Tattoos: are they more acceptable now? do you have any? why are they so addictive?

I think they’re a lot more acceptable now than they used to be, but there’s still a lot of stigma attached to them. A lot of people I know don’t like them and won’t ever get one because of what they look like when you’re older and your skin is… less… soft.
I personally would only ever get one if there was an epic story behind it or, or conversely if I don’t remember getting it (say if I was drunk) cause I mean I wouldn’t be able to help it anyway then, and I could make up some awesome stories to go with it.

I can honestly say I’ve never seen a really old person with a tattoo…but at that point, I won’t care. And if ppl don’t wanna see me; they shouldn’t look!

I don’t have epic stories behind mine, just things that have meaning to me. I may be more prove to loving tats, because I love art.

No no I’m not saying that all old people look disgusting with tattoos or you have to have an epic story, just that my friends think that, and I personally would like a story with mine. If yours mean something to you then that’s great. I don’t mind other people’s tattoos, and I like arty farty ones.

a lil bit more acceptable but I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area where seeing people with full arm and leg sleeves are a regular thing.

You show them off when your out and about. Then if you have a professional job cover it up with business attire.

Yes, I have a couple and yes they are very visible. I’m always asked about the story behind them and what they mean.

I think there is less stigma than before, but I think there is still quite a bit of stigma. In life, they are likely to affect you if your tattoos are large and visible in the workplace, in court or any public environment, or should you want a career in television, for example.

If you have large, visible tattoos, yours is a good attitude to have, although I might point out that people have no choice but to look at you if they encounter you in public. Some might argue that large, visible tattoos are a bid to be looked at.

Mind you, I am not opposed to tattoos in general. I would not want large, visible tattoos, because it would be, to me, like wearing the same clothes day after day. I wouldn’t want to have no option. Second, if you find a true artist doing original work that is great, but much of the tattoo work I have seen is very furmulaic, picked out of a book. I am afraid that I do not see the art in that.

Tattoos don’t do anything for me. Don’t know if it’s a “stigma,” I just think in a lot of cases with young people they indicate the bearer’s short-sightedness.

I think they are more accepted than in years past, but there are some people who will never like them big or small. When I was younger, I thought about getting one, but I couldn’t decide what I wanted and where I wanted it. I’m glad now that I didn’t get something that I’d regret later on. I’ve seen some that I really admire, and some that made me ask “What was he/she thinking?”

I like to get henna tatoos when I go to the Jersey shore in the summer. That way, I can have something artistic on me, but it’s not a lifetime commitment. It’s kind of like having my cake and eating it too.

I got one back in 1982 when they were NOT as acceptable for women as they are now. It turned out to be a joke because after having 2 more kids the stretch marks surrounded the lady bug on my pelvic hip area. I would say, “the lady bug is walking through the grass!” A couple of years ago I had my “mommy makeover.” When the plastic surgeon told me I was going to loose my tatoo I was not disapointed at all.
Morale of the story, “Think about how time and gravity will effect your tatoo before you get it. That cute butterfly on your perky boob may end up looking like drippy slime after a few years.”

I personally don’t like them for myself and would never want one. My stepdaughter has one. I think she will regret it later. It’s on the back of her neck. I don’t think they give a good impression in a professional setting.

As someone who has one small, meaningful tattoo, I’ve never regretted it.
I do agree with ninjaxmarc, I think the level of acceptance and the kind of response tattoos get depends on where you’re located geographically. I also think the response to tattoos has to do with being tasteful. I am a tattooed human being who more often than not looks at other people’s tattoos and thinks, “Whaaat were you thinking??”

I think that too many people do it to just to say they have one. It should be more about what the tattoo means than the fact that it is there. I agree with Dave, tattoos more often than not show a certain immaturity and short-sightedness. I don’t regret mine because I thought about it for a long time and because I know it’s something that will be meaningful for me the rest of my life. Moral: Do it only if you’re doing it for yourself and not for what others will think of it. Tattooing, in my opinion, should never be a cosmetic choice. It should run deeper than that.

I think they are much more acceptable now and that a lot more people are getting them. Old people with tattoos will not be a rare sight in the future.

Yes, yes and… yes.

Yes, I agree a lot of ppl don’t think before they get one. I would never pick anything out of a book. All of mine are customs. I work in a mangerial position and ppl see my tats because they’re big and in places they can be seen. They’re a part of me. No one sees me as being less qualified because i have tats or unprofressional in any way. At least I’ve never been told that. My boss (owner of the company) doesn’t mind them.

A lot has to do with stereotypes. Ppl still associate tattoos with bikers. So, people are judging ppl by how they look, is that what ppl think. I had hoped ppl were starting to overcome that.

I look forward to the day when you’re average office worker does to work without having to cover up.

