I love tattoos. Fact. I think tats are great. Like many things I love; food, fashion, fragrances, there are obviously varieties of tattoos i don’t like so much (designs that have clearly been picked off of a tattoo parlours wall like cheeky red devils and butterflies, tattoos on the lower back or ‘tramp stamps’ as they are oh so endearingly called, and my all time pet hate - tribal designs, to name but a few), but I still love the idea of tattoos. Of expressing yourself through an art form which has existed and been perfected and globalised over hundreds of years. This statement however, is hardly a shocking, controversial statement. A few decades ago it may well have been, but nowadays, getting a tattoo is the norm. When I think about people I know, most of them have tattoos. Whether it be full sleeves and a chest piece or a dainty tat on their ankle or wrist. Tattoos have become a normal part of growing up and of individualisation for many.
my first ever tattoo. It's a T.S. Eliot quote from 'Return of the Magi'. Countless times i've been asked what the quote means to me. I might make up a ridiculous and shocking answer next time i get asked.
This doesn’t mean everyone loves tattoos though. In the same way I like tattoos, some people don’t. They may find them distasteful, ugly, or simply don’t like the thought of permanently inking your skin. Which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. And it’s our bodies so we should be able to do with it what we wish. Which brings me on to what i’m about to say...
Why you may not like tattoos, why do so many people who don’t like tattoos feel the need to ask so many questions? To quite literally judge us for having tattoos.
A couple of things have made me think about this more in depth...
The first is this article:'just one little tattoo'. I understand that tattoos may not be to everyones taste, but this woman refused to speak to her son when she found out he had a tattoo, claiming her son making the decision to get a tattoo 'devistated her'. Her son had not murdered or stolen from someone, yet in my opinion, she treated him like a criminal. Her views, while she admits this, are extremely exaggerated, as well as cynical, and goes to show that people out there still have such a hatred for tattoos. I don’t understand this. You wouldn’t hate someone for wearing a pair of shoes you don’t particularly like, so why would you display this toward someone with tattoos?
The second was the picture below which shows one of ‘Thug Wife's’ many tattoos. In case you can't see, on the side of her fingers it says 'do not ask me about my tattoos'. I found this really interesting because this beautiful lady is covered in tats, and clearly for her, her tattoos are personal. She doesn’t want to be constantly asked about them. Seeing this photo made me feel better about my own feelings surrounding this topic. I wondered if I was being selfish or ridiculous for getting fed up with people asking me about my tattoos, but this made me realise that I wasn’t being selfish at all. My tattoos are my own, after all.
Like I said above, I don’t like tribal tattoos. But I don’t go up to someone with tribal tattoos and ask them why they got it, doesn’t it concern them, etc. I may not like their tat, but I don’t judge the person. I understand many people may not like my tattoos, but I don’t expect to be judged because of them. I got my tattoos for myself.
Too many people seem to think that tattoos are like gallery art. Tattoos are art, but they belong to the individuals body, not for a gallery for the public to look at and discuss over a glass of pinot. My tattoos are MINE.
my tat on my thigh. it doesn't mean anything, I just like it. Hope that's alright.
I understand that when you get yourself inked, you obviously have to prepare that people will ask questions, especially if your tattoos are out on display. There is nothing wrong with healthy curiosity. People may wonder what a scripted tattoo says, or what a tattooed symbol means. It’s when it gets beyond healthy curiosity that for me, it becomes a bit of an issue. People seem to think its ok to go beyond ‘what does that tattoo say’ to ‘why did you get that?’ ‘what does that mean to you though?’ ‘aren’t you worried you will regret that?’, or my favourite, no words, just a look of pure judgement.
So many people bring up that classic R word too. ‘regret’. ‘what about when you are old?’ seems to be the classic go-to line. People forget that while tattoos may seem unlikely on the older generation now, as generations become older, tattoos on older people will become normalised. As I mentioned above, more and more people are getting tattooed now. So when I’m old, most other old people will be inked too. It won’t be some sort of abstraction to worry about. Not that it should be anyway. Even if this wasn’t the case, why should age be a factor? Why should I stop doing stuff I really want to do now, and not impulsive things but things i’ve thought really hard and long about, just because of my wrinkly years, when i’ll most likely be wearing more clothes than I am now at 19 anyway.
My awesome Harry Potter deathly hallows tribute tattoo. Weirdly, I was quite concerned that people would react negatively to this, but now I've realised it doesn't matter because Harry Potter is amazing!! And to be honest most people have shared my enthusiasm for this tat.
It doesn’t help when these cynics say little words with negative connotations either. Ie. Tattooing your skin becomes ‘branding your skin’. No. Getting a tattoo is not the same as being a cow getting sent to the slaughterhouse. A tattoo is a different mark. A brand has an ugly purpose. A tattoo has no particular ‘purpose’ and thats one of the things that makes tattoos so endearing. I often think the brilliant parts of life are the little things which actually offer no real purpose, but when you think about them, are wonderful none-the-less.
Tattoos can be fabulous, beautiful, and make a person distinctive and individual. Tattoos are also personal though, and aren’t public property. Everyone will have their opinion on tattoos, and body modification in general, but don’t allow your opinion to make you judgmental or cynical, or let your curiosity, be an excuse to be nosy and preachy, because at the end of the day its only skin. It’s not really the skin we’re in that matters, or the body art decorating that skin, but the person in that skin.
Tattooed Beauty Kat Von D.
