How does enjoying tattoos reflect a lack of intelligence?

Why are you giving credence to someone who believes that “adults don’t get tattoos unless they have low self-esteem or unless they lack intelligence”?

I think it’s mostly because people think too many tattoos might look disgusting and also because people that used to get tattoos were sailors and bikers and “thugs”. It still is associated with crime and someone who hasn’t gone to school.

People also don’t see them as classy and thus judge others by this standard. A lot of jobs still won’t hire someone with visible tattoos, even if they aren’t offensive. Victoria’s Secret is one place. You can’t even have one on your lower back if by some chance you bend over and it’s exposed.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has ‘em and some of them stink. others smell like roses.

Don’t worry about what others say. :)

@syz I’m not, I just want to know how that sort of opinion develops.

@Jude LOL. I use that frequently.

I actually had this opened before I read this topic Tattoos. It’s pretty amusing.

Not all, but many tattoos are designed to fit with a certain trend. They just won’t mean the same thing in 50 years but they’ll still be there.

Getting something permanent on your body that reflects the style of “right now” is short sighted and might create the argument that the person lacked intelligence or was getting a tattoo to fit in and build confidence.

Appreciating the artistic nature of tattoos or getting something beautiful and meaningful to you can be the opposite. Some people just love tattoos as a sense of expression, some people don’t.

Each will think the other side are idiots.

People are judgmental, self-righteous assholes.

Yes, there are a lot of dipshits with tattoos, but the same comparison can be made with any group.

Just because some Christians are gay bashers doesn’t mean all Christians are retards.
Just because some Germans were Nazis doesn’t mean all Germans are Nazis.
And just because some stupid people have tattoos doesn’t mean all people with tattoos are stupid.

Seriously. People fail so hard at logic.

@WillWorkForChocolate Your current avatar is freaking me out, by the way.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Well yeah, by that logic, I would be a retarded Nazi dipshit with a body full of stupid tattoos. :P

@syz /giggle Good! I love my nuclear plant kittehs!

@WillWorkForChocolate I like tattoos. And I speak German and I don’t have any problem with most Christians.

I’ve actually never heard of that. I’ve seen lots of people with tattoos, many different kinds of people, too. I see no problems with tattoos and I think that the person’s overall appearance with or without tattoos is what people judge.

LOL, it doesn’t, whatsoever. But then again Blondesjon says people who have lip piercings have daddy issues, so what can you do? Just shake your head and move on.

That’s ridiculous. I just read an article in Scientific American which said that studies show that people who have tattoos generally have a better genetic makeup than those who don’t. So who’s right, Scientific American, or one ding-a-ling on the Internet?

Cover of December 2004 Mensa Bulletin.

It doesn’t. The person who said that was intolerant and prejudiced.

What a bizarre statement! I know several highly educated people who have tattoos. They neither have low self esteem nor lack intelligence.

It’s completely fine if you dislike tattoos, but to generalize a group of people because of their lifestyle choices is complete bullshit.
Another thing I find amusing is on that same thread, someone remarked that it was a “trend” and it’s a way for the “the inarticulate and followers” to rebel. If anyone knows anything about human civilization, they would know that tattooing is not a “trend”. It’s a worldwide phenomenon as old as time itself. Also, as I’m typing this, there are people in tribal societies right now with tattoos because of tradition, not for the sake of popularity, which is the opposite of rebelling.

You have the right to say whatever incorrect bullshit you want as much as I have the right to call them out. P.S. Godwin’s law? Really? I seriously hope you people don’t do this.

@Michael_Huntington, what’s your PS about? Hope we don’t do what? Are you responding here to something that’s on another thread?

Who said it @WillWorkForChocolate? I mean, I’m just curious what context it was said in. Plus, I wanted to kick their butt. You can pm me the name. :)

You’re one of the most intelligent people I know @WillWorkForChocolate.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, daddy issues? lol, yeah right.

@Jeruba The Nazi’s found tattoos very useful for marking Jews. Today, people set themselves up for derision by their own free will
I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t build your arguments using Godwin’s law.

All the fuss about tattoos tends to crack me up a bit, both on the internet and in RL. I mean, after all, they are literally only skin deep!

