The Power of Our Tattoos
Today is as good a time as any to let you in on a little secret: I don’t have a single tattoo. When we’re out together, this is one of the only ways the photographers can tell the difference between Angelina Jolie and me. It’s so convenient for us all, especially Brad, bless his heart!
The fact that I’ve chosen to remain untattooed confirms a Pew Research Center study that found only 10% of Americans over 41 are tattooed, while among 18-25-year-olds, the figure is 33.3%, and in the 25-40 year-old set — which includes the 36-year-old Ms. Jolie — it’s an eye-popping 40%.
And they’re keeping the country’s estimated 15,000 tattoo parlors busy: it’s a $2.3 billion a year business, according to a 2010 report. No Obama bailout for them.
TATTOOS ARE NEITHER A NEW PHENOMENON NOR — AS SOME FEAR – OMENS OF AN IMMINENT ARMAGEDDON
Despite their lack of popularity among the over-41 set, tattoos have enjoyed a long, checkered (as well as polka-dotted, striped, snaked, astrologically signed, etc.) history.
Perfectly preserved Egyptian mummies have been unearthed adorned with them; prehistoric remains in Russia, preserved by millennia of snow and ice, have been excavated with them; Polynesian Islanders in the South Pacific, one of whose languages is at the etymological root of the English word “tattoo” (Tahitian “tatu”), have decorated their faces and bodies with designs since antiquity. Tattooing has been practiced all over the world in every historical era.
To get away from them today, you’d probably have to spend some quality time in North Korea, which, because it’s an oxymoron, you cannot do. In addition, even Mrs. Clinton’s feckless and negligent State Department warns against going there.
I can count on one hand the number of tattoos that I’ve thought looked interesting and ‘cool’. The others looked ho-hum or stupid. Especially stupid are the neck tattoos on girls. If I had a daughter and she came home with two big stars on her neck like the young girl who checked me out at Target the other day, I would kill the tattoo artist.
It’s a good thing people don’t get tattoos to impress you, then!
Seriously though, there are a lot of people getting generic tattoos (Nautical stars and the like) because they think they look cool and with no knowledge of the long running symbolism.
Obviously, they aren’t getting tattoos to impress me. But they are getting them to make an impression and the impression I’m getting is usually that this person looks stupid for letting some ass scrawl on his/her body with indelible ink.
Tattoos on a woman are a form of self mutilation. They do not enhance beauty; quite the opposite. Tattoos announce a sense of inadequacy; a need for yet more adornment to what is perceived as a defective body image. And as the female body ages, that cool tattoo gets sadder and sadder. Girls, let the guys have them, it’s the least of their problems.
And as the female body ages, that cool tattoo gets sadder and sadder.
As any body ages, tattoos take on a worn haggard look. Take a look at a tat that has been on somebody for 20 years. It is damn ugly and when they are plastered all over the neck and throats and arms of what were once young and attractive women, well, you can imagine what so many of this current generation are going to look like long after they have left their foolish years behind.
Fortunately, I don’t care.
For some of us…
The worn and haggard look of ancient tattoos on old men was the REASON we got them for ourselves,
when we were no longer boys..
Something about these quiet old gentlemen tending their laws, or going to church, with black/green smudges visable under their shirts…smeared and wrinkley block letters, barely recognizable anchors, ropes and rifles…ship wheels, and shapely women in hula skirts and sailor hats, with old fashioned names like Mabel and Gladice…hearts, daggars and stars on their forearms and biceps…these all spoke quietly to us…these told us that SOME neighbors were more than they seemed.
More than they acted, more than they spoke…they belonged to something…something already done, and long ago…something you couldnt just “join” now, by saying so. Something bigger than the life of bicycles, baseball, and paper routes…of mortgages, second cars, and a spare bedroom over the garage.
These were the guys that made the tire swings go higher than your mom would have allowed, that let you jump off their garage roof shouting “geronimo”, and encouraged you to mount that old lawn mower engine onto a bicycle frame. That taught you to tie knots, and sharpen a knife.
These were the guys who never bragged, never shouted, never cursed in front of us.
And strangely, guys who never showed off their tattooos.
They were just there, visable under their shirts. Sometimes we’d catch a peek when their sleeves were rolled up, or if they wore a t-shirt in the summer. We’d never ask them what they were, but we would guess among ourselves…
Army. Marines. Navy. Guadalcanal, Normandy. The Bulge. Iwo.
Places only Gigantic Heroes were from, back from when the world was different…from before they lived right next door, quiet and humble, showing you how a crecent wrench works, so you could fix your OWN bicycle.
Guys who were men, way before they were old.
Guys that kids dreamed they could be could be someday, but knew it just wasnt possible…
And the tattoos WE eventually got for ourselves, as young riflemen and sailors patrolling The World Already Made Safe, werent really for us….
It was for them. So thats someday, when ours too were old and worn and haggard, we could dare pretend that these old guys were now our brothers.
That was very well said. You are an excellent writer. Although some here might not agree with what you said I certainly do. I hope that at least a few of the guys that you are speaking of will see this.
Thanks Lee,
“I hope that at least a few of the guys that you are speaking of will see this”
Thats why I wrote it, they’re all mostly gone now.
As per Lee in Phoenix, very nicely written. Sadly, IMHO, tattoos these days are less a visible tribute to love, honour, and duty, but more a self-indulgent exercise of one’s personal motto transcribed into the characters of a different language.
It seems to me it’s more about expressing individualism than solidarity and cohesion (of course military personnel excepted).
+1
Good post. Thanks.
wow. poetry.who knew? thanks.
You have a way with words. I felt the same way about these men, mostly Uncles, and neighbors. These were the guys you could always count on, for help to fix your bicycle, or to find an odd job for you to do when you needed a few extra bucks, and they could always sharpen your pocketknife to a razor edge. These men must shake their heads in wonder at some of the “modern” men who sit on the roadside, windows up, and doors locked, awaiting rescue for a flat tire.
