My baby’s gone and got herself a tattoo. Don’t get me wrong - it’s actually quite tasteful, a spray of snowflakes over her hip. On anyone else’s daughter I’d say it was quite nice, but on my little girl??
Oh. Oh…
This picture isn’t her, BTW. 
And she’s not the only one. My son has an interlaced Celtic design up one bicep and he’s going to have it extended over his shoulder as soon as he can afford it. On any other man, I’d say it looks sexy. He has lovely golden skin and excellent muscle tone. (I’m a good breeder, okay?) But on my baby boy? Oh dear.
I’d be the first to say tattoos can enhance the body. Some of them are true works of art, really classy. After all, Brin in GIFT OF THE GODDESS has the most gorgeous dragon tattoo on his most gorgeous self. And the hero of my current WIP (Book 2 of the Four-Sided Pentacle series) is probably going to finish up with a small tattoo - to remind him of something.
But what is it with this passion for ink? You’d be hard put to find anyone under the age of thirty without a tatt somewhere on their person. Obviously, I need to catch up with shows like Miami Ink.
In fifty years, we’ll have a generation of wrinkled, tattooed bods creaking about with their walking frames. I fixed DD with my beady gaze and said darkly, “I hope you still like it when you’re eighty.” She just tossed her hair and smiled, being totally incapable of believing she might actually be that old - ever. They’ve both pointed out it could have been worse - like a skull with flaming eyeballs and a snake coming out of its mouth. Guess so. *sigh*
As for me, I’m pretty well ambivalent. If I was younger, I’d think about it seriously. Something small and sexy in a private place. Where I wouldn’t sag. But geez, I’d have to love that design! And it would need to be deeply meaningful if I was going to carry it on my skin for the rest of my life.
What do you think of tattoos? Slutty? Decorative? Important? Do you have one? If so, why did you get it? People’s reasons are always so interesting. Is there a difference to your appreciation if the tatt is on a man or a woman? Does it make a man sexier?
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I think it all depends on the design and the placement. Some look really sexy and others don’t, just as some people look sexy and some don’t.
I’ll confess Hubby has one and I’m getting on to match but the design has deep meaning for both of us. I’m also getting a second one that will mean a lot to mean personally. Both will be small, one just inside my hip bone (matching Hubby’s) and the other I haven’t quite decided where yet.
I know what you mean about not on your babies. I’m not sure how I’ll cope when son #1 gets his. sigh
RC
I’ve never been a fan of tatts, but have been completely off them for years once I heard about the ‘tatt to tooth’ ratio the doctors use in hospitals to work out how feral you are. So, yep, no tatts here. I’m actually quite surprised how mainstream they are now. Every second girl at the gym seems to have one of those ones in the middle lower back and I wonder why? And then I think about how funny they’re going to look all lined up getting their sponge baths in aged care at the age of 100…
Seriously, you’re more ‘out there’ now if your name is Jane and you have no tatts and unpierced ears.
Denise, I might just start a blog asking for a coin donation to go towards the Denise Rossitti Tattoo.
We could ask for designs as well. My pick would be two eyes on the rear lower buttocks, in the seam of the legs, positioned to wink at onlookers as you stroll past. I’m guessing only a select few would actually witness them. But that’s not the point they would be there. I’m thinking the ‘little’ ones would brag even more about their cool mother.
OK the truth; I think it’s great that young people have the confidence to wear tattoos and I still wonder why they bother. —- Eric
Okay - I got my first Tattoo at the age of 20 - I’m now 40.
I love my art work and I currently have 3. To think about how they will look when I’m 80 - how will the rest off me look? Old and wrinkly and not so attractive either, so what. I still have a good 40 or so years to enjoy it.
To me it is not just the artwork - it is the ritual of it all. It is something I significant to me. I LOVE dragons and mythical creatures. I have never regreted one of my tatts, and I am an educated woman in a respectable high paid job.
