Any ideas for matching tattoos?

What did you have in mind?

A star behind our ears but i dont think it has anything to do with being sisters. I want something that symbolizes us growing up. ya know?

Can you tell us alittle about you guys?

How about yin & yang? You can get one, she gets the other. Behind the ear would be perfect and I think it suits the complexity of sister relationships. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

I was just looking that up! It also says “In each is contained the seed of the other and one cannot exist without the other.”
And i thought it looked ugly when its together but if she gets one half and i get the other its perfect!

Lol theres nothing special about us.
Shes 21, i’m 15.
She’s basically inspired me my whole life b/c my mom hasn’t.
And even though there is 6 years between us we still hangout like bestfriends.

Awww :)
I’d go with the yin and yang too

Sorry if I’m being a jerk, but I think you might come to regret the yin and yang idea if you ever end up really getting into oriental philosophy… I think it would be another shallow Western bastardisation of an actually rather complex concept that everyone thinks they understand but few people actually do. Not saying I’m one of the few. I’m probably not.
The relationship between sisters is not much like that between yin and yang. Sisters are not antipodes, one is not created by the absence of the other, and sisters are not illusions that manifest the changes within what is actually one whole. And I do hope you’re not in a constant struggle for dominance.

I’d think of tattooing the stars in the Gemini constellation there. But then again, you’re not twins.

Fine dude, we’ll get the chinese symbols.
She’ll get elder sister and i’ll get younger sister.
But oops? I forgot, “it would be another shallow Western bastardisation of an actually rather complex concept that everyone thinks they understand but few people actually do”

I’ll get what i want, it’s my skin, and my sister.

And if you think your being a jerk, stick to not saying anything at all.

K, thanks.

P.S

I said Any ideas for matching tattoos and technically you didn’t give me one.

I have to agree with fyrius. You’re not alone, guy. I hate the western adaptations of a good thing.

Nothing irks me more than seeing a westerner wearing a tattoo they think says “love” but is actually better translated as “slut”. Or seeing them wearing tribal tattoos. This is something permanent – put some thought into what’s going onto your body.

Stop tryna make me mad.
You people suck.

And you are very mature. [tongue-in-cheek]

And so ive heard :)

You’re quick to make yourself unwelcome on this site. Straighten up and stop being rude. A ban is quick to come for those who can’t be civil.

Stop commenting me if i bother you so much.

I have an idea :)

What about little matching hearts on the inside of your wrists, where you can feel your pulse?
It would be like the hearts are beating…

That’s good too!
I’ll have to let her know!
My sister really liked the Yin Yang thing but her friend already has it so we might do puzzle peices?

Can you even get tattoo’s at 15? Here you have to be 18 (Australia) unless your parent or legal guardian is with you… Is your mum going with you guys? Then maybe she could get a matching tat as well! Heck – where’s Grandma?

I have a henna style design tattoo, which i scribbled myself that my sister loved so much she got me to draw a similar one for her in the same place…

@Fyrius very well said!

Gosh I love people who come here and ask a question; only to blast anyone who doesn’t give them the answer they want to hear. @J3SSK4, given that you are prone to calling people “Dude” and using terms like ‘K’, ‘tryna’, and suck instead of formulating an intelligent response to a quip you disagree with, you might want to hold off on the tattoo until you’re mature enough to make decisions you’ll have to live with forever. K?

Eh, do u feel cool now?

Always, thanks for asking.

NP!

I’m with Fyrius on this one. I think it would be better to come up with something original that you and your sister will appreciate years from now.

What about family heritage, are there any symbols from your family/ancestors that you feel strongly about? My Father, brothers and I all had our family crest tatted and besides the fact that it is a physical reminder of our connection with each other it is something we will never regret as it is a part of our family history.

A tattooed star behind the ear is a traditional symbol of lesbianism.

lul.

I think @cwilbur makes an excellent case in point for understanding what symbology means before you permanently etch on your body.

Unless you actually are a lesbian. Because that would be hawt.

But, um, not with your sister.

I can’t believe adults are arguing with a 15 year old and are calling her immature.

Btw @J3SSK4 I like the heart on the pulse point idea.

Arguing? lol. Everyone just told her that it’s a bad idea – there’s no arguing in that. It’s more like…. condescension if you want to take it that far.

Its not a bad idea to get a tatoo

No, the part about putting some symbol on your body without knowing what the true meaning is.