The Root 83: Your post nearly moved me to tears to mourn the loss of those amazing fathers and grandfathers from the era of when men were men of character and integrity and we women were proud to share our lives with them.
Poignant- and you do not need to pretend-those who have served are Brothers in Arms-it matters little whether the death in the air is a bullet from a Mauser or a Kalashnikov. or a Brown Bess.
You are one of the most closeminded women I have come across. Just as I read your comment, it made me believe I was in another era. I think you haven’t heard the phrase: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I have 2 tattos and trust me, I don’t feel multilated and people who see it and appreciate art in general, love it and don’t see it that way. It’s called self expression not a masoquistic act! It’s obvious, the body ages. So what? I don’t know how old you are, but they day you start getting saggy skin I bet you won’t stop using makeup even if you can’t appreciate it the way you did 30 years ago, am I right? You like it you wear it!
Comment going straight to CARLA
(And those women who think alike)
My co-worker always says of my cynicism, “You must have taken the red pill very early in life.” He’s right. I had an epiphany in those times, when I saw on the fledging MTV, Martha Quinn interview some girls in line for Madonna’s show. They were of course dressed identically to each other, and to their Material Girl idol. Martha asks one, “Why do you dress like Madonna,?” To which she replied, “To express my individuality.”
This is how I feel about 99% of tattoos. I used to pick on female co-workers who pretty much would say the same thing concerning their “tramp stamp.” I would ask the same question that Martha Quinn posed to those teens. Why? To which they would almost repeat the answer verbatim. I would then ask them to tell me which girl in the shop didn’t have one. Of course, they could not identify anyone who didn’t have one. I rue my future nursing home days that I have to spend with these women and their saggy barbed wire etched arms.
It will be thrilling in fifty years to see the Jordans and Jareds with Ensure pouring out of the holes in their cheeks
Well stated – tattoos are one of my major pet peeves – don’t get me started on piercings – is it really necessary to turn one’s body into a bulletin board for everyone to see?
Thanks Tattoo People – I don’t want to know everything about you from looking at your arms or neck. And most tattoos look like they are created by the people who create the velvet pictures of dogs playing poker.
and as Belladona wisely advises – if you absolutely, positively insist on getting a tattoo, then for heaven’s sake make sure the person knows what he is doing – in addition to the example she gave – check this out – http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/brad-marchand-confirms-his-stanley-cup-tattoo-wasnt-spell-checked?urn=nhl,wp13420
Great piece, Belladonna!
I have wondered if the popularity of tatoos has anything to do with multiculturalism. Primitive cultures, after all, so the reasoning goes, have just as much validity as the western culture that has invented the electrical grid, the internal combustion engine, vaccines, and has put men on the moon.
I recently got an estimate for some work from an obviously intelligent young electrician. I plan to hire him, but his numerous tatoos and piercings, in the eyes of others, could prevent him from getting jobs.
Tattoos and piercings suggest an ability to bear pain and a willingness to inflict pain on others, thus advertising oneself as a potentially dangerous person. Getting tattooed or pierced is much easier than, say, learning karate or how to handle a gun and thus becoming a dangerous person for real.
ElisaPardo #5:
Indeed it has a lot to do with multiculturalism, and the truly massive forces Defining Deviancy Down. The Rousseauvian worship of primitives began the trend in the late 1800s.
That tattoos-expensively applied to the less-than-well-informed, whose financial resources are limited-are so widespread tells me we have not yet hit a financial bottom.
If you had a large birthmark on your face, you’d go to a plastic surgeon to have it removed. People are shaken and devastated by a tiny scar from a car accident that no one can see without standing 6″ away. But yet having huge blotches of black ink discoloring their skin is fine. I don’t get it. Unless it’s about making themselves ugly as a reflection of how ugly they believe the world is.
For girls, it’s a lot about being tough. That’s a big thing with girls these days.
From a middle America unwashed clinger of his weapon, and Bible the following is how I understood tats. It is not permited to add anything on your body, as it is suppose to be kept as the Temple of G-d.
Now, before any of you pagans get your panties in a knot, let me add my USMC tat freaked out my family. I did not feel it was a sin, and if G-d wants it off my body he will do so soon enough.
I was given as a boy the impression tats are a part of primitive cultures, and pagans. That is why it is looked down on within a lot of Christian areas. That being written, a lot of pagans have been murdered by so called Christians, so all I was doing was trying to express why tats are only 10% in the over 40 pracket, and under 40 through the roof.
That is about how long Christianity has been under attack in America, and shows how an agenda can change a culture. Tats being one example.
Leatherneck, unless when you say ‘Bible’ you meant ‘Torah’, your impression is a bit misled.
The only portion of the bible that says ANYTHING about tattoos is Leviticus 19:28. Leviticus also says that we shouldn’t be shaving the sides of our beards. The big problem with people using Leviticus as the basis of a religious anti-tattoo argument is that as Christians, Leviticus doesn’t really apply to us!
Leviticus was basically a set of rules for the Jews soon after their release from Egypt, written with the sole intent of saying ‘Jews, I’ve lead you out of the Pharoah’s land, so don’t act like they did!’
As Christians, we don’t really have to keep the vast majority of Jewish law. The idea that Leviticus, a condition of the covenant with the Jews that we Christians don’t really enjoy, applies to us would also mean that the rest of their law applies to us, so if you’ve eaten bacon or done work on the sabbath, you’re boned. Also, the sabbath is on friday night to saturday night, and we’re totally wrong on this sunday thing!
So, unless you’re practicing idolatry with that tattoo and worshipping it more than God, you’re fine.
I was already aware of all that you wrote. Perhaps, others were not.
What I stated I was doing was explaining how the thoughts of many were concerning tats.
Don’t forget, Christmas, and Easter are pagan Holidays. Don’t be having Easter egg hunts, or wanting rabbits. Just the importance of Passover, and what Christ did for us.
#8, my tat can’t be seen unless I take my shirt off. However, it is a reminder of what I earned, and Death before Dishonor.
Just so it’s not “Smeper Fi”
Sp on purpose? A joke? Like, if you can catch bullets you can be a Marine?
