Why do some women ruin their looks with tattoos?

[Anonymous]

There are literally two reasons why women have tattoos or anybody actually the first reason is that there’s a meaning they are artistic and they are expressing some thing the other reason is that they have a lot of trauma and tattooing as a form of self harm that helps them feel better. Either way I don’t give an F a pretty woman” has tattoos because I think they’re beautiful no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are women who generally put a lot of effort into their appearance so it’s obvious they want to look good, and they are usually pretty attractive overall, but when you see a woman and she’s covered head to toe in tattoos it really negates her good looks. Maybe she’s trying to appeal to a certain guy but IMO tattoos are almost never a positive on a woman, at best it’s something you can put up with but it never enhances someone’s looks. It’s an inherently masculine look.

There are men who generally put a lot of effort into sounding educated so it's obvious they want to be seen as smart, and they are usually not complete morons, but when you see a man and he's clinging to a narrow, culturally specific viewpoint of what is attractive it really negates his overall appeal. Maybe he's trying to appeal to other dudes who wish they could proscribe what women wear but IMO acting like you are entitled to tell others what is attractive is almost never a positive on a man, at best it's something you can put up with but it never enhances someone's charm. It's an inherently small-minded viewpoint.

[Anonymous]

If it helps,a mullet hair cut style is much classier--and less permanent--than a tattoo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH told me that FIL said the exact same thing recently. "I don't understand why pretty young women ruin their looks with tattoos."

And I said, yeah, first of all your dad is like all old people who can't believe the next generation has different preferences and standards and thinks theirs should remain supreme for all time. And secondly, your dad is blind to his ingrained misogyny in thinking that "pretty young women" need to give a flying fook what some stranger thinks. And my husband said, no no, of course my dad isn't misogynistic, and I said look, it's ingrained in us to think that women are supposed to behave in certain ways and earn the attention and protection of men. It's a subtle, subconscious thing, and it takes effort and self-awareness to recognize and reject it.

It's just pretty wild to think that people you don't know should care about being aesthetically pleasing to you. Hello entitlement.

Why are so few people capable of thinking abstractly when it comes to stuff like this? It has nothing to do with wanting strangers to be aesthetically pleasing to an individual person. In principle, yes, young women should as a whole not be encouraged do things to mar their beauty on purpose. Based on the answers in this thread, the tattoo very much is an expression of “screw you, if you think I’m ugly!” which is a statement in and of itself. It speaks of a petulant disdain for social restraint and lack of long-term thinking which is not a positive quality to have in a civilized, eusocial society. Has nothing to do with who does and does not get a boner from it.

This is an extremely problematic viewpoint. Women’s bodies are their own, to do with as they please. They are not a collective good.

And people’s opinions and viewpoints are their own, to do with what they please. Why is it any more wrong for them to think that it’s unnattractive then? Why do people want to control or change other people’s visceral reaction to seeing a beautiful woman scribbled on like a school desk then? Why is it any more wrong for a mother to not want that for her daughter? Just because a man *can* waste his life away playing video games and doing drugs as he pleases does it mean people are wrong for discouraging such a life and finding it unnattractive?

Big difference between doing drugs and tattoos. But I’ll bite.

I’m a woman and I find tattoos on men to be a huge turn off. I only dated men who had none, or maybe 1-2 maximum, as long as they were small and had some sort of meaning. A tattoo honoring his mom? Okay. A tattoo of a sexy woman? Nope.

Difference is, I don’t go around complaining that men ruin their bodies and proclaiming that all men should look a way that is attractive to me. I recognize that their body is their choice, that I am free to date the men I am attracted to, and other women are attracted to tattoos.

[Anonymous]

It’s the viewpoint that women should try to be pretty that is problematic. A certain type of man, and some women, seem to have a problem with women who make choices that make them less conventionally attractive.

DH used to be like this. He’d say things like - if that women just lost some weight she’d be so pretty. Or - I don’t understand why women who are otherwise pretty gain weight. I’m they just lost weight they’d be hit. Or - remember when Janet Jackson and Jessica Simpson were hot, then they gained all this weight. It’s like a crime to men that they are no longer pleasant to the male gaze.

It look me awhile, and with the help of a therapist, to get him to stop viewing and valuing all women for the attractiveness. He didn’t get that some women don’t spend their time trying to be attractive. They have other things in their lives that are more important. Like expressing themselves through their tattoos or purple hair or body building.

[Anonymous]

I worked as a lifeguard before tattoos were as popular as today, and was always surprised how the toddlers weren't born with pictures on them like their parents. Silly, I know.

[Anonymous]

How do you choose something ageless? I cringe at the things I liked and bought when I was 20. Imagine if I was living with the tattoos I thought were cool then.

[Anonymous]

It takes a very special aesthetic for a woman to be able to pull off a tattoo. They rarely, rarely look good. "tramp stamp" indeed.
The worst is fat white ladies with calf tattoos. Shudder.

[Anonymous]

Why do people have visceral reactions to how other people style themselves?

I get that some things are class signifiers, but so what? So it means that this person was born with less money than me and as a result they hung out with different people and they thought different things were cool? Why would I spend a second of my life caring about this, other than to think that if I were born in their zip code I'd probably think the exact same things were cool? We're programmed to want to fit in with our tribe, after all.

I think these over the top reactions are a giveaway of a person's insecurities (the judger, not the person they're judging). The judger is thinking, "OMG how embarrassing that this person is trying to look cool/attractive/successful and failing so miserably." But if you have a good grasp of how the interest in and meaning of body art varies across cultures, you'll just be interested intellectually in it, not worked up by it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are women who generally put a lot of effort into their appearance so it’s obvious they want to look good, and they are usually pretty attractive overall, but when you see a woman and she’s covered head to toe in tattoos it really negates her good looks. Maybe she’s trying to appeal to a certain guy but IMO tattoos are almost never a positive on a woman, at best it’s something you can put up with but it never enhances someone’s looks. It’s an inherently masculine look.

This is a pretty silly observation, but there is a kernel of truth to it. Ladies, if you are thinking of getting tattoos on these areas of your body:

* Breasts and chest
* Between the breasts
* Face

Just don't. It will never look good on you and you'll look trashy as hell.

Anywhere else? Knock yourself out.

[Anonymous]

I personally don’t like tattoos but understand why other people would. It’s not that difficult

[Anonymous]

Because she had parents that didn’t care about her in high school and college and she had a wild moment and got a few tramp stamps to piss off her parents or please some boy that thought they were cool then he dumped her and she went to therapy and realized her parents didn’t care about her still but now she was stamped for life and would have to take what she can get four men so she dresses extra nice to make up for her poor college decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To each their own. What is or is not attractive to you does not matter. Mind your own business. And I bet you are not even close to being attractive. 😀

What does me being attractive have to do with tattoos? Point still stands.

Because you said it was unattractive and I assume you are also unattractive yourself. At least on the inside.

[Anonymous]

Oh no! You don't think my tattoos look good? Whatever will I do. I'm going to be up all night worrying about this.

[Anonymous]

The PTA meeting can’t start until the basic moms with the shttiest tattoos you’ve ever seen arrive.