@WillWorkForChocolate, those are beautiful. Ouch, your skin looked red. Did it hurt?

That’s a good one @JilltheTooth. Cute.

In my opinion the body is a temple, and a tattoo should be a meaningful symbol that represents some vital part of who you are. (not just because “you think butterflies are pretty”).

Some folk have shit for brains, it really is that simple.
It’s rumoured that Einstein had e=mc 2 inked onto his bell-end!
Actually I just made that up, but i’d love to think that he did ;¬}

@ucme sounds like a good idea for a penis tattoo…

Well, there was at time when tats=jailbirds. Same with the saggy britches. Old stereotypes are hard to let go of.

@Michael_Huntington I think I got that covered….yeah, I definitely did.

Minus the throbbing pain

Well, like the wife often says, you can’t beat a throbbing member.

In the past, tattoos were only seen on sailors, prostitutes, gang members and ex-convicts. Sailors got them while drunk, and often spoke of regrets afterwards.

Now that they have come into fashion, due to celebrities having them, it’s no longer true.

Do you think it was celebrities @YARNLADY that brought them into fashion?

Winston Churchill had a tattoo of an anchor on his arm & his mother was tattooed with a snake around her wrist.
Just thought i’d add that for no good reason :¬)

I’m still trying to figure out if Teddy Roosevelt had any tattoos or not. The internet suggests he does, but I can’t find any substantiated proof. If he did, I’m totally getting whatever he had.

@bkcunningham Yes, celebrities and movies. In my opinion, all fashion fads are created by celebrities. I especially noticed it when Johnny Depp became prominent, with his tattoos to cover his old cutting scars.

Hitler had a Mummy tattoo hidden just beneath his tache & a little bunny rabbit disappearing down his arse crack, as if startled by a loud fart…...or did he?

I don’t believe one has anything to do with the other in any way. There may be an indicator of lack of judgement, but not intelligence.

I don’t agree. Seems who ever gave that opinion on the other question is projecting their own fears about their own intelligence and self esteem. I have five tattoos. Didn’t get any till I was 33. 10 years ago. I got them because I wanted them. Not because of anyone else. I will most likely get more ink, but not because of anyone else or to boost my self esteem.

The idea comes from the urban myth of shore leave sailors getting drunk and doing stupid things, only to awaken and find themselves tattoo’d or married to a hooker. It’s used to scare small children into being fearful of sinful behavior. Religious fanatics can easily draw analogies between the mark of a tattoo and the mark of the beast. They’ll also make a case that those who perform the art must somehow be into black magic and satanic worship.

Fact from fiction, truth from diction. One could never equate hoe intelligent one is or can be off their tattoos. Wisdom of the tattoo is another thing. I personally never got a tattoo for reasons @ funkdaddy pointed out. I never saw a tattoo I believed I would want hanging around when I was in my 60s or 70s should I live so long. A tattoo today was not going to be changeable like a shirt next week if I came not to like it. Also there is the employment factor, if I was going to enter a white collar field would I really want to be the one stuck out there like a fly in the mayonnaise because I had this large all over the forearm tattoo and no one else had. I could not wear short sleeves in the office or at a company BBQ without drawing attention. For women I thought had they never thought how it would take away from fine evening wear to have a big colorful tropical bird peeking over their strapless dress? Having roses and a skull with a snake intertwined on their boobs they don’t want me to stare at anyhow, so, why place something there people are suppose to look at? It is all about presentation to me. Some tattoos I have seen where well executed. Many tied in together even if they when the times they were different. Others looked like they were done with a prison-made tattoo kit in someone’s garage when they were all high or stoned. If you are going to wear it virtually forever you should at least get good artwork. If a woman has a lower back tattoo I don’t see her as a ”bar tramp”, or if he has spider webs on his elbows that he is necessarily a thug or ex-felon, but some tattoos like having a swastika inside the wed does not point to good wisdom.

@bkcunningham The ones on my back were merely uncomfortable. The one on my stomach was fairly painful. Having my daughters’ names tatted down my sides was excruciating. Ribcage tattoos hurt like a “muthaf***”!!

