Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Tattoos

I don't have any tattoos. Particularly in the summer, I feel like I'm in a tiny minority of people who don't have any tattoos.

Why don't I have tattoos?

75% attributed to there's nothing I care to put on my body permanently. Tattooing names on me seems akin to branding myself. Phrases? If I put them on myself, I'd have to contort my myself to read them. I don't have anything to say to others for them to read off my body. Let's not forget the time I was on jury duty that I read a tattoo phrase that used the wrong word, and then I wondered how many people had pointed that out to him. And pictures of roses, moons, suns, etc.--I really don't understand the purpose of these types of tattoos at all.

25% attributed to me thinking it would be tacky for me to do.  For me to get to non-tacky, in my opinion, I'd have to do a good amount or they have to be really good. It becomes not just a tattoo, but more like body art. And that brings me back to the other 75%.

I know a mixed bag of those with tattoos and those who are not tattooed. I don't judge the tattooed, but I am intrigued about the story behind each tattoo and why they got each.

The pain isn't really a deterrent to me. I'm kind of a masochist with certain pain, and I think I'd cope just fine...although if it got infected, that's where I would get queasy.

I suppose we all have different ways to express ourselves. If something notable happened to me, I'd be far more likely to blog about it or take pictures (despite my lack of posting pictures on here, I actually take a lot of pictures) than want to tattoo my body. Far be it from me to judge other people's ways of expressing themselves. For me tattoos would be near the bottom of the list of ways I'd express myself.

4 comments:

April said...

You know that I don't comment much, but this post really got my attention! Seth and I are not tattoo people either. I have never felt the urge to do this. While I am also intrigued by the stories behind others tattoo's, I am more intrigued by what makes a person feel the desire to get a tattoo for no reason at all. "What does this flower symbolize on the small of your back?" "Spring Break 2001. It symbolizes Spring Break 2001" Well, ok then. How about this one..."I just always loved dolphins" To me, that's not using your body as a canvas for art, but more like a doodle pad in 4th period when you are bored. A very expensive, permanent doodle pad.

In my mind, our bodies themselves are a beautiful work of art. To place a meaningless tattoo on ones body is like drawing a smiley face on The Mona Lisa. We are all already masterpieces of art.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Nowadays it seems like if you really want to rebel you DON'T get a tattoo! I actually used to want a tattoo quite a few years ago. I wanted a little rainbow trout jumping out of my bathing suit bottoms because my husband and i flyfish. Just a little one. But as more and more folks started getting them, including older people i decided i didn't want one anymore.

Not only that. A couple of summers ago there was a woman at our condo pool with a mermaid tattoo on her arm only it looked terrible. It was all stretched out so that you almost couldn't tell what it was and the color was faded. The woman was overweight by maybe 50 lbs or more and i realized she probably got that tattoo when she was thin and tattoos get all distorted when you gain weight and lord, i don't even want to think about what they will look like when people are in their 80's!

B said...

Well said, April!

Jo, we're rebels!

jojo cucina cucina said...

Yep! WE are the rebels!