Having said that - a lot of younger people are getting them because they look cool. They may grow to regret them because they aren’t getting them for the right reason. Tatts are a very personal thing.
If my son was to come home with a tatt I wouldn’t be horrified. In fact - last year he had golden Staph infection in his left lung and had to have an operation. He now has a scar on his back that is about 7 inches long. He said to me that he wants to get a wing tattooed on his right side so it looks like the other one has been cut off leaving him with a scar. I thought HOW COOL - and is has it’s meaning for him to bring something postive out of a very seriously bad time for the both of us.
And yes - they can be a sexy as hell on the right people, but they are’t the only ones who like ink.
My rant over.
I am not a fan of tattoos they are not my thing when my eldest daughter was about 21 she really wanted one and my mother and I talked her out of it she is nearly 28 now and having her first baby and just yesterday we were watching Miami ink and she actually said she was glad that she never got one, my son has one on his right shoulder a small dragon that he went out and got the day he turned 18 and then when is son was born had Jayden 18th Jan 2006 put on the other shoulder and had never got around to having his daughters name and birthday put on. One of my sisters had her 1st tatt done when she was 39 and now has about 7 of them and a girl that I work with has about 8 and has just had a big one put on her arm between her wrist and elbow.
I tend to think that yes they are fashionable at the moment but what happens when they are out of fashion will everyone be going to plastic surgeons to have them taken off to much pain for me.
Have Fun
Helen
I can’t stand most tattoos. They’re garish and date very quickly. There are exceptions of course. I teach a number of South Pacific Islanders and many of the boys have tattoos on their upper arms. They appear to be a Rite of Passage kind of thing because, as they get older, the design is added to and eventually covers from elbow to the top of the shoulder. It’s not an image of something or words or anything, just an intricate design of curves and angles.
I taught a girl a few years ago whose boyfriend was a tattooist. She had tattoos over a large portion of her torso (showed everyone in class
). She got pregnant and, you guessed it, by the end of the pregnancy most of the tattoos were unrecognisable. She ended up feeling ugly - a terrible thing since the tattoos were an insecure teenager’s attempt to feel beautiful in the first place. Very sad.
Thank your stars, Denise that your children are older, secure, well-balanced young people and have chosen designs and places that will probably age reasonably well.
Welcome Rhian! (What a pretty name, BTW.) Interesting comment - your tattoos aren’t really for public consumption, are they? I guess what I mean is that you didn’t get them just be fashionable. They’re intended to mark something private, just between you and your husband. That’s really nice.
Tats and piercings seem to be the in thing for sure. But you know what I think is gross….When a young (or not so) teacher bends down in front of the class and the top of the thong or the not so alluring crack shadow is showing a sneek preview (before those young impressionable year 5’s and 6’s)and with it is the semblence of grand artwork as well just to spice things up.
What one does with ones body is ones own choice and one has to live with that. But perhaps we just need to look at how others are exposed to it without asking their consent. I mean you can change the channel if something offends but when it’s shoved in your face. Really! 
Gee I get cross
Now from an artists perspective, isn’t the true craftman-ship of a well done Tatoo absolutely beautiful. (or as you said Denise the cover-work art on those devine heroes and legends) Why not put those exquisit talents to better use and lay it down on a cnvas that witll last hundreds of years longer????( and not wrinkle)
My other 1/2 did a stick figure of the saint on his wrist with needle and ink when he was 18. Got into heaps of trouble back then. Actually it is discreet and has Aged well beneath the fur.
Hi there, Allison, and welcome! Yes, I’m with you on being a bit bemused by the sudden fashionableness (I think that’s a word) of tattoos. The father of a friend of mine fought in the Middle East in WW2 - he was at Tobruk. He came home with his arms covered with tattoos and spent the rest of his life wearing long-sleeved shirts to cover them up. I imagine they weren’t very well done, he’d been young and a long way from home and probably out drinking with his mates.
But times and fashions change. These days, tattoos are works of art. My daughter’s is really very pretty, done by an expert, in sterile conditions.