Yes, I think they are more acceptable these days. No, I don’t have any, partly because they weren’t that acceptable when I was younger, and partly because I can’t think of a pattern I’d want to live with on my body for the rest of my life. I even get tired of patterned cloth after a while. I want to be out with the old and into the new. You can’t do that so easily with tattoos.

I have some, but they were my choice. I don’t really care if others like them or not and none of them are in areas where they would be unprofessional. My children know I have them, as well as my family, but they also know that no child in my house will have one before they are 18 and I hope, like me, IF they decide to get one, they’ll wait a lot longer than their 18th birthday! (I was over 25 when I got mine.)

They can be very addictive.

My daughter was 17 when she got her first one…in Hawaii. But it was something she had wanted since she was 15. She’s up to 4 now. She’ll never have an office job if she can help it! She’s into the liberal arts…

I waited—I was…um…over 40 and now can’t stop. I still have an office job, but it’s a very liberal type of place. And I’m at the age where I won’t work for a place that makes me conform. Been there; done that. Back in the 80’s I was fired for having blue hair…at a job where I never saw the public. Took them to court and won.

Guess I’m a bit of a rebel when it comes to comformity.

My husband has a Lyle Tuttle http://www.lyletuttletattooing.com/ from the 1960’s. About 10 years ago every bit of red swelled up. The next morning when he took a shower all the red washed off. Pretty wierd after 30 years! It still looks pretty good and very artistic, just old.

@ Judi…very cool designs! Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, red is the most difficult color as far as healing goes. My black and white tattoos heal much faster than the color ones.

For awesome portraits, check out www.bobtyrrell.com He did a portrait of me on my daughter and vice versa. We traveled 6 hours to get to him and it was worth every minute.

I don’t think they’re any more acceptable than they were in the past. I think with the younger generations they are, but businesses still look at you like you’ve got 3 heads if you have them. Just my experience though.

I personally have 10, all on my arms (equally distributed) and I’ve drawn all of them (except the one lettering from my USMC and my chinese characters (that I’m getting covered real soon). I actually have my next 4 already planned out and drawn. 3 on my arms and one across my shoulders. I’m also going to school to be an animator so it’s looked on a bit differently there than it is in corporate America – where it wasn’t as accepted. I got my first one when I was 18 and living in the middle of nowhere (29 Palms (Stumps), California) in the Marines. Since then I haven’t been able to stop. My wife has tattoos too as well. All of them dainty and colorful, the last one even being a design of my own =).

People always warned me that they are addictive.
Once you get one, you’ll want another (and so forth).

I just have one.

@ twrex I agree, depends on where you go. I get looked at strangely all the time…even before the ink. lol Now even more so, because mine is all horror themed. But, I also get a lot of compliments on them and ppl who ask who did them etc.

I remember when tattoo shops were mainly located around military bases. And it was just last year that the state of Oklahoma allowed them to operate in their state.

Why is it that some people are against them? Why do businesses look at you funny if you have them? Why are they not professional? Check out this lady’s ears. How is that ok while this is not? It’s all body mods, right? Tattoos are the same way. I don’t see why people have a problem with them. Unless you have them on your hands, face or neck, then they can be covered up.

I have three as of now. I have one on my right bicep and one on each wrist. I do plan on more because they are so addictive.

I’m not sure why ppl think they’re unprofessional. Old stereotypes? If you do a job well, and act professional, why does it matter if you have ink or blue hair?

When I got my hand tattoo, I felt like I was finally FREE!!!!! And for the world to see! Free of caring what ppl think of me.

I put off getting a tattoo until I was in my 40’s, because most everyone I know who had one seemed to become addicted. When I finally got one, it was one that meant a lot to me. Recently I got a second one, so maybe I’ve caught the bug too. My second is an original piece of art by an artist I know and I love it for tons of reasons. I love both of my tattoos, and I plan to get at least one more. I have one on the outside of each ankle, so they are easy to cover, but honestly since getting them I have never felt the need to cover either one.

I think they are more acceptable now, but I have to agree that acceptance has quite a bit to do with geography. I am in the midwest and it seems there are a lot more tattooed people here (men and women) than there were in suburban LA.

@ supermouse Yes midwest is becoming quite ink friendly. Strange, we never do much of anything ‘first’ here.
I was amazed at how many ppl in the London are NOT tattooed. It isn’t very popular there.
Maybe it’s cause their too prissy.

Wish we could show off our ink in this thread.

Why do you suppose they’re so addictive?

@deaddolly We could all post pictures to flickr and link to em here on fluther. Why not? I’ll start tomorrow morning!

@ tWrex..k, cool. Let me know how to do it (I’m sometimes not good at stuff like that).
All mine are posted on myspace and vampirefreaks.

@deaddolly;
Yes red is tough. I tried to get my lips tatoo stained. I went through 4 painful sessions and nothing took.

@ Judi Haven’t heard of tattoo staining? what’s that about?

Realized taking a photo of my tats is a bit more irksome than I thought. Hooking up my webcam to try to get em up. I’ll let you know how I fare!

lol…no problem.