Heh, not quite. Was referring to the next-to-last image on page 4 in the article.
I’ve always thought tattoos were disgusting on people. The mere thought that I would be a walking billboard or canvas for somebody else’s “artwork” leaves me cold. I also think it’s a desperate cry for attention for the people who get them. Why else would they do it, except to force people look at them? No, what these people need is a good therapist, NOT a tattoo.
To me tattoos and piercings are a sign of faddish and short-sighted youthful thinking. I tell my children that outlandish tattoos and piercings will affect their job prospects. As a Director at a Fortune 500 company I won’t hire someone without a professional appearance and tattoos and piercings are anything but professional. Think of your futures kids. Being cool and trendy doesn’t pay the bills and are something you’re likely to regret as you mature.
Eric, have you heard of Gamestop? The multi-billion dollar business that is also on the Fortune 500 list? Their founder and owner (and I believe he’s still the CEO) has sleeves. Both arms, entirely tattooed.
There’s also a lot of people in our military with tattoos, and I’m not talking about the average grunt 11B with his GED or highschool diploma. No, go see the guys in the SF Q courses. Lot of tattoos.
There’s a difference between ‘I won’t hire this guy because he has tattoos on his neck and/or hands’ versus ‘I won’t hire this guy because there’s an easily concealed tattoo on his arm. And suggesting that a tattoo makes him less fit to work for your company is just silly.
“No, go see the guys in the SF Q courses. Lot of tattoos.”
I went throught the SFAS course and didn’t see too many, but that was a long time ago. In fact with the green berets I knew, they discouraged it while you were still actitve duty.
The times, they are a changin.
Lot of tattoos. As in easily 1 in 3, and more realistically closer to 3 in 8.
And the UCMJ has gotten a lot more lax on tattoos these days. Still nothing offensive or gang/racist, but other than that, it’s mostly ok.
The only time I’ve seriously considered getting a tattoo was at the end of Army Infantry training. Several of my buddies and I discussed getting “Government Inspected Meat” tattooed on our butts. However, that was in 1975 and the Army seriously discouraged that sort of thing, especially for anyone considering Special Forces. On the one hand, if you got sick from the tattoo (standards for cleanliness weren’t very high at tattoo parlors back then), they threatened to charge us with destruction of government property (no, I’m not kidding). On the other hand, if you were in Special Forces and operating clandestinely, they didn’t want any markings on your body that would identify you as an American.
The rules for tattoos are very different today. If someone wants to get a tat, that’s their business. I have no interest in getting one. If I were hiring people, I think it’d be a problem only in the extreme cases (e.g. facial tats) of people who’re interacting with conservative clients. Some of my coworkers have fairly extensive tattoos and it doesn’t hinder their ability to do their jobs.
I do predict that in 10-20 years time, there will be a booming market for tattoo removal as well as correcting the scars from body piercing.
“I do predict that in 10-20 years time, there will be a booming market for tattoo removal as well as correcting the scars from body piercing.”
I’ve thought the same thing lately. I got my first tat (a completely original drawing of a 4 leaf clover with a Texas flag inside) when I was 18; I got two skulls in ’08, even though I always said I’d never have skulls. Fast forward to a wonderful Groupon for 6 removal sessions for 75% off at a local removal place and I’m 1/3 of the way toward a tattoo-free existence.
People with tats ask me why I’m getting them removed (the underlying sentiment being that I’m stupid for doing it) and I tell them: Well, I’m not 18 anymore. The things that were cool back then aren’t necessarily cool at 37. Plus, I have a 2-year-old son now, and I don’t want him to see his daddy with regret on his skin.
You might have mentioned that the Bible proscribes tatoos. Take that and the increasing “paganization” of our formerly Christian roots and then you might begin to understand how deep the attempts to Marxify the west have taken hold. Piercings, tattoos were once the mark of a primitive, a pagan, someone whose culture was not considered high enough to emulate. Not anymore. The lower we go, the louder the cheering. It’s the elevation of the low and the diminution of the formerly elevated. Take a good look at all those colorful pictures. Because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. None of which tells a pretty story.
You might have mentioned that said biblical verse only applies to the Jews. As Christians, we don’t follow Jewish law.
By the way, the introduction of tattooing into the Western World wasn’t as a low class thing. In fact, it was mostly an upper class thing, a long lasting souvenir for wealthy visitors to the orient. It didn’t really get the low class connotations until the Sailor Jerry days, when it was the sign of naval men, a fairly rowdy bunch.
Since Christianity incorporate both the New and Old Testament, so what? The Christians believe in the 10 commandments too. Or is that just a “Jewish thing”? The fact is it DID get the lower class connotation and it stuck. And its being lauded for subversive reasons. Like much of the cultural filth we are witnessing. Thanks for the brief history lesson, but it changes…nothing.
ah yes, tattoos. Once upon a time (a time when you and I were growing up) a tattoo was a mark of a certain socio-economic class. Then came the gangsta look and everyone wanting to ‘look bad’.
The other day at the mall I saw a young lady with a bare midriff sporting a dolphin tattoo on her tight flat belly. I chuckled knowing that in 20 years when that belly isn’t so flat anymore Flipper will look more like Shamu.
“I chuckled knowing that in 20 years when that belly isn’t so flat anymore Flipper will look more like Shamu.”
LOL! Perhaps at some point someone will tell her that.
A sight like that always had me shaking my head over tattoos. Some 22 years ago, a young woman in a club tied her shirt up to reveal a large coiled snake on her abdomen. I often think, that thing must be an anaconda by now.
As I’ve often said about the cutie with the butterfly tattooed on the small of her back…
“Enjoy it now honey because 20 years and three or four kids later, that thing is gonna be a frikkin’ EAGLE.”
I don’t “get” uh…”body art”. Mostly I find it off-putting. Especially on a woman who would otherwise be very attractive to me. I delight in nature’s own look and need no ink on it to keep it appealing.
