Why do people get tattoos?

[SingerAuto]

I just think people should put more thought into what they permanently do with their bodies.

Small, little tattoos signifying something important to you? Cool

Going all-out full blown to "express yourself" and "be different"? Douche

Have fun getting a respectable job with the giant rebel flag on your forearm or flames on your neck.

 

[These Two Hands]

I have a bunch of tattoos. I like tattoos. If I didn't like them, I wouldn't get any. Does that answer TS's question?

 

[AgonyandIrony]

Now this post rustles my jimmies.

-You don't stand out. You're just like every other something who isn't trying.
-People have negative opinions and they're justified.
-You don't live freely, in fact you're completely powerless and just float from the only opportunity you can find to the next.

-Of course it's easier to submit to destiny, this way you can't blame yourself for your own failures.

I stand out around here, maybe not in California. Which is why I want to move back. (I really don't like Oklahoma that much lol)
People can have negative opinions, and I'm completely justified in not giving a fuck about them.
Eh? I'm friends with some prim punks, who trainhop across the country, playing music, camping, hunting, and living that anarcho-life. It's not for me, but they're certainly some of the happiest people I've ever met. Living freely is something to be encouraged. As to the "completely powerless" lol. Then wouldn't it be best to just float on?

I blame my failures on myself and circumstance. In my passions I'm an extremely gifted and driven person. Career wise I'm cut throat and competitive. I take failure hard, but I don't dwell if I can. I look at what I could have done, I learn from it, and I try to never let it happen again.

But be rustled fam, everything's good.

 

[Bay Area]

A lot of buthurt followers in this thread.

 

[Butterbean]

LOL. Such a hostile response. I have some unique experience having lived in Oklahoma when it became legal. I received my first tattoo when I was 14 as I've said, there was almost zero glamorization of tattooing here. Yet, people still love the artwork, and they like the idea of carrying that with them forever. My tattoos are memories, of who I was at a certain time, who I am now, how I felt and I can look at a few of them and draw strength and inspiration in trying times.

You see, the "mainstream visibility" was that 2004-2010 it was still a sketch decision in how it would impact future job prospects. You're seeing them visible in public now because despite dumbass public opinion people with tattoos have gone on to be productive members of society.

It's certainly more prevalent in certain career paths, the arts especially. Tattoos are popular with chefs, but then again my line of work attracts certain individuals.

Sounds to me like a canned response that many others use to justify how they are unique. If someone wants to reflect on the person they were, wouldn't reading things you wrote, watching videos or photos of yourself during that time period be more effective?

Now this post rustles my jimmies.

-You don't stand out. You're just like every other twenty-something who isn't trying.
-People have negative opinions and they're justified.
-You don't live freely, in fact you're completely powerless and just float from the only opportunity you can find to the next.
-Of course it's easier to submit to destiny, this way you can't blame yourself for your own failures.

Great response. I think this is why the tattooed are butt hurt... They're trying to craft an identity for themselves as unique, but can't accept that all they are doing is conforming to a different group identity.

One of the posters in here talked about not being religious, but gets tattoos that are slanted in that direction, and doesn't know why. Is that not bizarre to anyone else?!

 

[fightingrabbit]

"Accessibility?" I guess cigarettes were much more accessible in the 50s and 60s and that is why fewer Americans smoke than ever before. Or alcohol use spiked higher during prohibition.

Hmm, could it be changes to tobacco advertising and a concerted effort to alter people's perceptions of smoking that resulted in tobacco decline?

It has little to do with accessibility, as marketing and visibility are what drove accessibility. Thousands of new tattoo shops didn't just appear without a market to support them.

It's the glamorization and mainstream visibility of tattoos that has increased their popularity.

In summary, you're the idiot.

lol this.

There's nothing wrong with tattoos. It's just annoying when people won't call it for what it is. Trendy as fuck. Go ask any tattoo artist ffs and they'll tell you it's trendy as fuck. Also people keep making the argument that it's been around for a thousand years, so it can't possibly re-emerge as a fad or trend. Which makes no sense.

 

[Phlog]

I used to know a chick with a shit sword on her back with am eye on it an some rune writing. If you saw that tattoo you knew you'd just met someone who

A: Took hallucinogens and bought in.

B: Didn't account for the changing of mental state, even though she knew she was a very different person to the one she used to be.

C: Couldn't be bothered enough to get a good tattooist or couldn't tell the good from bad.

D: She wants to convey that she has resolve, a warrior spirit. Likely because she was mentally weak, had been damaged and was reacting to that imbalance.

Another buddy has sleeves of shit obvious stuff, shows he's unimaginative and wants to fit in.

Another has an 18th C windlass crane on the inside if his arm, so he's quirky, not like the other alternative types, no he's the real deal etc.

Its basically usually a mark of insecurity, it's why people of poverty often have flashier jewelry. Why those likely to start a fight are the ones most insecure in their social standing etc.

All that said, I like the look of aesthetic tats, the meaning appeals to me. I've often considered getting one but it's a lot of money, tastes change etc. I don't really care enough

 

[dawnslayer]

only losers will get tattoos

i make anyone applying at my workplace strip and check for tattoos so i know they arent a dingbat

tattoos are for sheeple and looks like a lot of you are here.

 

[lowlife]

This is interesting..
http://www.succeedsocially.com/judge

"Of course, we often get this first impression wrong. The psychological explanation for this is that we don't have the mental capacity to carefully evaluate each new person we come across. Making an overly quick, and possibly inaccurate, judgment is a shortcut."

 

[ralphc1]

This type of body mod has been around for literally thousands of years and you idiots are talking about fads.