@dolly;
It’s supposed to be permanant lipstick. They usually do it twice to fill in what they missed the first time. It HURTS! When the first two sessions didn’t work I gave up. Then a couple of years later I tried it again with someone else and it didn’t work again. Both people were amazed that it didn’t take but of course, no one offered me my money back!

@ Judi Of course not! “You pays your money; you take your chances!’ lol
My boss did the permanent eye liner thing. She told no one and just wore sun glasses for a few days. (see more about her under High Maintainence thread lol) I can imagine both eyes and lips would hurt.

So many kids are getting the inside of their lips inked. Silly to me, no one would see it, unless you pulled your lip down.
My hand tattoo hurt the most; the ones on my arms, the least. My daughter had both feet done at the same time and had to stop after 4 hours, couldn’t stand the pain. She’s going to have them finished on winter break.
Important note to anyone getting a foot tattoo: There’s a brand of flip flops called “topless sandals”, which are just that. Flip flops with sticky stuff on, that stick to your feet. You pull them off, wash them and after they dry completely, you can reuse them. They really work.
Who would’ve thought?!

Ok, so my bad on the pics. Had to watch my niece today and I forgot about it so I had to cut everything else short too. I’ll try to get the wife to take some pics tonight!

Top 10 Tattoos Guys Should Never Get

@robmanu some of those weren’t that bad!!! People don’t think about if its something that will stand the test of time. Girl/boy friends names are the surest way to end a relationship—it’s like a doom signal.
Some artists refuse to do certain tats on ppl, and for good reason.

Alright. Some of the pics are terrible quality but here goes:
tWrex’s tats – It links to my blog where the pictures are posted, just as a disclaimer.

I wanted to stick with just black for everything I did, but the wife talked me into color for the last one and now I’m going to colorize everything (or rather colorize all my new tattoos around my blacks to make them all pop).

Very cool! I esp like the one you drew up. What do the chinese characters say?

Yeah, the color ink, esp the new stuff they have, really are awesome.

I’m getting Leatherface and Ed Gein done tomorrow. Excited!!!!

Thanks – although I am confused cause I drew them all =). I’m assuming you mean my squish. I actually had a better name for him, but I forget what it was. It was definitely challenging to get them all in the right spots and everything. I don’t like that there’s so much black, but to cover up the stuff I had, I had to go black. The characters say Justice, Pride, Respect (from top to bottom).

That’s sick! Post pics!

Actually, I meant the anchor thing. The squish was cool to, tho hard to see.

Yeah, I’ll post pics. They’re on myspace. And I think if you google me, Dead Dolly,
you can find my vampirefreaks profile link. I think I have my profile set to public…

I hope it’s not a long session. The portrait that Tyrrell did for me, took 8 hours. Thought i was gonna die. Not from pain; from boredom.

Ah got it. it’s a cross. I know. bad pics. either that or I suck at drawing.

oops…google deaddolly56 and you’ll get a link to my vampirefreaks journal, from where you can go to my profile and pics.

I had it private, but just change it to public.

They’ll prolly be someone waiting at my house now.

< < is terrified to close his eyes, let alone try to sleep, now after seeing deaddolly‘s ink. ツ

lol…I’m imagining you didn’t have the guts to look at my house photos….

I definitely dig the bat and the hawaiin mask. Those are my favs.

@robmandu That’s an awesome use of a character! Coolest smiley I’ve seen!
I’m jackin’ it ツ

thanks. the mask was the most painful…and the guy was an ass that did it. I want to have more color added to it. I got it on my birthday, in Hawaii. It’s not my fave. I can never see the bat…lol

@tWrex, it’s a Japanese character called a tsu.

I like the tats. But I LOVE your house! It’s the coolest yet creepiest house I’ve ever seen.
And man, the time and money it must have took to accumulate all that shit! I’m way jealous.

Thank you, aneedleinthehay. Yeah, it’s taken awhile to collect all that stuff. I’ve been into horror all my life, so it’s been a lifelong project.

My avatar is my latest tattoo. I love it. They are not in the picture, but the artist’s initials are tattooed just below the bird (he has a very cool signature).

I know that tattoos are more acceptable now. I have 3. I’ve also had many facial piercings in my life and have ALWAYS been harrassed about why I’ve done it and that I would look so much better without two huge metal rings in my lips. All of which I found to be quite rude so I eventually took them all out (I also chipped a tooth).

Anyway, I think tattoos are so addictive because they allow us to express our inner selves. Most people love to be asked about what they’ve chosen to have placed on their bodies for eternity. It also allows those thrill seekers to face and overcome physical pain.

Overall they’re pretty great, huh?

@Judi
LOL-“That cute butterfly on your perky boob may end up looking like drippy slime after a few years.”
Those were the days my friend..We thought they’d never end..dadadadadadadadada

i generally prefer piercings and scarification.