And, as has been said before, sure, the barbed wire around the biceps…the “sleeves” and all that…what a waste of money. And, when you get old and stop going to the gym, the barbed wire will simply encircle your flabby, fat arm and make people wonder what was up with that.
Not that care or occupy a whole lot of time thinking about this stuff. My life is plenty busy enough but since the subject is here, my 2c is just that. People can do whatever they like.
The only tattoo I ever had respect for was a Jewish friend of mine had the number done on the same location on his forearm that his grandfather had on his arm. He was a survivor of Auschwitz and when he died, his grandson chose to remember his survival and legacy in that way. To some it may seem somewhat dark…but….it kept the memory of his grandfather alive as well as never forgetting the holocaust.
Other tattoos seem just ugly to me. I do not understand the motivation, the desire, the “need”. It may have been around for thousands of years but the young set isn’t doing it to identify with Druids.
Either that you figured everyone here was going to not-think in the same way you’re not-thinking.
“Hey, does anyone remember that thing that happened in the… 40s?”
“What thing?”
“The hollow-something. I heard it was bad or something.”
“Oh, wait–where’s Jimmy? He’s got this tattoo…”
*Jimmy arrives, stage left, in dress shirt, forearm bared.
“Thanks, Jimmy! Without you, we’d have forgotten the Holocaust!”
“Good thing we saw that tattoo before you got all flabby!”
I get it, you personally don’t like tattoos. I empathize, I don’t like your flabby arms, saggy butt, or short close cropped hair.
Now try not covering yourself with shame as you repeatedly fail to objectively justify a subjective preference.
At least when we’re looking at your flabby arms, we won’t have to wonder what you were thinking.
Thank you for self-identifying as an angry liberal who doesn’t like me because I disapprove of something.
Maybe you missed this: “People can do whatever they like.”
I said that. I would never infringe on the right of a person to do something that they want to do, provided it doesn’t hurt themselves or others.
You seem to understand things in a very shallow way. My expression of not liking tattoos has nothing to do with whether or not I prefer to do anything about it. The forum was open for opinions and I gave mine.
You, on the other hand engaged in ad hominem attacks from the very start:
“You’re a knucklehead.”
“Dunno, Fattie.”
Then there’s this: “Now try not covering yourself with shame as you repeatedly fail to objectively justify a subjective preference.”
I’m not trying to justify anything. It would seem that you are however. However, your sentence generally makes no sense. How am I trying to “objectively justify a subjective preference”?
I stated my position quite plainly. I don’t like them. I generally don’t want to engage people who have them. That’s my choice. It’s other people’s choice to get them and show them off. My lack of being impressed by them is somehow a “failure of acknowledgement of their person-hood” to you? That is, I’ve made some grave error by not liking them? I think they’re ugly. I think they’re useless. I think they are a waste of money. But I would NEVER presume to try to force anyone not to get one, not to look at them or like them. Maybe you’ve heard, “There’s no accounting for taste” or maybe your child-like mind hasn’t heard that being as you seem to have just arrived off the turnip truck.
Nor did I say that anyone who has one is less of a human-being.
But for some reason you went full guns-to-bear on my opinion. Therefore, I think you’re afraid of my opinion. Then you make remarks about “flabby arms” and the like. How would you know this? Though I can tell you that mine are not, you have made an ASSUMPTION which has thusly made an ASS out of you.
When you engage in an adult blog, remember to put on your big-boy pants and tie your shoes and try to fully comprehend what someone has written by actually thinking instead of just being angry and saying whatever stupid thing pops into your head without the benefit of recombinant DNA helping you out.
As for the “close crop hair” well…I’m actually bald. But you, sir, are an idiot and I can wear a toupee’.
P Jay,
that last line had me spitting coffee all over my keyboard-LOL!
Even if you don’t put on much (or any) weight as you age, guess what you’re gonna have, like it or not:
WRINKLES!
Your tat will look like it was done on an accordion.
Another problem: The ink in those once-crisp tattoo lines eventually spreads out and diffuses under the skin, so eventually you’ll end up with an indistinct blur. Black ink eventually discolors and fades to a dull grey-blue.
The only two ways to avoid that are to die young, or put off getting tats until you are old enough to know better!
I think tattoos are obscene.
I’ve counselled kids contemplating tattoos to think how that cool tattoo will look when they need a job–when they’re DESPERATE for a job. They got their tats anyway.
I noticed at Walmart the other day, while looking for something else, that they now carry tattoo “fade cream.”
That’s all we need to know about the future of the current tattoo fad.
It’s over.
I know one employer who claims that her ‘no visible tattoos’ policy is a very effective employment screen device.
Exactly! If I were hiring for a white-collar job, a visible tattoo would say to me, “I am incapable of thinking about the long-term consequences of my actions.”
uh… non visible tattoo-policy will not always keep the ones away you don’t want… imagine they come in a burqa… lol
That’s a feature, not a bug–if you’re unemployable, you never have to work.
There is no bumper sticker on earth so clever or meaningful that you won’t be sick of it five years later, and ready to take it off your car.
Tattoos are non-removable bumper stickers for your body.
I dated a woman once who had her previous boyfriend’s name, in the possessive, tattooed, let’s say in the shaved area, small font, thankfully. Can you say awkward moment for her when I noticed it? We drifted apart but a few years later hooked up again. She’d covered it with a small rose. Could have been worse, she could have just tattooed a line through it and started a list.
I have a tattoo, I got it to cover a burn that was pretty much disgusting. It was approximately silver dollar in size and looked nasty. Now, getting a tattoo on a burn is not like getting a tattoo on normal skin, no matter where it is. The part of the tattoo that was on the normal skin was like getting a little needle but the burned area, talk about pain!
Anyway, that one turned out pretty good and I will not get any others.
Now, this was not the first tattoo, the other was a tattoo of a hundred dollar bill. I got that one because my girl always liked to go out and spend money, after getting the tattoo she could stay at home and blow a Benjamin any time she wanted! Yeah, that was a joke.
I only have one thing to say: Real men & real women don’t get tattoos!
One thing to say and that’s how you spend it?
