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Are Tats Taboo?
When Is A Bad Tattoo A Dealbreaker?

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CuriousSue
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
ew, i hope they stay out of the mainstream for the sake of my eyes.
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Ms Meghan
12/10/09

@CuriousSue: I'm pretty sure tattoos are more mainstream than you think. Also way to be super judgemental.
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CuriousSue
12/11/09

@Ms Meghan: It's not about being judgmental. I'm allowed to find them unattractive just as you find them attractive.
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Snizzy-Snazz Bullets
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?

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Snizzy-Snazz Bullets
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I'm a tattoo artist. I know a lot of you find tattoos disgusting, which is a shame. Please understand, there is a ton of talent out there. The one above is by Rachi Brains.
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Edited by Snizzy-Snazz Bullets at 12/10/09 6:14 PM

Snizzy-Snazz Bullets
12/10/09

@Snizzy-Snazz Bullets: And this is by my friend Scott.
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Gavagirl
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I've been saying for years that I'm going to get a Waldo tattoo. But I ain't sayin' where. :-)
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Dorilys
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
Awwww.... I was hoping people would put up pics of their tats so I could appreciate them.

Also, I am a tatted up scientist.
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Edited by Dorilys at 12/10/09 5:14 PM Dorilys was starred Dorilys was unstarred

cirocco
12/10/09

@Dorilys: Snizzy-snazz just posted a couple of beauts upthread. I'm loving the Carmen Miranda giraffe.
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hollygirl
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
The hospital where I work has a "no visible tatoos" HR policy. It seems so retrograde, I kind of can't believe they can get away with it.
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Flackette Goes Retro
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
My 97 year old great-grandfather has what is supposed to be a naked lady on his forearm, done when he was 16, in a barn, by a buddy who had borrowed some tattoo equipment. All I know is that nearly a century of working outdoors as a farmer has been rough on the ole gal. Her boobs aren't what they used to be.

Lesson: Do not someone tattoo you in a barn with vintage 1928 equipment.
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PaintedTrollop
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I worked in a nursing home when I was 16, and saw all kinds of saggy old Naval tattoos that had run together. Not pretty on saggy old guys. I never wanted a tattoo. My daughter has a few. I made her wait till she was 18, which made her grumpy, but she got over it. Tattoos and piercings are like long hair and hippie clothes were for my generation. It will be interesting to see what's next.
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MoonCat82
12/10/09

@PaintedTrollop: i really like the saggy tattoos for some reason. it kind of reminds me they were younger and wilder once.
my grandkids will know i wasn't always the cookies-baking, sweater-kitting white haired grandma they know!
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BuffySummers
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I once saw a question on Yelp that was, paraphrasing: "Where can I go in Chicago to meet guys with tattoos?"

Someone said, "Everywhere?"

I think that about sums it up.
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amowls
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
Actually a lot of the people I worked with in DC had tattoos and even bared them on "casual" Fridays. The other 4 days, however, were a no no.

Also I live in Richmond, VA, where the median age is 24 so everyone has sleeves, chest pieces, and weird ass piercings. Tattoos are so normal here that employers don't even blink twice. My mom who came down to visit me (she's from Northern VA/DC) said, "WHY DO ALL THE WOMEN HERE HAVE TATTOOS???" and was visibly horrified when we went to a local restaurant and all of the waitresses had full sleeves.
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Hiroine Protagonist promoted this comment Edited by amowls at 12/10/09 3:42 PM amowls was starred amowls was unstarred

small-fox
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
These statistics just confirm how completely out of the norm I am as a 26-year-old who finds tattoos largely unattractive. I don't know what it is because I wasn't raised very conservative or anything like that, but aesthetically, something about them is just a little icky.
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the dodo, the cuckoo, and the nene
12/10/09

@small-fox: I am also 26 (nearly 27). and I don't find tattoos attractive either. My family is quite liberal and so am I. I find them distracting, I guess. I like piercings though.
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bargeekblog
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
Though I live in Philly (where tattoos are as prevalent as hipsters and cheesesteaks), I grew up in DC. Over Thanksgiving, I went to my 10 year high school reunion back home with the majority of my 20+ tattoos in full view.

Lemme tell ya, it's as if I showed up with a severed chicken head around my neck. The questions ranged from "Why would you DO that!?" to "Are you in a band or something? Is that why you have those?" to "Hey, where can I get some weed?". I had no idea that tattoos were so alien to the DC set.

