Posted by
Meg on Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:42:36 PM
A lot of the talk shows I listen to have been discussing tattoos all of a sudden. The hosts all seem to be against them. While I am very old-fashioned in most of my values, I have warmed up to the idea of tattoos. I would never get one myself because I tend to go through phases of "favorite things." When I was 18, I though about getting a ladybug or butterfly; but now I would think that was stupid. If I got one now, it would be either a fairy or the kanji for "perseverance;" but it's only a matter of time before I'll think that is stupid. My tastes change so much that I could never do anything permanent to myself.
I used to think tattoos were very edgy and rebellious and "bad people" got them. I've since discovered that good people are good people and bad people are bad people, whether or not they have tattoos. Of course it's more likely that bad people will have offensive tattoos; so I think it's better to judge on what the tattoo IS, rather than the fact that it exists.
Every time I see a girl walking around with a guy who has some kind of giant-breasted naked woman tattoo fully visible on his body, I wonder what that girl could be thinking. Why would she want to be seen with a guy who so obviously objectifies women? Why would she want to advertise that she is with that kind of guy? That she doesn't mind being looked at the way that he obviously views females?
My boyfriend has tattoos. When I first met him, I was very skeptical about it. What kind of guy would have tattoos? But when he explained to me what each of them meant, I realized that it wasn't that bad. One of them is a tribal tattoo band around his upper arm. Okay, that one doesn't mean anything, but it looks pretty cool. Above that is a cross with the words "no fear" below it, based on the Bible verses on the subject. On the other arm is a watery blue splash-like circle around the kanji for "warrior poet." To be honest, I think that's kind of lame, but I read Japanese, so I explained to him the meaning of each of the symbols and how they make the words when put together. Finally, he has an angel on his shoulder blade. It's actually a pretty poor-looking rendering, but he says it represents how God was watching over him all those times when he was younger and could have found himself in trouble. That's a good reason to get a tattoo, because it's something that you do want to keep with you to remind yourself of how blessed you've been. You can't forget it or take it for granted when you've got it right there on your body.
All of these are covered up by his t-shirts, and he's not a tank-top kind of guy, so I sometimes forget he even has them. It doesn't bother me anymore that he has them. He's still the man I love, and I think the tattoos haven't changed who he is.
My brother in the army got tattoos, which is his choice and they're just neat-looking tribal symbols. It's stupid that they don't actually mean anything, but they look all right, I guess. My sister is an exceptionally talented artist and many of the adult friends she has have had her design the tattoos that they wanted to get. That way it's exactly what they want and for my sister it means that her art is that important to someone close to her and will live on forever with them.
Personally, I don't think I'll ever get one, but I've stopped being suspicious of people who have them...unless they're offensive or disgusting in some way.