Sure they do–or are you implying only cyborgs have tattoos?
Wait, I know! You mean that you don’t like tattoos.
That’s what you meant, right?
Tattoos are like student loan debt – neither can be discharged in bankruptcy so it takes a lot of effort to rid yourself of them. And just as too much student loan debt can keep you from getting a job (you’re a security risk), too many tattoos will do the same. When you’re hired you become a public face for that company and visible tattoos will more likely discourage than encourage the clientele. When you’re fired for displaying your “Stick it to the Man” tattoo it will be too late to recall that you have no free speech rights on private property.
It is a bit of a mystery though, you’d got to jail for giving your 16 year-old a beer but not for allowing a tattoo. One will pass in a few hours, the other lasts a lifetime. I guess that’s alright, teenagers are known for their excellent decision making. Oops, I forgot, anybody below the age of 26 is now still considered a child so unless they’re “one score and 6″ they might be better of avoiding the permanent ink on both student loan contracts and tattoos.
My own personal take on why people generally get tattoos is the cool factor, something to make them stand out. The problem is that the more people who dress cool the more one has to up the ante to stay ahead of the game. A t-shirt that says “I am cool” would be cheaper, easier to remove and no less stupid. Today the equivalent of a tattoo, jeans and a leather jacket is to not wear one. Is anything more pitiful then the posers who stream to the motorcycle tupperware/Girl Scout party at Sturgess every year?
People, again I’m speaking generally, who get tattoos seem to use them in place of experience. My impression of people with tattoos is that there is a correlation between how little they’ve done they can actually brag about and the size and number of tattoos. People I’ve met in my life who’ve done extraordinary things seem to feel little need to advertise the fact and don’t do those things to tell others but simply to do them. Many a time I’ve sat at dinner and listened to something like a “fascinating” story a women told of a guy who had a girlfriend from Iceland at one time who smoked cigars – she thought that was wild. Meantime, people who did things so wild they were reluctant to speak about them for reasons of legality or modesty smiled quietly.
What I learned is that people don’t really want to know people who are actually wild – that’s fine for movies and books, and that it’s far cooler to wear your tattoos on the inside. Have movies done this to us? Are we all the stars of our own movies and everyone else cardboard cutouts. If so, that’s a lot o cardboard cutouts looking at other cardboard cutouts.
….thanks for expressing that sensible comment so well.
….permit me to add that I think it’s also a defiant expression of “Yes! I! Can! And! I! Did!”
My favorite tattoo story. At the cafe where I eat breakfast every morning, our waitress, a beautiful young thing showed up with a tattoo of Japenese symbols on her shoulder. We asked what it said and she told us something or other. My friend Larry told her that he drove truck in Japan, and he was pretty sure it said “wide load”!
it’s quite trendy to have “tribal” tattoos, even Maori facial designs. One white chap, in New Zealand, had tattoos all over his face but it did not impress the local Maoris; they just ridiculed him; it seems that his tattoo’s design effectively said, “I am a Samoan slave-girl”.
Tattoo’s are for people with low self esteem who have an overwhelming desire either to fit in, be accepted by the herd, or are rebelling against something or other. How do I spell Tattoo? ; D-O-U-C-H-E-B-A-G.
Tattoos are like any other form of art. For every masterpiece , there are a million “Dogs playing Poker”
Albeit I have seen some incredibly beautiful tattoos on people, I could never bring myself to get one for one simple reason: They are sleazy.
I love tattoos. Nothing tells you that the person you are taking to is a moron clearer than a tattoo.
Actually, it would be a lot clearer if folks comments followed them around.
Then you wouldn’t have to rely on a tattoo–you’d actually know what is (or isn’t) in their mind.
I guess I’m Recalcetrant;
I have always beleived that a Tattoo is something you should wake up with wondering how the heck it got there.
I love the generalities people like to make. I agree that too many young people get tattoos for the cool factor without thinking about the consequences of their actions. I teach high school and some of the crap I see kids put on their bodies is heart breaking. I admit to having two tattoos. I got the first after graduating college. My wife and I talked about what I would get for a while and she ended up purchasing it as a graduation gift. It’s old and faded now that I am 40, I have never regretted getting it. It means something to me even though it winks a bit on my ever loosening skin. I got it for me.
I recently got a second piece. The tattoo is the result of 11 years of playing with designs and colors. I consulted with the artist who refined my design and I have to say I love this one as much as the first. Both will only be seen when I decide to let people see them because I am not trying to attract anyone’s attention. I got my tattoos because they are an outward reminder of who I strive to be, a martial artist who strives to achieve balance through unity of mind, body, and spirit, and a family man who puts the needs of his wife and children before his own.
Judge me as you will. I just wanted to offer another opinion.
Many’s the Sailor or Marine, Army or Air Force that have been out drinking with their buddies. Often one of them gets a booze induced great idea to go get a tattoo. More often than not, it ends up with only one guy actually getting one. I managed to avoid that trap by merely stating I’ve got enough marks on my body for free without paying someone to put another one on me. My money was better spent investing in my hangover. Radar had the right idea in one episode of M*A*S*H when he talked himself into getting one. He came back with a little teddy bear drawn on his butt cheek, easily washed off the next time he took a shower. ( Hawkeye noted “Oh my god, it is permanent!”)
Belladonna, in my experience, unless you’re a Maori, a stone-cold biker, or some absolute freak, people get tats to gain street cred. It’s as if they assume some additional “bad ass” because they’re inked.
Seriously. I see this in the “Student Ghetto” here daily.
Addendum: I am, of course, giving a free pass to soldiers, marines, merchant marines, sailors, etc. Tats are a part of their professional culture, and done for far different reasons than the average person’s need for being noticed.
In addition to soldiers/sailors I would extend a free pass to bikers, firemen/cops, and even convicts, I suppose.
What do they all have in common? Their very livelihood involves putting their life at risk.
Oh, and I forgot: Pirates, too.