On a related note, the next day I lit up a cigarette in downtown Silver Spring and from the way people reacted you would have thought I had kicked a puppy wrapped in babies.
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colormeroutine
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I have 3 tattoos. The first one, which I got while still living at home, and is hard to cover, my mother has always known about. Wasn't happy with it, but dealt. A few weeks ago though I was visiting and had needed to borrow some clothesof my little brother's for doing some dirty work, and as he is about twice my size, they flopped all over the place and she saw the 3rd, much larger tattoo on my back.
Cue 30 minutes of sobbing and "but your skin! Your beautiful, perfect skin! When I used to give you baths as a baby!"
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Kitten is an 80s rocker
12/10/09

@colormeroutine: Hahaha, that's exactly the kind of thing my mom says when I bring up the subject of getting a tattoo. "Why would you change yourself? What's wrong with the way I made you??"
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Pennyfeather
12/10/09

@Kitten is an 80s rocker: Does she also get uppity about you wearing clothes or make-up? "YOU WERE SO BEAUTIFUL COMING OUT OF THE BIRTH CANAL THOUGH!"
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Kitten is an 80s rocker
12/10/09

@Pennyfeather: Or that I'm in color instead of in black and white? "What's wrong with being a fetus in an ultrasound, huh? All of a sudden you're too good to be naked and blind in my uterus??"

She actually complains pretty much constantly that I'm too pale and need some lipstick. Geez, mom, is a little consistency too much to ask?
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thrombus
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
My parents object to tattoos in piercings - why would you ruin your body like that? you're so pretty!

Sigh.
Some people just don't get it.
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ytuhermanotambien
12/10/09

@thrombus: My mom screamed when she saw my tattoo, even though I had warned her about it. She was like, "it's so BIG! and DARK!" even though it's pretty tiny.
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zombies.like.lattés.too
12/10/09

@ytuhermanotambien: my mom found out about mine through a friend who noticed it at a dinner party and asked if it was real. mother proceeded to cry and get drunk. we don't talk about my tattoo.
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beezee19
12/10/09

@thrombus: Reminds me of my mother. I don't even have tattoos (I've contemplating one for a while though, something that would be very meaningful). But when I told her last year I was thinking about getting a second hole in each ear, she freaked out and started talking about how it would affect my future career. I still did it two weeks ago, and when she noticed she distraught. I don't know how I'd feel about having to hide a tattoo from her forever.
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SlayBelle
12/10/09

@zombies.like.lattés.too: My mother started screaming at me at Christmas Eve dinner when she saw my (first) tattoo -- which, for the record, covers about 3/4s of my back. I shut her up with a quick snap of 'I am almost 30 years old, I will do what I want with my body'.

Once she realized that, she warmed up to the tattoos, and asks me about mine all the time, and calls to tell me about 'that nice show with the guys who do tattoos' and 'that time she saw someone with a pirate ship on her ribs and maybe that would look nice on me'.

So there's hope! Maybe your mom will get over it.
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thrombus
12/10/09

@beezee19: I have 10 piercings now, all paid with my own money aside from my first earlobe studs when I was like...10. My parents still don't like them, but they're used to them now. All of them are visible. My dad still makes fun of my septum piercing though, but it's all in jest.

Tattoos though...haven't crossed over yet, but it's another thing they'll have to get over. ;)
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ytuhermanotambien
12/10/09

@zombies.like.lattés.too: My mom got over it eventually (although if I had a full sleeve or a tattoo on my face or something, I bet she'd still be upset about it). Maybe yours will too?
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dialing_footnoterphone
12/10/09

In reply to Are Tats Taboo?
I have two Celtic knot tattoos on my body (and only because I'm deeply connected to my Irish ancestry). One on my neck that matches a tattoo my partner has (a triquetra that turns into a heart) and a motherhood knot over my heart with a dot to represent my son. I love them both and can't wait to add onto my motherhood knot!

Mostly I get compliments from those who care enough to say something. I notice a lot of older people staring (and since it's above my boob I feel exposed and kind of dirty when it's an ooold man like my grampa) with mixed reactions. The motherhood knot is in a place that's very hard to hide, but since it's pretty I'm allowed to show it at work. I figure that I'll always love my son and future children, so that'll never tire. I guess if my partner and I ever split, it'll just be a painful memory. But it's on my neck so it's alright.
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colormeroutine promoted this comment Edited by dialing_footnoterphone at 12/10/09 3:16 PM

colormeroutine
12/10/09

@dialing_footnoterphone: I have a triquetra-heart on the inside of my left wrist! I actually haven't seen it on anyone else
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