And the comment on another thread was basically “I’ve never known an adult who got a tattoo unless they had low self-esteem or a lack of intelligence.” That’s not word for word and I’m naming no names. Got to protect the guilty, ya know.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies Just remember to always include the word “fanatics” with that sentence. I’m “religious” and really love tattoos and piercings. But I am pretty far removed from a fanatic, and I don’t have 666 tatted on my forehead. Yet. ;)

@Simone_De_Beauvoir . . . for the record, you must have numerous tattoos and piercings to qualify for the coveted daddy issues. i hope you are not this sloppy when you cite source in your school work.

@Blondesjon I do, given that in graduate school, you only cite legitimate ones.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir . . . what does the early marital status of my parents have to do with anything?

@Blondesjon Har har, that’s…funny?

I don’t know where the idea came about, but perhaps it’s demographic——it’s safe to say that most people in the upper class and who hold white-colllar professional jobs do not wear tattoos, and that it’s usually people from lower socio-economic backgrounds who do. Consequently, a lot of people associate tattoo-wearing with a lack of higher education and professional occupation, that is, something only “laborers”, “bikers”, and tradesmen wear. Like the guy with the gold tooth, bandana, and the big scorpion tattoo imprinted on his arm.

It’s different in other cultures. In Japan, for example, tattooing is considered “high art”, and the tattoos that people get there can be very intricate and hold a lot of spiritual meaning. In fact, tattooing is an ancient art in Japan and often held in high esteem (except for the gangsters who sport them! lol)

When I was a teenager, I wanted to get my ear pierced and sport a “koi fish tattoo”, but it never came to fruition.

I guess because tattoos are associated with ’‘seedier’’ types than what general society dictates as normalcy/success. Despite how long they’ve been casual for…
The whole spectrum of retardation attributed to a person’s wisdom and intellect due to tattoos is a complete fallacy though.
Long ago, tattoos were a spiritual idea, and also used to denote rank in different cultures and societies. Weird…

Nonsense. I guess I defy that bias.
Blonde, tattood and pretty damn bright. Pffft, nonsense!
I had an anklet of morning glory vines and a couple of blooms done about 8 years ago. I love my tattoo!

I want an owl tattoo somewhere near my wrist.

I have never heard such a thing. I did say on a recent tattoo Q that I think best if tattoos are in places that can easily be covered up, but lower IQ? I never heard that one before.

Reflects a higher tolerance for pain, that I can’t afford to add any more to what I have little control over now. I could go for the real looking temporary kind.

@MRSHINYSHOES In Japan a lot of “suits” have tattoos, but this doesn’t mean it’s accepted. In fact there are some places where you aren’t allowed in public pools if you have tattoos. They want them covered up as they are associated with the Yakuza. You don’t see Japanese people with public tattoos for this reason, some businesses will turn them away if the tats are visible.

There are also places in the states where it’s illegal to tattoo certain body parts and I feel that is ridiculous since that interferes with an individual’s right over their own body. This of course is more common in the Bible belt.

This is the equivalent of saying porn stars are slutty people with no education either. I know of two actresses, including Tera Patrick that have a Bachelor’s or higher in microbiology and even higher sciences. So, yeah, people are very judgmental and afraid of anything different. We are very visual creatures and base everything on appearances. We are still like other animals in that regard, if we see someone who doesn’t fit with the rest of the group we want to shun them and separate them from the rest of society. Our world is set up of rules created by people with power. Poor people are looked down upon as if in many cases it’s there fault for being poor.

They didn’t make a very good argument.

If someone is stupid, they’re going to be stupid with or without tattoos.
If someone is articulate, they’re going to be articulate with or without tattoos.
If someone lacks standards, they’re going to lack standards with or without tattoos.
If someone is a good leader, they’re going to be a good leader with or without tattoos.

Tattoos can’t and don’t make a person be a certain way and if everyone with a tattoo was as the user described, this world would be in much deeper shit than it’s already in. Tattoos are really common these days, so the “rebellion” argument doesn’t really work, either. If you want to rebel, you don’t really do what everyone else is doing. Lawl.