I dunno. I didn’t get ink until I was fifty, and since I work for a government contractor, I had it put out of regular workday view. Like the article says, some people get will get a picture of an animal (real or mythic) to “sense that he or she partakes of the animal’s power….” I went that route but for another reason.
I have come back from seeming death twice: once mentally, once physically. These are long stories; I’ll not bore you with the details. There’s an animal that symbolically tells my story, and I decided I had to have it in ink. This is why I have a phoenix over my left deltoid with a long tail over my trapezius. It cost a big chunk of money and took three long sessions. It’s definitely easier on the eye than that doodle art Janeane Garofalo got.
Following a 20 year military career, I decided it was my time. I was working in San Jose at the time, 2 months after my retirement, and I found a reputable parlor in San Fran (Lyle Tuttle’s) to have it done. It’s an eagle, on my right shoulder. Quite well done by Tanya Vixx (thanks, Tanya!). I’ve no regrets.
A second tat on my left shoulder came a couple years later. An American Flag showing through what appears to be torn flesh. From Tiger Jimmy’s in San Diego. Again, no regrets.
Maybe it’s that I waited until I was 40+ to get them… whatever. I like mine. They mean quite a lot to me.
As an over 40, I find the tatoo phenomenon very disturbing and repellent. As you point out Belladonna, what are these people going to do when they’re 60 and they have this garbage all over themselves? The pain and expense!! Also as a Jew, I grew up with the understanding that Jews aren’t supposed to mutilate their bodies so out of curiousity I wonder how many Jewish people are doing this?
Rachel, ask any Jew over 80 years old what they think of tattoos. I’m sure the few of them left could show you theirs though it might be a bit hard to read now.
Except, of course, the one’s with Scars where the red hot crowbar was dragged across the tattoo to blot it out.
Actually, the tattoos you mentioned on elderly Jewish people are quite legible.
I’ve known several elderly Jewish people whose numbers are plainly visible and distinct. Some of them made sure their arms with the numbers are exposed so people can see them. Of course those tats actually have a serious meaning. One that they wanted to whole world to see and remember.
As for me, I would never get a tattoo. I have to change the art on my walls every couple of years because I get sick of looking at the same pictures after a while. I’m pretty sure the same thing would happen if I got a tattoo.
But just on the Leviticus thing, does someone have a list of which Jewish laws don’t apply anymore and which ones do? Some Christians seem to be cherry-picking their way through the Old Testament.
I’m even turned off by women wearing earrings.
I think it’s disgusting for a woman to put holes in her ears, just so she can dangle pieces of jewelry from those holes.
Excessive tattooing is a sign of mental and/or spiritual derangement. And a waste of money too….
Who decides what is excessive?
For people today, tats are an affectation, and the equivalent of a neon sign screaming ”look at me.”
At least in some primitive societies tattoos, piercings, and scarification are sometimes signs of accomplishment, are rank badges linked to major life events, or tribal identification; see, for instance Papua New Guinea (gee, I wonder if Papuan penis covers, with little feathers on top, will be the next fashion trend?) What is our excuse?
Two incidents come to mind.
A few years ago my wife and I were standing in line to check our coats at a museum, and the 20-30 year old guy in front of us, we could see from the back, had his head shaved, crossed black roses tattooed on his neck, spider webs from his ears forward to his eye sockets, and when he turned around, we could see that he had a huge pentagram tat that covered the whole top of his head, this was one weird and scary dude.
The other memorable incident was when I happened to be shopping at a book/music store in Old Town Alexandria, VA. As I recall, the college aged girl behind the checkout counter had a spiked dog collar around her neck, her hair had a bright purple/red streak died through it, she had a ring in her ear and a chain from that ring to a stud on the side of her nose, several rings in each eyebrow, multiple rings in the edges of her ears, and one of those large, heavy, door-knocker type rings in her nose. Boy, what a doll! More attractive to magnets, I would think, than to many young guys.
From being a “corpsman,” I can tell you that even little puncture wounds around the head area leave scars and pockmarks that can be hard to obliterate—I can just see her—and many others—particularly women– a few decades hence.
It’s going to be a sad, bedraggled group of oldsters that this generation is going to become, with all their stretched coolness, defiance, and individuality hidden under various cover-ups.
P.S.—show me a guy or girl with lots of tats, and I’ll show you someone who is carrying around a very visible scorecard, showing a low score for intelligence and thinking ahead (and maybe some time in the can); I wouldn’t hire them.
This column will cause troubles.
Now the lefties will ask the Catholic Church to pay for tattoos for everybody.
Heh.
“I went bankrupt getting a tattoo.” — “Lydia” Fluke
Apostic, I just read your comment and GOL’ed. I giggled out loud.
I blame the current rage for tatoos on former Secretary of State George Shultz. I believe the young folks are just emulating Mr. Shultz.
Slightly off topic but I have three abdominal tattoos, each the size of a dot, the purpose being triangulation targeting for external beam radiation for cancer treatment. They were part of a process that saved my life. If a full body Hokusai wave had been necessary, I would have gone for it. To each his or her own. Freedom is a wonderful thing.
What’s the difference between a tattoo on a girl and one on a side of beef? It’s legal to barbeque the beef. I have absolutely no use for tattoos except as used to identify livestock.
“Sailor Jerry” Collins was the pre-eminant american tattoo artist of the 20th century. He learned to tattoo as a young hobo riding the rails in the 1920′s. As an enlisted man in the US Navy, native Hawaiian tattoo artists helped him to perfect his craft.
“Sailor Jerry” was a great american and a true badass. He was also a political visionary. He had a radio show in Hawaii where he warned against the infiltration of liberals into our political system.
Women always say they do not like badass guys, but who gets all the girls.
To me, tattoos have always looked like smudges of dirt on the skin. A nurse friend once jokingly demonstrated how, when they get an old person with a tattoo in the emergency room, they have to stretch that person’s skin out to see what the tattoo was supposed to be. I can’t even look at people with piercings in their face. People aren’t thinking when they do something so permanent to themselves.
well, having been naturally tattooed at birth with freckles (thousands of them), i have no desire to get any ink ! i don’t need no stinkin tattoo to be hip or trendy or prove i’m a badass, i got angel kisses (that’s what my mom called them) !