Eric, there’d be snowballs in hell before I’d do something like that.
Blech. Gross.
Confidence though? That’s an interesting thought. Making your body a permanent canvas does take confidence.
I remember your dragon, Tracey. It’s beautiful! You’ve put your finger on an important point, I think. The reason behind the tattoo is all important. You didn’t get yours to be fashionable, but to mark something significant in your life. Same with your son’s idea. (So glad he’s better, BTW!) I can understand that totally.
I’d be interested though. Have you ever had any flak in your professional life about the tattoos?
Hi Helen. Sounds like a “rite of passage” thing, doesn’t it? Grow up - and get a tattoo to mark the occasion. I’d say that’s the case with my kids. I know one young man who has a lot of tatts, all very ugly IMO. The one that gives me the screaming habdabs is a cobweb over one elbow. It must have hurt like hell, because there’s so little flesh there. But I guess he proved his manhood, if only to himself.
Elaine, I remember seeing a photo of a footballer, a young man from the Pacific Islands. He had an intricate tattoo that covered his entire leg from ankle to hip, including buttocks. It looked like he was wearing blue patterned pants. It didn’t hurt that his body was quite, quite beautiful either.
In the story, he explained the ritual had been done the old-fashioned way back home, with a bone needle and ink and no pain-killers. It was a cultural thing and deeply significant. Each motif had a specific meaning - waves, shark’s teeth, fish etc. He wore it with great pride in his heritage.
That picture made a huge impression on me, and was part of the inspiration for Brin’s dragon tattoo.
I’m coming to the conclusion it’s all about the reasons. How different was this guy from the girl you describe? And how different was the end result?
Hi Mary, I’m not a fan of the crack - with or without ink!
Gross!
And yes, tatts can be artwork. Have you seen some of the Japanese ones? Some Yakuza members have their entire backs covered. I saw a pic of one woman with the face of geisha among the designs. It was magnificently done as art, but the geisha was snarling and holding a dripping knife. Erk.
The Saint seems pretty mild in comparison! At least he didn’t put LOVE and HATE on his knuckles!
My nephew is 19, serving in the military in Alaska and has tats over much of his body. His conservative parents and grandparents had kittens. His response? Aunt C said tattoos were sexy. I stood there and turned red.
Yes I think tattoos can be sexy. As I explained to him, sotto voice, I said “A” tatto could be sexy not a legion. My nephew’s tattoos represent his family.
I do not have one because I never had the guts to get one. I have seen beautiful ones on guys and gals. I feel like a person’s body is theirs to do with as they will. Yea they may be more permanent than say changing your hair color but are they any worse at the end of the day then colored contacts or obviously fake body enhancements?
DH spent 10 years in the navy and never got one.
I have a seahorse on my lower back, it has a personal meaning. In choosing the location I didn’t want anywhere that would stretch or sag or be visible in evening wear. 2 kids later it’s still beauiful.
I’m thinking about getting a second tattoo.
Love, love, LOVE tattoos on men. It’s THE sexiest thing eva! LOL Of course there’s good and bad, but still, theres just something about a guy with a tatt. Now. I’d never been one to consider even getting one myself, that was until just recently. Now for some strange reason I want to get one. I’ve even had it designed. It has special meaning to me - now I just have to grow the balls to get it done. I do worry about how it will look when I’m 80 (if I live that long, of course
) But I figure if it’s on my lower back then I don’t have to look at it. Do I! And I’m not one to get around showing it off anyway. Which I guess is kind of a bit pointless, really. Tattoo’s are meant to be seen I guess. But at least I’ll have the choice 
Hi Denise, I have 2 tats, and I love my ink. I really want to get a couple more, in discreet places. My first was a, I guess a right of passage. The second was meaningful as well, it is a mountain lion running across my hip, with the moon rising overhead. I have some Celtic knot work that I want to have done, and a native American piece also. And I want a matching wolf on my other hip. Any who, that’s my wish list. Oh, and my oldest son and his friends call the tattoo’s on the lower back of most 20 somethings tramp stamps. (Their opinion).
