the rules, and now my ears are pierced for life. Interestingly, I grew to like pierced ears. I was never very radical, mostly just wearing inoffensive and small studs, but I do remember that my ex-wife gave me a nice pair of diamond studs one Christmas. And they have come in handy at times; such as when I played a pirate in a community theatre production, and I got a pair of brass hoops. Yarrr! But for the most part, and especially now that the holes are there with no danger of closing, I don’t wear them very much. Sometimes, though, just for fun. Definitely not like a tattoo. Nobody notices the small holes in my earlobes, and if they do, they put it down to just a wrinkle. I can speak with clients and go to court, and nobody notices or cares. OP, might pierced ears be something a little less permanent and prominent than a tattoo? Yes, a tattoo is forever, but pierced ears are easily skipped over unless you want to focus attention on them. Again, consider who you want to see your body art. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/25 "2025-06-10T12:29:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > He waited months to get an appointment with his desired tattoo artist (is that what they’re called?) and the cost was thousands of dollars. If he’s paying big bucks for a permanent ink job he’d better be hiring an artist. What would you call someone who works in ink on a human canvas besides an artist? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/26 "2025-06-10T12:38:27Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I think the more accurate statement is that tattoos have become more and more trendy. I’ll take it a step further and say they’ve become mainstream. I go paddling a couple times a week during summer at our local lake. I get to see a lot of skin there, for better or worse, but I would estimate on any given day for that sample, 7-8 out of 10 people are inked. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/27 "2025-06-10T12:50:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > OP, might pierced ears be something a little less permanent and prominent than a tattoo? Yes, a tattoo is forever, but pierced ears are easily skipped over unless you want to focus attention on them. Again, consider who you want to see your body art. Pierced ears won’t do, I kinda betted myself too, except that I _wanted_ to lose the bet 🙂 . Imagine that a lot of happiness and harmony for your entire nation depend on a ball striking a net, you are watching it all from thousands of kilometers away, you can’t do _absolutely nothing_ to to affect the result. So you make promises, “If we win I’m going to get these 4 tattoos”. And we won, it was incredible, it was what I’d been waiting for since I was a boy of 8 in 1986 waving a flag sitting on my father’s shoulders. (my dad died in June, 2022, we carried a small photo of him to the Obelisk in the celebrations). But now another world cup is rapidly approaching, I need to make good on my promise and I’m terrified because I don’t know nothing about tattoos and the whole thing fits my personal weak points: 1. Talking to strangers 2. Deciding if said stranger can be trusted With a substantial amount of money and may be even personal health in question if I fail on 2. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/28 "2025-06-10T12:57:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My disapproval of my son’s tattoos was refuted by other members of the family who declared me to be an old fart out of touch with the modern world. I’m with you. When I look at a guy with tattoos, I find him about as sexy as a tagged railroad car. Tattoos are the graffiti of the human body as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/29 "2025-06-10T13:01:45Z")
I’m squarely in the old fart zone too. It’s self-vandalism, period. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/30 "2025-06-10T13:04:28Z")
There are ugly tattoos and beautiful tattoos. Most are neither extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/31 "2025-06-10T13:21:21Z")
I now have 9 tattoos. They started with a memorial one in memory of my boyfriend that passed away much too soon. Each one that I have tells a story about something or someone important in my life. There’s one about autism, one about eating disorders, and another about mental illness in general, plus a few other stories as well. I see them as beautiful representations of who I am and what my life is about. I realize that others may choose to tell their stories in different ways and that is solely up to them. For me, though, I am happy to broadcast important bits of my life the way that I do and that is enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/32 "2025-06-10T14:29:39Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Tattoos are the graffiti of the human body as far as I’m concerned. One man’s graffiti is another man’s fresco. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/33 "2025-06-10T14:36:18Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > - Diego Armando Maradona > - Lionel Andres Messi > - Emiliano Damian “Dibu” Martinez. > - The “Five of Cups” card of the Spanish cards suit. Design idea: draw the Five of Cups inside a heraldic shield, and under it draw a three-piece heraldic ribbon, like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Listel_3_emplacements_-_03.svg/2560px-Listel_3_emplacements_-_03.svg.png), with the last name of of each football player in each section. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/34 "2025-06-10T14:52:33Z")
That is a great idea, thanks!, I was thinking about those lines but with images instead of names, which could get very complex. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/35 "2025-06-10T15:03:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > One man’s graffiti is another man’s fresco. Absolutely, that’s why I always smile and am polite when someone proudly shows be a new tat. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/36 "2025-06-10T15:07:33Z")
Personally I think it’s awesome that you’re so passionate about soccer and keeping your promises to the (soccer) gods. Don’t listen to the thread shitters, go for it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/37 "2025-06-10T15:08:10Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Deciding if said stranger can be trusted Do you have friends or acquaintances who are tatted? You could ask them for a trustworthy and competent tattoo artist, and also value the work they got from them. ETA: and I strongly advise against getting the pictures of your heroes tatted. That requires a really good artist, a lot of time (=longer pain) and thus much money. I’ve seen tattoos of faces by lesser artists, and they’re often terrible and easily look like caricatures. (like the face of someone’s baby that looked like a little, horrible demon) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/38 "2025-06-10T15:14:43Z")
I have one, but the places he knows are in the other side of the city, think a 2 hour commute, also he told me they do more stylistic designs, not photos of people. With **Alessan** ’s suggestion though I could do it there, I was going to contact my friend soon about that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/39 "2025-06-10T15:24:50Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > ETA: and I strongly advise against getting the pictures of your heroes tatted. +1 to this. What if one of those guys turns out to be a schmuck, or gets metoo’d? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368/40 "2025-06-10T15:27:31Z")
That’s not an issue, once someone wins the world cup he achieves the pantheon, if he later turns out to be a douchebag or does something horrible that’s on their _human_ aspect, their _divine_ aspect is untouched. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teach-me-about-tattoos/1019368.md?page=3)