I am in the 40% group. I got my 1st tattoo the minute I turned 18. I married a Marine with aspirations of becoming a tattoo artist someday. However, my tattoos are meaningful to me. I have 4 & they signify things that are absolutely meaningful to me, my 20 yr marriage, birth of my children, my religious conversion. I realize others may not see the beauty of this art form & I find it amusing to sometimes see others reaction to my outward very well dressed,very conservative,very devoutly religious Catholic self juxtaposed with my very obvious Jesus tattoo & others. It does not make me stupid,criminal,uneducated, etc. In my case and many others I know, it IS our way of expressing ourselves despite the bigoted opinions of those who cant see past the surface & stick to old,outdated opinions of the tattooed
I can take them or leave them, but would never get one myself. They are an interesting cultural phenomenon.
I read an essay a few years ago that unfortunately I can’t find now. It pointed out, as we all know, the children of these heavily tattooed people are going to grow up thinking that tats are the uncoolest things in the world. After all, their parents have them, right?
20 years from now, the “tramp stamp” will be universally known as the “granny tat”
Actually, my teen & tween have been pestering for their own tattoo because they see many people in their lives with them. As their sensible mum, I refuse and tell them absolutely not until they are old enough to know the consiquences.
My maiden aunt got a tattoo when in her 70′s. Shocked the crap out of our whole family! I just decided the other day to get one and I’m not a youngster myself. I think tattoos are like lots of things – one or two, ok but it’s easy to overdo it. Now facial piercings and those stretched ear holes. Ugh. That’s another deal entirely. I sure hate seeing that ugly crap on cashiers at Target. Go work in a music store (I am a HUGE music fan btw).
Irezumi
Google it.
When my grandcildren want to shock me, they tell me they just got a tattoo. I recently saw a very well and expensively dressed middle-aged woman with a tattoo covering an entire arm. Now that shocked me.
Sorry, I think tatoos are ugly and I laugh when I think what the tatoos will look like when they are old and have wrinkled skin.
I also wonder what G-d must think of the scourge and desecration of a G-d given body.
Dunno, Fattie.
Loose some weight then come back.
Poor eShamus. Can’t come up with any other arguments than calling people fat. Someone throw him a few one-liners he can reuse, please!
um. I like them. haven’t got one, but that’s mostly circumstances.
I got my last job by pulling up the ER’s sleeve to see his tat. It’s an easy way to see what’s important to a person. He had a really nice tribal sleeve done to celebrate the birth of his son, and to remind himself to be a great dad. I started working at his company after that. Great guy.
The prettiest one I saw for a while was a marine who had just rotated back from Iraq. His whole unit got a meat-tag- their military ID tatted on their torso and legs, so if they got blown up, someone could collect and identify the pieces. He also had the unit mascot across his upper arm. It was gorgeous. He looked like Ken-doll, he was married to a girl who looked like Barbie (I’m saying both of these things as compliments) he was seriously gorgeous all on his own, and that extra bit of fatalism, patriotism, and brotherhood, really tipped him over into male perfection. Those two are going to have really beautiful children.
Spouse hasn’t got one, either. Again, circumstances.
Why does everyone keep assigning “christian” or “not christian” to fads and styles? One of the funniest things to watch last summer was the head of the girls’ squad of VBS volunteers whack her considerable long, tanned, toned leg up onto the library table to show off her new Kairos in Greek tattoo above her ankle. This was followed by the lead guy volunteer going nearly Wile E Coyote pursuing a road-runner after her, except clean-cut, nice, positive, supportive…the poor guy nearly tripped over his tongue drooping to the floor. It was more fun than a beach movie starring 20 year olds acting like teens. And since they are both in college in good majors, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he caught her.
My kids probably won’t get them b/c they are all over the parents in this town. It’s not pretty during the summer at the pool, seeing aged- out, hagged out tats on parents. My friend from out of town gets nervous when he comes up- in his town, tats are for scary criminal types. He jokes that my kids will rebel by tatting up. I tell him the only rebellion left is to become a luchadero. Which is the stated life goal of at least two of their friends, so I’m thinking that’s maybe not very rebellious at all. And their Dad likes Forrest Griffin. Oy. I’m not sure they can rebel in any way that would make us flip out. Drugs. failing school. that’s about it.
Can we have giant David Beckham photos to study? for scholarly reasons?
What’s up with the Chinese symbols?
You think you look cool having “Beef with Broccoli” emblazoned on your forearm??
Wow ! After reading all the nasty , vile , judgemental comments , I feel like I accidentally watched MSNBC and I need to take a shower. So much for individuality , lets all put our brownshirts on and put those stupid , moronic , attention seeking , douchebag losers in their place !!!! Now I know how liberals got to the point they are . Its a very fine line . Thanks For the education.
i think this is the whole point
where is the individuality when everyone has one?
Wow, so much for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
By the way:
Matthew 7
1- Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2- For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3- And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4- Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5- Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Why are you getting upset? The research in the article is that 10% of people over 40 have a tattoo, while nearly half the people under 40 have one. That’s the break-line between Boomers and post-Boomers.
I grew up hearing that I was a slutty tramp for not wearing beige pantyhose, even with shorts, a slutty tramp for wearing any makeup, for painting my nails, for wearing black anything, for not wearing those dinner-plate collar dresses ( google the mormon fundamentalists in texas for the look) – for living in a particular city, for not being this flavor of church, or that flavor, later….. Everybody’s appearance is subject to snotty comments from bystanders. That’s why we’re not invisible. It’s not even possible to have a completely correct outfit. If you thought rich and polished was in, you haven’t heard yourself called “boring” or “stuck up.”
this is nothing, on the judgmental scale, in the comments, compared to that blast-furnace of self-righteous stupidity. People are saying they don’t understand, or that they think they are ugly. For them, they are.
