Jezebel 
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New York, 5:34 AM
Thu Nov 26
64 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/11/09
09/09/09
If you think tattoo's are tacky and trashy then kindly don't get one. I have one and I love it. I have a post-it sized Irish shamrock and I can't imagine ever regretting. It in fact I often find myself catching a glimpse at it and smiling. The obvious is yes if you put them in areas that are always showing you may be required to cover them for work, however some places do not mind them as much as they used to. I work in an office and a girl here has some beautiful art on the back of her neck and across her collarbone.
Frankly I'm shocked by how many people hear sound like they are judging others by their tattoos. A tattoo is not a personality trait, and those of us with them vary as much as all Jezebel readers do if not more. And as for the idea that if I am in your wedding and you don't like them I should cover up them up because you find tattoo's trashy...then how much do you really give a fig about me that you can't accept me as who I am. Personally if a friend or family member insisted I hide mine I'd tell them I'll save them the embarrassment and not go. Frankly that's downright insulting. It may be your event but are you then asking all your guests to mail in pictures of their outfits because someone may not wear the right accessories or tie! Heaven forbid not everyone there conform to YOUR standard of what's attractive...better decide on a beauty standard as well. Sheesh.
09/09/09
God, writing that makes me realize how much I love him.
09/09/09
The close-mindedness I'm seeing in this thread is making me sick.
So you don't like tattoos. Fine.
STOP CALLING US TRASHY.
Seriously, ladies.
There are those of us who take our professions seriously and put our all into each and every tattoo we do.
For example, a piece by my friend Scott, who tattoos under the name Cool-Aid.
I smile every time I see it:
09/11/09
09/08/09
I thought it through extensively before getting it, had the design in mind for nearly a year beforehand just to make sure it was something I really wanted, and put it on my upper back near my shoulderblade--a place not likely to stretch much with weight gain/weight loss/pregnancy.
It is beautifully executed, easily covered up if I need it to be, and will not prevent me from obtaining any job I might desire. It is personally meaningful, and reminds me that I am strong enough to beat mental illness. Getting that tattoo was an act of love for myself after a period during which I hated myself. It makes me happy every time I see it or think about it.
Suck it, haters.
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Also, I've seen too many beautiful women with tattoos that did not age well at all. I don't judge them, because it was their choice and obviously meaningful (although I have known people who got them just because they were young and thought it would be cool), but it would be nice to have a crystal ball for stuff you get to choose.
09/08/09
Although another thing- just because I have tattoos does not mean that you can grab my arm or stroke them without my permission.
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Also, I'm plenty open-minded. But being open-minded doesn't mean I have to like everything. And tattoos fall into the category of don't-like. That doesn't mean I don't like people with tattoos. I just don't like the tattoos.
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Same sort of thing with makeup - I see someone with mounds of makeup on, and my first reaction is to forcibly scrub off the makeup so I can see who she "really is." But that's irrational. Her choice to wear that makeup tells me far more about her than her unaltered body would. None of us chose what we looked like, and almost everyone is unhappy with their appearance in one way or another, so I don't understand why we feel like a random conglomerate of genetic traits provides a better picture of a person.
In my ideal fantasy-land we'd all have completely customizable appearances, but tattoos and other body mods are the closest we can get to making the inside match the outside, so to speak, so why do so many people have such strong negative reactions to them?
I know tattoos used to be a marker of the highly untrustworthy, but seriously. Everyone and their moms have tattoos now.
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09/08/09
And if I'm going to be brutally honest, I'd also admit that I think tattoos are tacky. So rip into me because I'm willing to say it, but a lot of people feel the same way. It's generational certainly. Even if we don't say anything, we judge people with visible tattoos. The bigger and more visible they are, the more we judge. And will until we're dead. Another reason to hate boomers. And it has nothing to do with political or religious beliefs. I'm a liberal, pro-choice, non-believer Democrat and I still hate tattoos.
Having ink permanently embedded in your skin is like picking out a shirt or a pair of pants you're going to wear for the rest of your life. You may love it now, but wait until your life changes or it starts to fade or stretch or morph over time. You can get tattoos removed, but the removal can leave scars, and isn't always 100% effective.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox. The stoning may commence.
09/08/09
Politics change, people change, the environment changes. David Bowie even wrote a song about changes, but I can't remember the name right now. Cat People?
For me, and I suspect for a lot of people, tattoos are like the rings on a tree. You can trace them and see the years of drought and the years of plenty, and understand a lot more about how that tree (or person) came to be.
