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When tattoos make you look ridiculous

#81
Sifl said:
I don't give a crap what anybody thinks. I love my tattoos and have no regrets, nor will I ever regret them. To me, judging a person based solely on the fact that they have tattoos is the same as judging them by their race, religion or sex. It's a form of discrimination. Not all tattooed people are social deviants.
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Are you suggesting that someone made the choice as to what their race or gender is? I have shoulder length hair (to the middle of my back, actually), but I wouldn't scream "dscrimination!" if it interfered with my employment. I've made a choice to have long hair.

KO
 
#83
Interesting discussion from both viewpoints.

I have two. Both are of things that I want to remember. Both were thought about for a very long time. Both are concealable and most don't know I have them. I work a good salary job with strong benefits and lots of personal responsibility.

If it gets to the point that I need to get them removed to continue in life, I will. However, I don't think that any job that requires me to be topless will be a step up in terms of employment.
 
#87
Munjibunga said:
It sounds like you think there's some kind of benefit to your tattoos and ear mutilation since you describe it as a "lifestyle." What does your lifestyle do for you? Self-decoration? What advantage does this "decoration" provide for you? The vast majority of people find it unattractive, and the types of people who find it attractive probably aren't really going to be in a position to improve your life. It's almost as though you're sentencing yourself to a life of extremely limited opportunities. Why?

Don't give me your standard defense response. How about digging down a little deeper and finding what it was in your early life that caused you to need body modification and tattoos to boost your self-image?
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I have to respond to this ludicrous statement. The 'vast majority of people find this unattractive"....where do you get this from? Can you pull up some statistics from reputable scientific research to back up this bold statement? "People who find it attractive probably aren't really going to be in a position to improve your life"....again, what proof do you have?

"It's almost as though you're sentencing yourself to a life of extremely limited opportunities" Well, I can't speak for anyone else....but I have a tattoo (and plan on getting more)...hasn't impacted my life one bit. I possess a master's degree in psychology, work at the # 1 children's hospital in the country (where there are TONS of employees sporting tats), have a wonderful girlfriend whom also makes an excellent living, etc.

Instead of making bold and unfounded statements about things you clearly know little about, please educate yourself.

PS - wow...."How about digging down a little deeper and finding what it was in your early life that caused you to need body modification and tattoos to boost your self-image?" Who are YOU to judge why a person gets body mods or tats? My best friend has one as a tribute to his grandfather whom he was very close with....has absolutely nothing to do with him getting it because he had a rough childhood or has poor self image! Dude, seriously, stop dressing up your own ignorant and biased opinions as fact!
 
#88
stflbn said:
I personally find gauged ears, piercing, etc way more offensive then tattoos. I hate to think how gauged ears, etc are going to look 20 - 40 years down the road.
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20 years from now... the same maybe a little floppier than they used to be...

40 or more... Well, my ears will look like every old mans... droopy and nasty. Unless I've kept my piercings in all those years, in which case I'll be an old man with droopy earlobes with 1 inch holes in the middle. ;)

I find it no worse than all the old ladies I've seen with tiny little piercings that slice down their ear over the years because they are wearing jewelry that's way too heavy. Now THAT'S disgusting. Or how about all the girls out there that have had their ears pierced by :spit: piercing guns :spit: in a mall and ended up with that nasty little bubble on the backside of their piercings. Those are the piercing related things that I find disgusting.

But hey, to each their own I guess. :)
 
#89
lamonica78 said:
I have to respond to this ludicrous statement. The 'vast majority of people find this unattractive"....where do you get this from? Can you pull up some statistics from reputable scientific research to back up this bold statement? "People who find it attractive probably aren't really going to be in a position to improve your life"....again, what proof do you have?

"It's almost as though you're sentencing yourself to a life of extremely limited opportunities" Well, I can't speak for anyone else....but I have a tattoo (and plan on getting more)...hasn't impacted my life one bit. I possess a master's degree in psychology, work at the # 1 children's hospital in the country (where there are TONS of employees sporting tats), have a wonderful girlfriend whom also makes an excellent living, etc.

Instead of making bold and unfounded statements about things you clearly know little about, please educate yourself.

PS - wow...."How about digging down a little deeper and finding what it was in your early life that caused you to need body modification and tattoos to boost your self-image?" Who are YOU to judge why a person gets body mods or tats? My best friend has one as a tribute to his grandfather whom he was very close with....has absolutely nothing to do with him getting it because he had a rough childhood or has poor self image! Dude, seriously, stop dressing up your own ignorant and biased opinions as fact!
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Thanks bud, somebody had to say it.

Tattooing is a very under appreciated art form
 
#90
mynewbaby said:
To all of the people that say they have had nothing but compliments on their tattoos:
Do you really expect someone who doesn't like it to tell you they hate it or that you are an idoit when you show them? No, they wait until you leave to say all that. :hiding:
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I've had a couple people tell me that they don't like my tattoos, but they ALL did say that if I'm happy with them, then thats all that matters.
 