Belladonna wrote that people get them to commemorate important times in their life, or their beliefs, and that maybe it’s b/c their clothes and uniforms aren’t very individualistic. And people are writing in ” I have this tattoo, and it means a lot to me.” so it seems like the comments support the thesis of the article: boomers don’t have ‘em, post-boomers do.
If you can’t take the heat, don’t get ‘em.
I think tattoos are great… But let’s be serious here for a moment, most tattoos you see now a days are just small doodles of an animal or insect, those are great for some one who just wants something small but there are people who get ten or twenty of these all over the body. This isn’t a very nice look in my opinion it’s like your a school desk that’s seen it’s fair share of vandalism, I much rather see a large single tattoo covering an entire arm than a bunch of smaller tattoos that show no thought other than “Oh I like that design! So let’s get it!”
I have two tattoos that I got to honor my immigrant ancestors. One is of a Welsh dragon with an Irish harp in a Celtic ring for my mother’s family and the other is the Polish Orzel for my father’s family. The tattoos are on my shoulders and are not visible when in PT gear in accordance with U.S. Navy instructions. I got my tattoos because I am very proud of my family’s immigrant past and I thank God every day my ancestors had the courage to leave everything behind and come to the U.S. If I get another tattoo, it will most likely be in commemoration of my family or my military service. My wife also has several tattoos. All of them commemorate critical events in her life (marriage, the birth of our son etc.) and they are not visible when she is wearing business attire. Neither of us got our tattoos to be “cool” or follow some trend. Although I admit I am not enamored with the overly tattooed look that some might pursue, in moderation and if done for the right reasons, getting a tattoo can be a worthwhile experience.
The Marine Corps didn’t pay me to advertise, so I didn’t. They were culturally taboo in Japan, so I was glad not to have one and I remain convinced it was the right decision.
I wouldn’t interfere with what you want to do with your body. Don’t presume to interfere with what I do with my mind. I dislike tattoos and always will.
hurrah hurrah!!
I can’t think of anything I like enough to want it permanently enscribed on my flesh. Everything in this life is transitory, so I’m wary of things that are permanent.
I don’t find tattoos on women an automatic turnoff, except for the following:
1) tatoos on the chest or anywhere near the breasts. IMO, this screams “trailer park trash.”
2) on the upper arm, like a guy. “Like a guy.” Nuff said.
3) on the face
4) come to think of it, tattoos anywhere that cannot be easily covered up.
Tatoo all you want but it’s not for me and in my opinion women are more attractive without them.
http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/gallery_tats.htm
although, seriously, these unnerve me a little bit. They are very pretty. But who advertises that they are into pain and masochism? That just seems really dangerous to me, to have that out there- that someone could hurt you with your consent.
There are even temporary ones of this. It’s sort of the Howard Wolowitz of s&m, I guess. I really still can’t get my head wrapped around the idea of advertising one’s interests. I mean, what if someone knows that little bit, and is somewhat homicidal? or just gross and icky and violent? It just seems like you’re volunteering to get into the white van with FBI most wanted serial killers.
Tattooing is popular enough in this town that some of the librarians have to wear long-sleeved, high-collared shirts to go to work. I like it. Not the shirts- I kind of wish they could wear regular work shirts. The ones I’ve seen are the sort that very literate people get- visually really beautiful. There’s one library where the guy has to cover up, but the female librarian can dress up like Betty Page, which seems pretty unfair to me.
The pastor at one church we went to got up and gave an Ash Wednesday sermon about the ashes being like temporary tattoos. I don’t think it really would have gone over so well in any other town.
Women who have tatoos appear to be advertising themselves for rent by the hour.
You people surprise me.
Let me substitute ‘tattoos’ for any other voluntary body modification — are you obese? Physically unfit? Brush your teeth less than twice a day? Have short hair (if female)?
Are you now unemployable because you’re a disgusting slob and unappealing?
But you made the choice to be unattractive, to wear your sloth and gluttony where everyone can see them. Why would I hire the obese when clearly they’re lazy and lacking in diligence?
Contrarily, if you dress yourself up, is it appropriate to assert you are advertising yourself by the hour?
Do you consider such judgment unfair?
If so, consider it’s the same premise you’ve used to judge.
LOL. Tattoos are a permanent statement about a temporary feeling. Nothing like making an error permanent. Dude, hair grows back, weight comes and goes, but tats are forever. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing your logic leads you to bliding moral equivalency problems like “If Israel has a Nuke, why can’t Iran?”
Tattoos love mostly dopey young people but will settle for any aged dope. Because it’s a ‘trendy’ thing, it will eventually trend DOWN, and tat removal will trend UP. Want a growth business? Get in early
I do not even like to wear the same pair of earrings or sweater longer than a few days. Why would I decorate my body permanently? However, I love those good temporary tatoos!
LOL. Tattoos are a permanent statement about a temporary feeling. Nothing like making an error permanent. Tattoos love mostly dopey young people but will settle for any aged dope. Because it’s a ‘trendy’ thing, it will eventually trend DOWN, and tat removal will trend UP. Want a growth business? Get in early.
I do not have any tats and I’ve never wanted any. When I joined the Army it was one of my goals to come out not having any. Most of the men I admired in the service didn’t label themselves or their accomplishments. That would be detrimental to their ability to blend in an adapt to surroundings.
Personally, I see the tattoo craze not as a need to self-express but as solidarity, not with aspirations or memories, but with our misguided democratic virtues. You see I always looked up to and wanted to admire elites, whether they be soldiers or executives. Being an ordinary Joe with an ordinary income and aspiring to be like the guy in the bar was not for me. Unfortunately, our pop culture and our tastes have been inspired over the last 20 years, not by those at the top, like in times past, but from elements of the underclass.
Rap music is another example of sewage seeping up from the depths of the swamps. Our culture of sexual license, single motherhood, divorce and drug use go hand in hand with the explosion of tattoos. Unfortunately, half of those under 40 have never been given a mature hero to look up to. They obviously haven’t any ambitious career goals otherwise they wouldn’t have tattoos in places that couldn’t be covered up.