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My tattoos also mark a point in my life that I either want to cherish or know I powered through.
09/08/09
You don't have to like them, but to be hateful towards those of us who do love them and love the skin they are on as well, it pretty offensive.
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"And since it's a public statement that people choose to ink on their bodies, it's even more ridiculous to me when they get all "don't judge me!!!!" about it."
only further proves how totally clueless you are about tattoos- not wanting to know a thing about the person who has one before judging them as trashy is actually kind of grotesque and is something I certainly would be ashamed to admit to.
Tattoos: not something you would do? Fine. But I suggest you adjust your attitude concerning what's beautiful versus what isn't and what makes someone "trashy" and worthy of your judgmental, look-down-the-nose gaze as soon as possible. Rude and snide comments about peoples' appearances (inherited or otherwise) are something that I find ugly, immature, and stomach-turning.
09/08/09
Wearing western clothes some of the time in India caused some of my cousins and men on the street to deem me trashy. So what? I know I made certain choices. I have my own values and they have theirs.
Likewise, when you get a tattoo, you're making a statement of some kind, to everyone. You can't reasonably expect people to have only neutral to favorable opinions. So do what you want, but own it and own the natural consequences.
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And I say this as a tattooed American Eritrean female who encounters the same situation.
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However, you didn't say, "I think people look better without tattoos". You said, "I think they look trashy and faux-rebellious on men and women." Which is a pretty different statement, and, yes, as someone else pointed out, utterly obnoxious. It's not that you're making a "controversial" statement, you're making a shallow, judgmental statement.
09/08/09
I think you've made a huge assumption that people get tattoos for other people. I'm sure this is true in some cases but it's not true for me, and I'm sure other people here would agree. I'm surprised that you're so proud of being judgmental, particularly about something that you don't seem to know very much about. Obviously you should have your own opinion, and it's not as if my feelings are hurt that someone who has never seen me or my tattoos is calling me trashy, but I'm not into vitriolic statements for the sake of being "controversial."
09/08/09
First off, it's best known in the western world for its early associatations with convicts and the least well-bred among sailors. Not a good start there. Secondly, it's freaking amazing how gravely insulted and injured people will get at those who don't like tattoos. Criticize their clothing style, criticize their mother...but don't criticize their tattoo! Waayyy too sensitive.
So, being as I was in this inner circle of "body modifiers" and "body artists," I was young and able to get my body used as a canvas for virtually nothing. While I did agree to be used as a piercing guinea pig, I never got a single tattoo. Even in my rebellious youth (and I was heavily into the Hollywood punk scene), I had enough logic to realize that my tastes in ten or twenty years would not be what they were at the time.
Now as far as memories go, I would hate to undermine my own brain and suppose that my recollections would not sustain me without the aid of pretty (fading) pictures to look at on my own skin. And I wouldn't want to be defending, perhaps with tears of recollection, the sentimental and touching meanings behind - oh, I don't know - a frigging tribal band, or flower on the small of my back, a star on my ankle, or a giant fish on my leg! I know these are symbols meant for nothing but reverance for bygone days but....meh, I can't even go on with the pretense. If you're going to have them, fine, but don't expect everyone else to fawn over them. And don't apply for a job as a prison guard when you are tatted from head to foot (I actually know someone who plans to do this). You will fit in a little too well with the prison culture. And that's not a sarcastic remark-you really will look very similar to them with that many tattoos, which carries with it a whole host of problems in the workplace.
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Sure, I get that. I said "neutral to favorable opinions" not just "favorable" You do seem to expect a lack of negative judgment. I can't help but find this a little funny.
"I think you've made a huge assumption that people get tattoos for other people. I'm sure this is true in some cases but it's not true for me"
It would be far cooler, and it would look less faux rebellious if you really didn't care what I thought, if you could just brush it off as a different opinion, and didn't pretend that it was "vitriolic", LOL.
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I LOVE that answer.
09/08/09
Anywhos, people who wander into a shop and get something permanently inked onto their body without any prior thought to the ramifications that would come from it don't really get my sympathy. I have thought long and hard about all my tattoos and yes there are days where I wish a few of them were gone, not because I dont like them, but I hate to discuss them with people who dont know me personally but believe they are entitled to my life story because I have a few pretty pictures on my arms and legs. Also, this does not mean I am a biker, a hooker or any other colorful things confused with my love of body adornment. Thanks.