My sil has a tramp stamp which reads "respect". She was raised UMC and is a professional and a mother of four. She told me about the tattoo and showed it to me 6 months after we met. We laugh about it and she admits it was a drunken youthful mistake. We've been family for 15 years and, when we greet each other, I say "respect".

I think they are generally unattractive on people even though I can admire the artistry of some of them. A small tattoo that can be covered up when situations require is no biggie.

Large ones, like on someone's thigh or entire forearm...not so cute, IMO.

If I were in a professional relationship with them, I'd reconsider the depths of that relationship simply because I consider it unprofessional. Fine on friends.

Yes, and I continue to be baffled that otherwise nicely-brought-up young people get them. When did this become a thing?

I am 55, brought up UMC in DC. Also, get off my lawn. (But seriously, WHY with the tackiness and the pain? Why????)

In 2001, the late Washington Post columnist Michael Kelly wrote a wonderful tongue-in-cheek meditation regarding people watching at the beach entitled "Girth of a Nation".
Link attached. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2001/08/01/girth-of-a-nation/5c61c857-6aaf-480d-9a6c-cbc9ce9652b2/


I am never able to consider tattoos without remembering this paragraph from his Op-Ed:

Two: Truly, nothing exceeds like excess. An earring -- or two, or three -- nicely compliments the human form. Even a pierced navel, on the right body (again: 18) adds sex appeal. But, oddly enough, adding on a staple through the tongue, a couple of ball-studs in the upper lip and a troika of rings in the left nostril does not improve on this beginning. Similarly, with tattoos. A single butterfly on a well-turned ankle is one thing; a torso-spanning butterfly garden is another. Remember too that, in the due passage of time, things sag. Also, they wrinkle. Tattoos affixed to things that sag and wrinkle likewise sag and wrinkle. As the artist inks the image of your beloved across your back, stop and think that, years hence on the beach, you will resemble nothing so much as a man taking the picture of Dorian Gray for a walk.[

34F. I have no tattoos but think they are so common now they’re not really trashy or not. I was surprised at our suburban pool just how many people have them. I think some tattoos from real tattoo artists can be gorgeous but so many people just get stupid nonsense. Also the second your skin sags or you gain weight they look bad.

My DH 34M hates tattoos with a fiery passion and thinks they are so trashy.

I think opinions on this vary a lot by age. I am early 40s. I dont have any tattoos and know few people in my social circle who do but I recognize there plenty of people with them and more so than when I was younger. I have two cousins in their 20s -- one has a tattoo the other does not -- but they are MUCH more common among their friends than in my day (both went to the same high school as me, one the same college).

Meanwhile my late 70s parents are so anti-tattoo and kept commenting on the tattooed athletes during the olympics. Finally i said remember when you were kids and miniskirts became a thing. Older people those days complained that people who wore them were trashy but times were changing. Its not your style but its here for better or worse.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is making me want to work the fact that I have a tattoo into conversation with everyone I meet so I can avoid accidentally befriending anyone like the judgmental posters in this thread.

Same!! LOL

Anonymous wrote:Cool: People with tattoos. People without tattoos.

Uncool: People who judge. People who use the word trashy.

You literally just judged people and then used the word trashy.

Mostly they're trashy, but I generally don't think poorly of the person. I just think they made a visible mistake.

I appreciate that some tattoos are very pretty art pieces, but the person wearing it is not the artist so it would be the same as me wearing a tshirt with a beautiful painting on the front.

I also think the person is likely a bad steward of money, even if they're wealthy enough to buy them. Jewelry and other belongings usually retain some value and could be sold if necessary.

I'm 49F and neither my husband nor I have any tattoos.

43F. I like well-done, artistic tattoos. I think sleeves can look really gorgeous.

I recently went through a very difficult health battle and would like to get a very small one as a reminder. A symbol that is meaningful to me and I would put it somewhere that only I would see. It seems like it would give me some closure

46F, don't have any, doubt I'll ever get any.

I don't really care, but I recently noticed that when I'm on dating apps, I swipe left on men with visible tats. So maybe I don't like them.
I don't think they're an indication of anything negative.

The problem is, they very rarely look good as the person ages and the skin starts to sag, they gain weight, etc.

Cool: People with tattoos. People without tattoos.

Uncool: People who judge. People who use the word trashy.

This thread is making me want to work the fact that I have a tattoo into conversation with everyone I meet so I can avoid accidentally befriending anyone like the judgmental posters in this thread.

Trash, low IQ, no impulse control. Period.