Tattoos aren’t always an inkling into the type of personality an individual has, regardless of whether or not it’s a bad or regrettable tattoo. I’d say, 99% of the time, there are plenty of other more important and valuable, positive and negative decisions that person has made in life that can and will better define who they are as a person. Anybody with common sense knows this. If you have tattoos and a stranger wants to think negatively of you or dislike you enough for them specifically, then they’re doing you a huge favor by staying the hell away from you or at least letting you know this is probably not someone you want to associate with if getting a tattoo under your own fucking free will shoves a stick up their own ass.

It’s alright to dislike tattoos. Some of my closest friends don’t have them and don’t like them and tease me every once in a while for the one’s that I have. But calling me stupid, weak or seedy just because I have them, I know, has absolutely nothing to do with me. That’s their own problem.

@Ajulutsikael That’s what I meant when I said the gangs——the underground. Yes, most Japanese in public do not wear tattoos, but it is an ancient art in Japan, one with a lot of tradition.

I bet the person who said this has seasonal lawn geese

now that’s just ignorant~

If you want to rebel, you don’t really do what everyone else is doing. Lawl.

Fucking wisdom if I ever heard it.

GA for your reasoning, @Vunessuh.

Inkling, eh? Good one.

I just went out and got my first tat… dang… my IQ just slipped 10 points. Yay! Now I’m employable in food service!!

@linguaphile : I have 3, all gotten while enjoying “adult” status well, OK, the boob-frog is a bit juvenile in nature so I’m down 30 to 45 IQ points, depending on the scale you’re using. I now have some social skills and am able to interact with other people. ;-)

If this was the case it must mean both my parents must have invisible tattoos all over their bodies.

@jonsblond

I have year ‘round lawn geese, but I don’t dress them up for the holidays. lol

LMAO @Coloma !!

@JilltheTooth Sheesh, by your reasoning, I must be really dumb, since I’ve got 8. :P

Oh, Sweetie, we just didn’t want to tell you… ;-P

@Ajulutsikael There are also places in the states where it’s illegal to tattoo certain body parts and I feel that is ridiculous since that interferes with an individual’s right over their own body. This of course is more common in the Bible belt.

Really? It is illegal in some places? If so, I’d be interested in hearing where. As for those in the Bible Belt, I’ve lived in it most of my life. While the statement may have been true years ago and they may have been slower to give up the prejudice against tattoos, I haven’t seen or heard of it for years. I’ve traveled all over the south and have seen employees with visible tattoos while in their work clothes.

I think has to do more with facial tattoos and even some in the back of the hand. I remember hearing about this in a tattoo documentary and I believe also on the Miami Ink show.

@Pied_Pfeffer I can’t speak to tattoo laws, but you have to admit the south is pretty conservative on stuff like this. I belong to the Bartlett rec center, and they don’t allow you to show your stomach in that place. My girlfriend’s 17 year old daughter had maybe two inches of her tummy showing, because she had on a shortish shirt, and they spoke to her about it. That’s ridiculous in my opinion.

I think it reflects a lack of intelligence to be uptight about tattoos on someone else.

@JLeslie A company’s dress code policies are typically made based upon the opinions of the policy makers or because enough good customers complain. Many gyms/rec centers have a dress code no matter where they are located, silly or not.

Disney World has a policy about tattoos and body-piercings.
Body Alteration or Modification
Intentional body alteration or modification for the purpose of achieving a visible, physical effect that disfigures, deforms or similarly detracts from a professional image is prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to, visible tattoos, brands, body piercing (other than traditional ear piercing for women), tongue piercing or splitting, tooth filing, earlobe expansion, and disfiguring skin implants.

Tattoos must be discreetly and completely covered at all times. Jewelry, spacers, retainers, or plugs are not permitted in any body piercing, including non-visible piercings, while working.
Source

Not surprisingly, they were once sued for having such a policy. Disney won. They explained that they considered their employees working with the public actors, and their appearance was part of the costume.

@WillWorkForChocolate Please accept my apology for derailing this thread. In response your original question, I have no idea why a person would make such a judgmental statement about an adult, as I’ve never heard it. Maybe it stems from having a friend mention that they regret getting their tattoo(s) out of stupidity or peer pressure. It’s just a wild guess.

Hmm, I just thought of an example of stupidity/peer pressure. I used to facilitate a hotel management class. One night, three of the participants were out drinking and ended up at a tattoo parlor. They came to class the next day sporting tattoos of the hotel chain’s logo. I’d love to track them down now and see if they are still with the company and/or still have the tattoos. It isn’t a cause for judging others for their choices though.