Oh…

[mod says] Please refrain from further personal attacks. Also, textspeak is not allowed.

@J3SSK4
It’s your skin, but it’s not your symbol. There’s an entire religion dedicated to it, not to mention a philosophical tradition that dates back to the sixth century BC.

Here’s another way to look at it. For any symbol I consider bearing, I ask myself the question whether I’m worthy of it, or would just disgrace it by associating it with myself. A symbol like the yin-yang diagram implies membership of a group (i.e. people who adhere to the Taoist philosophy), and I wouldn’t want to bear the symbol of a group I cannot consider myself a proper member of.
At this moment, the only symbol I bear is the scarlet A of atheism.

Could you imagine some ignoramus on the other side of the world tatooing a crucifix behind his ear because he thinks it’s the western symbol for pacifism? Worse yet, to adapt the analogy to your splitting up of the yin and yang halves, could you imagine him tattooing the cross upside down and thinking it still has the same meaning?
Even as an atheist, I’d want to lecture him on how much he’s underestimating the complexity of Christian theology.

The Chinese characters for older and younger sister are a nice idea though.

P.S. I’d advise you not to take every somewhat critical remark as a personal attack to be retaliated against – you won’t make many friends unless you reserve that ire for those who actually deserve it.

The other thing I’d ask is whether this symbol is something you think you will want on your body in 20 years.

@Fyrius is dead on: before you put anything on your body permanently, you need to understand the meaning. The yin and yang symbol is cool from a graphic-design point of view, but it also has a long tradition of meaning and symbology, and if you just ignore that, you’re probably going to regret that tattoo, probably sooner rather than later.

I mean, to take your example of the star behind the ear. That was a symbol of lesbianism in the bad old days, because when women were wearing their hair long, it was not visible, but if they went out to a place where the symbol would be recognized, they could pull their hair back or put it up in a bun so that the symbol could be seen. It’s still a meaningful symbol today, although it’s much easier to be out—but still, you were considering putting it on your body permanently, but without knowing what it meant.

Also, I don’t understand the craze for Chinese characters. Why would you want something on your body that you can’t read? How do you have any assurance that the tattoo artist isn’t going to tattoo the characters for “older whore” and “younger slut” instead of “older sister” and “younger sister”? Or that the tattoo artist even knows what the characters should be, and isn’t going to tattoo “translation error” on both of you?

lol @ translation error!

[whoa, missed the 15 y.o. part.] Can you even get a tattoo if you’re not 18?

I asked you guys for ideas on tatoos, not to put down what i thought would be a good idea.

It’s my skin so you shouldnt even care.

This is Fluther, and we do care. About you. Otherwise we wouldn’t spend our time answering questions for strangers. No one is trying to put down your ideas. Tattoos are permanent, and we wouldn’t want to see you rush into something that you might regret later.

I would suggest trying to come up with something personal. What are some things that you and your sister do together often? Are either of you artistically inclined? Perhaps you could try designing something yourselves. You want the tattoo for a personal reason, so you should put a lot of thought into it, and decide on something that means something to both of you.

Also, behind the ear isn’t the most visible place, but it is a place that can be hard to cover up if need be. Keep in mind that some jobs will not allow you to have any visible tattoos. If you’re sure you want it there, the choice is yours, but make sure that is really where you want it before you decide to put it there. Another place could be just as good, or better.

I want it behind the ear b/c its small and it’s gonna be my first.

And everyone was putting down when other people gave me ideas.

They don’t have to be so rude about it.
Like sanari is enjoying it.

Actually, I’m not that type of person. I just want you to understand how it will be bad if you have something on your body you hate later. It’s called d.g.a.f.

@J3SSK4: You asked for ideas. We’re telling you what we think of your ideas, and of the ideas other people have suggested. If you only want agreement, get yourself a Livejournal page and only let people who are likely to agree with you read it. Otherwise, if you’re asking the question here, you need to accept that we are going to share our opinions, and if you don’t like our opinions, that’s too @#$%ing bad.

k.

Here’s a good example of what can happen by not truly understanding the symbolism of your tattoo.

—

That said, if you do elect to co-opt some existing glyph/sign/image/kanji/whatever, I suggest that you already have a strong, personal meaning associated with it. Don’t just get it because it’s cool/pretty. But because it represents something intensely personal you and your sister share.

As if this wasn’t sufficient. The guy in question got “prepaid public transportation card” tattooed on his leg.

I say do what you want and dont let anyone tell you different!