Do you get tattoos to show other people?

I got mine just for me, although if I wear a short sleeved shirt, they’re pretty much on show to the world…. :-/

I haven’t got any yet, but eventually I plan to. I will get it/them for myself: however I want the art to be something I’m proud of so I’ll show it off just the same if I feel like it heh.

I think this may be stemmed from the question last night, and though I wouldn’t get that dudes tattoo, nor do I love it, I imagine the guy who did doesn’t give a shit, nor do I really care that he has it haha

No, most people don’t know that I have tattoos.

Whether they’re visible or not, I think tattoos should always primarily be for yourself. Also, consider how they’ll look with age.

That’s never the actual reason. But I don’t mind showing them to people.

Of course not. My tattoos are for me, although sometimes others can see them, depending on what I’m wearing.

No, I got mine in a place you’ll never see unless I am naked.

Mine was a celebration of something

Mine are for me, not visible unless I show them, and all in places I can see them without mirrors. The one I’m getting on Wednesday may be more visible than the others, but only on hot hot summer days.

Nope, I got my tattoos strictly for my own enjoyment, and because no judging here, okay? I enjoy the pain… to a certain degree. I’ll admit the tats going down my ribcage hurt more than I’d anticipated, but the rest were all enjoyable.

None of mine are visible, unless I’m wearing a bathing suit or I’m naked. That being said, I will show them to people if they ask to see them, but I didn’t get them for that purpose. I did show off my daughters’ names after I had them done, basically because I was so excited and proud of those.

I have tattoos that I can hide when I want to and show when I want to. I got them for me, knowing how other people feel about them so I accept the curiosity and the questions I get and take them with a grain of salt. I love tattoos, and I will probably always get more.

Luckily I have a beautiful back… there is lots of room to fill it! But do I want everyone to see them? No, not always. Certain people don’t understand and I realize that, accept it and flaunt them when and where I want to and hide them when I don’t want to.

I am careful to get the right things that I feel define who I am. I mean I wouldn’t get some stupid south park character, because that’s dumb to me, for my personality, I have things that reflect my personal truths so I can’t very well blame anyone else for whatever they believe concerning them.

It is not my business what you think about me, or anything I do with my body but realistically I am aware that just because I get this or that for me to define me that isn’t going to stop anyone else from thinking whatever the hell they want to about it.

and really… So what.

@WillWorkForChocolate I too enjoy the feeling. People get gobsmacked when they ask if the two on my arms hurt or not… Well yeah they did… but I fell asleep twice because the pain to me is a plesant experience.

@WillWorkForChocolate Enjoying the pain doesn’t sound weird to me.
I’ve gotten my tattoos for very personal reasons.
The pain was very therapeutic for me.

@GabrielsLamb and @Nimis I guess it sounds strange to some people, especially when I say that I wonder if enjoying the pain means I’m a “closet cutter” and just choose to get my release from a more socially acceptable form. Because I do get a “release” from it. When I’m feeling particularly stressed or have been dealing with a long string of bad experiences, that’s when I feel the strongest desire to get a new tattoo or piercing. And during and after the tattoos and piercings, I feel better. But perhaps a new question should be asked about that sort of thing so we don’t derail this thread any further. =0)

@WillWorkForChocolate Well said… Me too exactly! I have been wanting to follow through with one that I wanted to get a while ago. It is a back piece and it is pretty big so… I want to start it though.

I need me my good pain. I have quite enough bad one’s.

So far I only have one after 9 years. I got it for myself, to mark my arrival in that place for the first time where I got the tatoo. I do like showing it to other tattooed people who like showing theirs.

I think mine are just for me, because at one point I was contemplating getting a backpiece, and I decided not to because it was a lot of money for something I would never see. That kind of convinces me that my tattoos are for me to look at, not other people.

Tattoos are art.

Some art is private (the angry poetry you write in your journal, the painting you cry over and then burn…) some is meant to be seen.

If and when I get the tats I’m planning (lack of money is my only obstacle at this point), I’ll consider them “public” tats. That is, in the appropriate setting, they’ll be visible and I won’t mind. However, they will be easy to cover when I choose to do so.

I came into the world without a tattoo and I will leave the earth without a tattoo.

Its just not my bag.

No I get my tattoos for me.

Speaking hypothetically, as I don’t have tattoos
I would think that it would be primarily for me, but if it’s something visible, I’d probably be happy to show it to other people.
Also, I don’t think all people get tattoos just because they’re meaningful; I’m sure loads of people just get them because they find them aesthetically pleasing, and might consider how they’d look to other people a bit more. I guess it depends on the person and the tattoo. Some are meant to be very private, some are more of visible works of art. Or both.

I, also, like how it feels to get inked. I remember asking the artist “That’s it? That’s the extent of the pain?” I couldn’t believe how little it hurt :)

@FutureMemory It was like that for me, with the four tats on my back, and the one on my butt. But the tat on my stomach, and especially the ones going down my sides? Hurt like a bitch! It was still a little enjoyable, for the “release” factor, but the ribcage tats came with some pretty intense pain. And they healed more slowly, for whatever reason.

I guess I’m a wimp, guys. I don’t like how it feels, but I do it anyway…

@dreamwolf Here ya go! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZGzH8CWUXE

My first one was because I was 18 and COULD get one. My other two are for more sentimental reasons. I mean it’s cool to show them off but it’s mostly for me.