Hi Denise, My mom spanked me when she saw my tattoo’s. (I was in my early 20’s ) My
first one is of my maiden name with tiny turtles swimming through it ,on my thigh. The other two are on my lower back and left side,there is the Hawaiian Island chain with a tribal turtle above it with my three little girls as the tribal markings. I hope your holiday weekend is going well.
Hugs, Danette
Smart lad, that, Clynax. Quick on his feet. Sounds like he takes after his auntie.
It’s certainly remarkable what people will do for beauty. You only need to think of the plastic surgery tragics, the ones who go on way beyond good sense and health. OTH, some folk are remarkably conservative. I remember when I got my ears pierced, (just one hole on each side - you know, the standard), a cousin said to me in disgust, “You might as well have got a ring put through your nose at the same time.” I was floored. It rather spoiled my pleasure, because I do love pretty earrings and was looking forward to wearing them easily. He wasn’t exactly famed for his tact!
Hello, Denise. I don’t have a tattoo and never really wanted one, even though I’m fascinated by them. (Is my age showing?) I’ve seen some really beautiful ones and some ugly tattoos. If I were to get a tattoo, I would want a professional to ink it. No sense placing your health at risk for body art.
Oh Shona, that sounds lovely. And much more so because it means something to you. Have to say I’m amazed at your husband though - ten years in the Navy and still a “cleanskin”. Wow!
Lyn, I agree - unless, of course, it’s an ugly tasteless tattoo. I really like the armband ones on a nice bicep. Not crazy about barbed wire, but the Celtic ones… *sigh*
Can’t advise about your own tattoo, but reading through these comments might help. Also, my DD is a wimp from way back, so she must have really wanted it! She took a girlfriend to hold her hand, BTW.
Daphnie, your tatts sound absolutely beautiful. And deeply satisfying to you.
As for the “tramp stamps”, that’s what they call them here too, the ones at the base of the spine. I think that’s mean. It’s a perfectly sensible and sexy place to have a tattoo. At least it’s not likely to sag or wrinkle!
Oh dear, Danette! I hope you forgave each other in the end! It’s lovely to hear that your tattoos honour your children and a tribal heritage. They sound beautiful (the kids too!).
Thanks for the weekend wishes. Mine is over as soon as I finish these comments.
Work tomorrow. *sigh* No 4th July holiday in Australia!
Couldn’t agree more on the health and safety aspect, Janet. DD went to a very good place, where they have single-use needles and sterile conditions. She’s healing up well and liking it more and more as the bruising stops complicating the colour scheme.
I think tattoos can be lovely (even though the vast majority are not), but not on me, thank you very much. I like my skin very much the way it is. Part of it is wimphood extraordinaire - I couldn’t even get my ears pierced once - part of it is knowing who I am, and I don’t need ink for that. This doesn’t mean I am against it, or that I say “never going to do it” - you never know who exactly you will be in the future and what it might mean to you then. Just that right now and up to now, it isn’t me. However, my aunt got her ears pierced when she hit 70. I wouldn’t want to tell you how much money she has spent on earrings since.
Hi d! I think tattoos would be ok if they never went fuzzy or your body never changed shape. I don’t think they really enhance a body, but then you’re talking to someone who didn’t even get her ears pierced! But if someone wants to do it, why not? And if you were gettig one, I think it should be a snowflake…that sizzles…
Hi Susan-from-Greece, love the sound of your aunt! What a great lady. *applause* I plan to grow old disgracefully, hope you do too.
Hey Christine, my friend! I’m taking a moment out from the packing frenzy. Whew! I got my ears pierced because I adore earrings and clip-ons used to either hurt or fall off. A case of the triumph of vanity over cowardice. Dunno about a tatt though. And sizzling snowflakes are all very well, but would I end up with a drip?
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