Anonymous wrote:Roman-Catholic 3rd generation Irish-American.

Tattoos = yuck. Tattoos = mutilizing your own body and not respecting what God created as a gift for you.

Master's degree. Father was an attorney and mother a kindergarten teacher. Upper middle class. Conservative Republicans. Grew up in and still live in Fairfax County. Went away for college and grad school abroad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

They still show poor judgement.

In what way? They haven’t affected employment, social status, finances, relationships with family, or enjoyment of life.

Anonymous wrote:

Well op, no one here thinks tattoos are classy. That surprised me.

I have rejected job applicants for having tattoos so it's still a risky thing to do

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

Very few of the artists I know—paint, graphic, silversmithing—have tattoos. The ones who do have small tattoos in really hidden places. These are mostly grads of one of the top 3 art schools in the country, fwiw. They tend to roll their eyes at statements about how, if an “artist” does it, it’s suddenly “art.”

PS. I should clarify. Your tattoos may be lovely. The problem is, don’t tell us they’re lovely just because you “run with an artistic crowd.” We’ve all seen too much schlock calling itself “art.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

Very few of the artists I know—paint, graphic, silversmithing—have tattoos. The ones who do have small tattoos in really hidden places. These are mostly grads of one of the top 3 art schools in the country, fwiw. They tend to roll their eyes at statements about how, if an “artist” does it, it’s suddenly “art.”

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

They still show poor judgement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC college educated. I think they look trashy. But I don't think people who have them are trashy. Huge difference. I understand that tattoos are much more mainstream than they were just a few years ago. Two of my kids have tattoos. I hate the ink. But my kids are pretty great.

I too realize that tattoos have crossed over into the non-trashy realm of society, but I still think they look trashy nonethless.

Anonymous wrote:UMC college educated. I think they look trashy. But I don't think people who have them are trashy. Huge difference. I understand that tattoos are much more mainstream than they were just a few years ago. Two of my kids have tattoos. I hate the ink. But my kids are pretty great.

Anonymous wrote:37, UMC, highly educated.

I guess you all don’t run with the artistic, mostly highly educated crowd I do. Many of us have beautiful tattoos that say something about our personal passions. We have well-paying jobs and are good parents. Certainly not all tattoos are tasteful—nor are all of the people who get tattoos like my friends and me—but we’re not all uneducated and unemployed.

<bracing myself for the flames that are coming my way>

Anonymous wrote:J.D., grew up middle class, still am middle class (don’t live in the DMV and work in local government).

Love intricate and artistic tattoos. DH has half sleeves and I find them so unbelievably sexy. I have to meaningful and small ones myself, I would get a large one but I don’t want to give my mother a heart attack. We have a friend that is a tattoo artist whose nature and horror scene tattoo work in nationally renowned. The things he can do are simply incredible.

Anonymous wrote:Trashy/MC/Graduate Degrees/Cultural Heritage Preservation/$175K.

But maybe age is the better variable to ask about here. I'm 44, but Millenials (it seems to me) have a fondness for permanent body modifications-- all of which look trashy to me. They can do what they want, but I wish their tastes weren't influencing my Gen Z kid's interest in extra ear piercings. Bizarre trends used to just elicit shrugs from me, but it got real when I noticed my kid was susceptible.