Are tattoos trashy? Yay or Nay and why?

[Anonymous]

I don't think posters here are actually bothered that others have them just that they would not get one for themselves. I like that other people get them in the way I enjoy that we are all individuals

[Anonymous]

I have a childhood friend, who is bipolar, who got one tattoo in the 90s at an urging from another friend. It was cute and looked good. It pissed off her parents, as she wanted then.

Fast forward 30+ years and most of her body is covered in tattoos, many of which she now regrets, when she said she would never regret any of them.

But she is addicted to the natural high she gets after the pain of the tattoo. A lot of hers do not look good, and also prevent her from public facing jobs, as she can't cover them all and some of the visible ones are very goth and not attractive.

She's now 50 and is making $15 an hour and can't get hired for any more, even in this labor market. She is trying.

Does this happen to most people? No.

But everytime I see someone with most of the surface of their body covered in tattoos, I think of her and assume they must have some sort of mental health issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No

52yo F, I have no tattoos

I think lots of tattoos is a sign that person had trauma in their life. Tons of tattoos is a form of self harm like cutting.

+1 i also think they are a coping mechanism. There are much worse ones, as they go...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a childhood friend, who is bipolar, who got one tattoo in the 90s at an urging from another friend. It was cute and looked good. It pissed off her parents, as she wanted then.

Fast forward 30+ years and most of her body is covered in tattoos, many of which she now regrets, when she said she would never regret any of them.

But she is addicted to the natural high she gets after the pain of the tattoo. A lot of hers do not look good, and also prevent her from public facing jobs, as she can't cover them all and some of the visible ones are very goth and not attractive.

She's now 50 and is making $15 an hour and can't get hired for any more, even in this labor market. She is trying.

Does this happen to most people? No.

But everytime I see someone with most of the surface of their body covered in tattoos, I think of her and assume they must have some sort of mental health issue.

This doesn’t happen to most people, but most people know somebody like this. I imagine there’s more backstory to her not getting hired than just “has lots of tattoos.”

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a childhood friend, who is bipolar, who got one tattoo in the 90s at an urging from another friend. It was cute and looked good. It pissed off her parents, as she wanted then.

Fast forward 30+ years and most of her body is covered in tattoos, many of which she now regrets, when she said she would never regret any of them.

But she is addicted to the natural high she gets after the pain of the tattoo. A lot of hers do not look good, and also prevent her from public facing jobs, as she can't cover them all and some of the visible ones are very goth and not attractive.

She's now 50 and is making $15 an hour and can't get hired for any more, even in this labor market. She is trying.

Does this happen to most people? No.

But everytime I see someone with most of the surface of their body covered in tattoos, I think of her and assume they must have some sort of mental health issue.

But if you can admit that this is not the experience of "most people" who get a tattoo, why do you persist on assuming that they must have a mental health problem?

I have a friend who had his first beer in the mid-90s. Fast forward 30 years and he's a chronic alcoholic who has been in and out of treatment too many times to count and can't hold a job or a relationship. Should I assume that everyone taking a sip at a bar has the same problems?

[Anonymous]

Yes trashy and classless, never desecrate your body

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes trashy and classless, never desecrate your body

This right here (desecrating your body with tattoos/piercings) is a very euro-centric/judeo-christian view. Just saying.

[Anonymous]

I am 42 and planning to get my first one this year. I like tiny, clear edged, deep black ones, placed discreetly.

But the whole unrelated tattoos all over, especially below the eyes is not my thing. To each their own, and YOLO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not trashy, but like any other piece of fashion or art, I like some and not others. I do not like the look of lots of random tattoos all over. Like a colorful cartoon character, next to a date in Roman numerals, next to an anchor, next to a flower. DH’s tattoos “match” in that they’re all black & gray, flow into each other, and they’re all in a similar style/theme done by the same artist. So basically no to Pete Davidson, yes to The Rock.

+1 to bolded

I also respect people who get tattoos -- they have a lot of confidence in their personal style/aesthetic.

Really? I know someone who has a Looney Tunes Taz tattoo. Do you respect that? He got drunk one night and made a bad decision. It's not his personal aesthetic, it's a licensed cartoon character and 25 years later it makes him look immature, not confident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A round tattoo on a man's bicep or upper shoulder is sexy as hell.

This…

[Anonymous]

^^until it starts to sag

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^until it starts to sag

Placement is key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a childhood friend, who is bipolar, who got one tattoo in the 90s at an urging from another friend. It was cute and looked good. It pissed off her parents, as she wanted then.

Fast forward 30+ years and most of her body is covered in tattoos, many of which she now regrets, when she said she would never regret any of them.

But she is addicted to the natural high she gets after the pain of the tattoo. A lot of hers do not look good, and also prevent her from public facing jobs, as she can't cover them all and some of the visible ones are very goth and not attractive.

She's now 50 and is making $15 an hour and can't get hired for any more, even in this labor market. She is trying.

Does this happen to most people? No.

But everytime I see someone with most of the surface of their body covered in tattoos, I think of her and assume they must have some sort of mental health issue.

But if you can admit that this is not the experience of "most people" who get a tattoo, why do you persist on assuming that they must have a mental health problem?

I have a friend who had his first beer in the mid-90s. Fast forward 30 years and he's a chronic alcoholic who has been in and out of treatment too many times to count and can't hold a job or a relationship. Should I assume that everyone taking a sip at a bar has the same problems?

My point was: it's one thing to get one or two tattoos. I probably won't even notice.

But once you are covering your body with them, it's either a cry or attention or something else. Much like taking a sip at the bar versus having to go to rehab, as you point out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spent decades worrying about what other people think about me. And then one day I realized how much of my own happiness I was sacrificing to that concern. One of the things I did when I came to this conclusion was get the tattoo I had long wanted. Then I got a second.

This thread just reminds me what a waste of time and energy it is to sit in judgment of other people about things that have no impact on anyone else. I know most posting here will roll their eyes at this sentiment and offer the usual responses—e.g., “we all judge other people; it’s just a fact of life” or “I don’t like seeing tattoos, so your decision does affect me”—and I don’t plan to come back to the thread to debate the point. But maybe someone will read this and decide to do something that will make them happy and not worry about what other people think. Or maybe they’ll just reflect and decide to spend less time and energy judging other people and using terms like “trashy.” Either would make the time I spent writing and posting this response worthwhile.

100% yes to this. I had the same experience. It may sound silly to some, but getting my first tattoo was an act of embracing not worrying about what others thought about me. That was less about what people think of the tattoo itself -- although I knew my mother and sister would have strong opinions about it -- and more just a visible symbol of my desire to stop worrying so much about what anyone else thought about any aspect of my life. As Walter White said, "I did it for me."

In personality, I am also the last person anyone would have thought would have a tattoo. I come across about as straight-laced and goody-two-shoes as possible. So it's additionally meaningful to me to have done something that others thought was so out of character.

So getting a tattoo was more meaningful to you because of what others might think about your getting a tattoo? You still seem exceptionally focused on what other people think.