My Poppa had a tattoo. He was born in 1927, got it in his early 20s. My stepfather has a tattoo, born in 1954.

It's not a fad just because more people have access to it. More people dye their hair now than 50 years ago because of accessibility. About 5000000% more people get breast implants than 50 years ago because of accessibility.

In summary, idiots shut up.

I would guess that both your Poppa and stepfather were in the military when they got theirs. Sounds like they each had one. It was very common to get one and there were many shops near the bases.


The first tattoo shop came into the 100,000 population urban area where I live in 1982. Then it was one guy who was in town 2 days a week and set up appointments. He couldn't make a living doing it but he got another job in town and moved his family here. He opened the shop at night. His children went to school and they had tattoos. Some of their classmates wanted to get tattooed but needed their parents written permission. Some parents would allow it and others wouldn't. Of course if their parents wouldn't let them get one they wanted it even more and many faked signatures on the forms and hid the tats from their parents. Of course parents found out and a couple of people got infections and the parents raised hell. The county set regulations requiring a parent to be physically present while anyone under the age of 18 was tattooed and required a license. Of course the publicity brought in business and the shop was busy. It very definitely is a monkey see, monkey do thing.

 

[Bay Area]

I know hardly anyone with sleeves. How many people do you see on a daily basis with full sleeves?

You're missing the point. Sleeve tattoos are a type of tattoo. So that means you saw someone wearing a sleeve, thought it looked cool, and asked that tattoo artist for a sleeve. The same thing for tribal tattoos, Chinese characters, Old English, etc. Basically herd mentality.

 

[Phelly2]

I stand out, and a lot of people have negative or false ideas of me and I'm perfectly fine with that. I live freely, I'd rather someone know from the start. Makes things much easier in my opinion.

Allowing someone to have negative and false ideas of you makes things much easier? Is that what you just said?

Maybe I misunderstood, because there was an "I live freely" thrown in there, which I didn't quite understand,

 

[These Two Hands]

You're missing the point. Sleeve tattoos are a type of tattoo. So that means you saw someone wearing a sleeve, thought it looked cool, and asked that tattoo artist for a sleeve. The same thing for tribal tattoos, Chinese characters, Old English, etc. Basically herd mentality.

I've ordered a sandwich before cos I saw someone eating it and like the look of it. Bought a style of jacket I saw on someone else because I thought it looked cool. I mean, fuck, what do you do; walk around with your shoes hanging off your ears and a hat strapped to your balls just to make sure you're not doing something someone else has done?

Come on, son.

 

[Bay Area]

I stand out, and a lot of people have negative or false ideas of me and I'm perfectly fine with that. I live freely, I'd rather someone know from the start. Makes things much easier in my opinion.

Lol at this guy.

"I'm perfectly fine"
"I live freely"
"I stand out"

No, no you don't. You are a follower. You conform. There is nothing unique or interesting about you.

 

[lakersfan45]

You're missing the point. Sleeve tattoos are a type of tattoo. So that means you saw someone wearing a sleeve, thought it looked cool, and asked that tattoo artist for a sleeve. The same thing for tribal tattoos, Chinese characters, Old English, etc. Basically herd mentality.

I don't understand your point, do u think something is wrong with that? If I see something that I like I might also want to get it. This is a normal thing.

 

[Jack Handy jr]

I've got a Tatt of Don fry's face on my lower back. once I learn how to upload pics on this site look out.

 

[Bay Area]

I've ordered a sandwich before cos I saw someone eating it and like the look of it. Bought a style of jacket I saw on someone else because I thought it looked cool. I mean, fuck, what do you do; walk around with your shoes hanging off your ears and a hat strapped to your balls just to make sure you're not doing something someone else has done?

Come on, son.

Yeah everyone does that. The difference is in numbers. One guy with a jacket, that looks cool, sure buy it. No harm in that. But if you turn on the TV, and everyone on MTV is wearing the jacket, your favorite celebrities are wearing the jacket, your friends are wearing the jacket...and you go get one because you don't want to be left out? Then yeah, you are a conformer. Which is fine. But don't you talk to me about living freely, and standing out.

 

[ralphc1]

I appreciate people with religious tattoos. Let's me know right away I'm dealing with a simpleton.

I got three stupid drunk tattoos when I was in the Navy and got them all laser removed afterwards. What a pain in the ass that was.

I had a scoutmaster back in the 50s when I was in Boy Scouts that always wore long sleeves because he had a tattoo of a naked woman on the inside of his forearm. He always said it was fun to have when he was an 18 year old Marine but not so much when he's a 50 year old Boy Scout leader. The only way to get rid of them then was by burning them off with heat or acid.

I'm surprised that so many women have them. Women don't usually wear the same clothes more than a few times. They won't even leave furniture in the same arrangement for more than a couple of months. How they put up with the same picture on their skin for the rest of their life baffles me.

 

[ThrowHands]

Because we like them

Saying getting a tatoo is trying to fit in is like saying going to the gym is trying to fit in. People do what they enjoy you judgmental neckbeards

 

[sangreporsangre]

I have 3 tattoos, all retarded. Got my son's name tatted on my chest when I was 18 ("right over my heart" lmao what a clown), got some ridiculous tattoo of a wolf on my arm like a month later, and my daughter's name right under my son's when I was 21. They're all stupid, why get your kids name tatted on you like that? I was a high school drop out father, and I thought that was something you're supposed to do.

Im 32 now and never got any more ink since then, but seemingly every person in my city has. And my observation has been, their reasons have all been just as if not more retarded than mine. If you got them and you're happy with them, fine. I just think the whole thing is pretty silly. Though if/when I have more kids I guess I'll have to get their names on me as well.