@Pied_Pfeffer I am completely in agreement with dress codes for employees. I am talking about people who go to the gym to exercise. I would assume that has to do with some sort of conservative bible belt cultural thing. Almost everywhere I have ever worked, north, south, midwest, has had dress codes. Channel is as strict as Disney, checking nail length, hair must be pulled back or short, uniforms, they control pretty much everything, many of the cosmetic lines do. Retail many times enforces skirt length, hose or not, jacket requirements, no jeans, no backless shoes (well that is for safety) I think it is fine. A friend of mine who is a cop in MD cannot wear the short sleeve uniform in the summer becaise he has tattoos. I am fine with that too. But, a gym? People are working out, bra tops and bike shorts seem common place to me. Let alone in the pool area if a 15 year old wanted to wear a bikini, what’s the big deal? Why does there need to be a rule about that? It is extremely conservative to me to have a rule about no middriffs showing for the people utilizing the facility.

Is it a private gym @JLeslie? Of course the owners can do what they want if it is a privately owned gym. The majority dictates what standards they will accept or otherwise they wouldn’t set the rules as such. Not that I agree or disagree. Just making a point as to why the gym may have those particular policies.

@bkcunningham It’s subsidized by the city, but members pay a fee to use it. I pay more because I live outside the city limit and don’t pay into their tax base. I don’t take issue with their right to have a dress code (although, I have never really thought about whether I think it is ok or not) I just think it demonstrates how conservative the south can be.

@JLeslie How much is too conservative, and how much or little is too raunchy? Out of curiosity sake. It doesn’t sound to be exclusively private, the public do have access, so I am thinking children are there? If some woman wanted to go swimming or soaking in the pool wearing a pasties strapless,
would that be acceptable? Or a stringless bikini, or one that is strapless and stringless bikini, would that be going too far or not? What place wouldn’t it be too conservative outside the home to wear them?

There are not many laws preventing men from going shirtless but if any tried to get served at a restaurant or go to a show and watch a

@Hypocrisy_Central Give me a break. A simple bikini should be acceptable at any pool in the US in my opinion. Fine no thong bikinis, all girly parts covered appropriately, but this seems a little extreme, not even a couple of inches of a tummy showing? Not that I am going to try to change the rule or anything. I do understand that sometimes an establishment has to have rules that are overly strict or conservative to make sure someone with really poor judgement cannot walk in looking like an idiot, but again that is usually rules for staff.

Shirt and shoes in a restaurant are a different thing. We are talking about a gym not a restaurant. Time and place.

I’m going to ask a quesion regarding the topic.

Here is my question regarding the gym dress code topic. Let’s see what we get.

@Pied_Pfeffer Honey, derail to your heart’s content. I do NOT get upset by that. In fact, I enjoy watching the way derailed threads evolve. All jellies are welcome to rant, food fight, cuss, fart, and derail my Social and Meta threads in every way possible. I give my permanent permission.

Thanks for all the answers, guys.

And just FYI- everyone loved my tats at the beach this weekend, and nobody called me stupid, teehee.

@WillWorkForChocolate You had me at fart. XD

@WillWorkForChocolate Thank you for your understanding. @JLeslie kindly created a new thread to address the off-track discussion.

@Pied_Pfeffer Anytime shweethawt. Derail away. ;)

@WillWorkForChocolate : I’d never call you “stupid” cuz I know you’re not stupid. I’d also never call you stupid cuz you one scary inked up bitch!!! ;-)))

@JilltheTooth Damn right sista. Tell all yore frends.

@WillWorkForChocolate : They’re all inked up, too! A wild gang of middle-aged ladies with interesting body-art…

=0)

People generalize, catergorize, label, stereotype, JUDGE…whatever. Some people assume that others get tattoos to look cool and maybe they do, but who are they to judge? It’s your own damn body and your choice, do what you want with it. I see is as a form of expression and while I think some people make dumb decisions in their choice of tattoos, those people may have their reasons or special meaning behind it. I do not regret mine and I won’t 50 years from now. Enjoy your artistic expression if it makes you happy.