#91
dj150888 said:
One of my largest tattoos in on my leg, covering up some really severe scarring from an accident I had in my teens. (Skateboarding, not as cool as it looks, 2 compound fractures and over a year not being able to walk!). For years I was really sensitive about the scarring on my leg, I got it all covered up and now I can wear shorts again, I don't cringe whenever I see my leg, all in all, I'm a happier guy.
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Don't get me wrong, I like tattoo's, but scars are way cooler than tattoo's.
 
#92
Don't shoot the messenger, but the two psychiatrists I know have told me there is a correlation between poor self-image and having a tattoo; apparantly they see it with patients fairly often, and there IS some research done that supports this. I don't know enough people with tattoos to hold an opinion on this. I daresay the average tattooed TBer is more stable, educated and informed about the pros/cons of tattooing than the person-on-the-street.

An ex of mine had a couple of small tattoos, but they weren't visible normally and were quite 'cute' (for want of a better word). The thing I don't get - after seeing lots of ugly and / or unimaginative tattoos - is why some people march into a parlor and pick a design off the wall that thousands of other people already have. *Then*, to me, there is a negative association with lack of creativity, at the very least.

Tatts with personal meaning make the most sense to me, and if I was to get one (unlikely, I change my about things all the time and like being able to 'undo' things if possible :) ) it would be something that meant a lot to me AND that I had large say in designing.
 
#93
unbeliever said:
Don't shoot the messenger, but the two psychiatrists I know have told me there is a correlation between poor self-image and having a tattoo; apparantly they see it with patients fairly often, and there IS some research done that supports this. I don't know enough people with tattoos to hold an opinion on this. I daresay the average tattooed TBer is more stable, educated and informed about the pros/cons of tattooing than the person-on-the-street.

An ex of mine had a couple of small tattoos, but they weren't visible normally and were quite 'cute' (for want of a better word). The thing I don't get - after seeing lots of ugly and / or unimaginative tattoos - is why some people march into a parlor and pick a design off the wall that thousands of other people already have. *Then*, to me, there is a negative association with lack of creativity, at the very least.

Tatts with personal meaning make the most sense to me, and if I was to get one (unlikely, I change my about things all the time and like being able to 'undo' things if possible :) ) it would be something that meant a lot to me AND that I had large say in designing.
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Being a research psychologist myself, let me tell you that given enough manipulation you can correlate just about anything with anything. Correlations are just that....relationships. A correlation does not infer causality though. I have no doubt that under very selective experimental conditions and demographics, you can absolutely say that those with poor self image are more likely to have a tattoo. With equally selective conditions and demographics, you can also say redheads with freckles are more likely to eat bacon cheeseburgers than blondes. Trust me, I've been doing research long enough to tell you that there are some really piss poor experimental designs out there that may work in strict experimental conditions, but have nothing to do with the real world at large. As for the two psychiatrists....well of course they're going to have that opinion....they are seeing the people who are most likely to have emotional and behavioral distress in the first place! Of course their opinions are going to be biased

But I digress :) Sorry, not trying to shoot the messenger, just trying opening up some friendly debate :)
 
#94
lamonica78 said:
As for the two psychiatrists....well of course they're going to have that opinion....they are seeing the people who are most likely to have emotional and behavioral distress in the first place! Of course their opinions are going to be biased
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My understanding is they have drawn this conclusion (yes, they both know each other) from their patients and other people who don't have tattoos who are NOT their patients.

Regardless, as someone has already said, if it makes YOU happy, then there is no problem. I certainly think it's fine to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't impinge on the rights of others, and there's no way having any number of tatts can 'do' anything to other people, so go for it! :)
 
#99
I as well as most of my friends have sleeves as well as full japanese body suits and we are all business owners, lawyers, doctors, etc. To each his own. If you don't like them...don't get them. It just makes me laugh to read some of the views that people have in 2008 as if we were living in 1958. I'm only 32 but what to I know. This whole thread just makes me laugh.:ninja:
 
#100
mynewbaby said:
To all of the people that say they have had nothing but compliments on their tattoos:
Do you really expect someone who doesn't like it to tell you they hate it or that you are an idiot when you show them? No, they wait until you leave to say all that.
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Actually I've found that those whom are vehemently opposed to your tattoos will make the comments to your face.

I have had a tattoo of a Native American pictograph on my left forearm for 16 years. I got it after working with the Hopi people in Arizona to mark the experiences and changes I went through. It is a simple tattoo but it is quite obvious on my left forearm. In professional situations, I usually wear long sleeves anyways.

After several months of long sleeves (sorry Canadian winters are cold) I was wearing a golf shirt at work when a woman I worked with said "oh you have a tattoo, too bad, I thought you were a smart person."

Recently I was at a family entertainer's convention and one of the Christian entertainers recognized the design on my arm and began making loud comments about the "evil" design on my arm.

On both occasions, I quietly explained what the tattoo came from and what it meant to me. I have several other tattoos, all normally covered by clothing, but I do show them to people who ask me about them. They each represent a part of my life that is important to me and reflect who I am.

My co-worker got over her prejudices and we continue to work closely together. The Christian entertainer was even more vehement in her protestations when the design and its reason for it was explained to her. You win some you lose some.
 

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