I expect I'll regret you, but the skin graft won't get you.

[constance]

One of the women at my bookstore has a son, and that son is opening a tattoo parlor, and so of course she's trying to talk everyone into getting a tattoo, and is getting one herself. I think this shows an admirable maternal instinct, especially because to look at L, you would hardly think her the type to even consider getting a tattoo. She's in late middle age, sedate and quiet and bespectacled, with a thick Finnish accent and a half-finished comp lit masters degree under her belt. She looks the sort who might not actually disapprove of tattoos, but in whose worldview tattoos would not normally greatly figure.

Isn't motherhood wonderful?

Anyway, if I didn't already love her very dearly -- she really is one of my all-time favorite people; her quietness and occasional astringency and her scratch-the-surface bohemian spirit are exactly my style -- I would love her for this. The idea of L. sitting in a chair letting her son mark her up with an Art Nouveau peacock on her upper arm just thrills me, I can't help it. And in a fit of enchanted, ravished solidarity, I am actually considering getting my own.

It's not as though I haven't had a tattoo in mind for ages, after all, thought out carefully, all planned out years ago, and it's not as though it would be a big or expensive one. It's not as though I have anything at all against tattoos, for me or for anyone else. It's just that I have this horror of skin, anyone's skin, being punctured by anything, knives, needles, you name it. I don't think I'd call it an actual phobia -- after all, I don't freak out when I give blood -- I'd stick with horror. But not even daily shots for my cat or weekly shots for me ever cured it, and I'm not sure I can overcome it. I'm going to try, though, for my friend L. Wish me luck!

:::

This has got me curious, I should add. How many of you have tattoos, and what and where are they? How many would or will get one, and what and where would it be? How many don't want one? How many disapprove altogether?

Comments

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

I have no tattoos.
I can't think of anything I'd want permanently on my body.
I broke up with a boyfriend once over his getting a tattoo. (He got a chrysanthemum on his shoulder. It was kind of neat. But...he got something permanently on his body! It freaked me out! I was, um, 19 or so.)

PS did you get my email?

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I did get your email, but I hadn't today's email yet! I have read it now, and yes, I've finished the book, and yes, I will go take a look! :D

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I mean to say: I will take a look -- send it on, you!

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Soon! I suddenly had a brilliant idea and am rearranging things slightly to suit. But I will send it either tonight, or in the next few days.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Hooray for brilliant ideas! Send it on whenever -- I'll be ready.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I don't have any tattoos (though I do have a nifty birthmark that looks like a lizard!). I don't object to them, but I've never coveted them the way I have, say, an eyebrow piercing.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I don't covet tattoos in general (although I was kind of taken, when OotP came out, with the idea of a tattoo on the back of one's hand which said I must not tell lies), but the one I have in mind means a good deal to me on several different levels, and so.

You should get your eyebrow pierced! :O

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

I want to see the lizard.

And, I seekritly covet a navel piercing. Except that my tummy is the one part of my body I hate (despite being skinny, I have a pot belly that will never go away), and I'm not good at piercings anyway, as despite having my ears pierced I never remember to put in earrings.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

In my experience, body piercings are different, though. I also almost never remember earrings -- I usually go months between wearings -- but I wear my nose stud every day (not to the office, though, or in front of my father).

[thalia]

You do not have a pot belly!

[thalia]

And I never remember to put in earrings either!

I've been drinking, can you tell? [g]

[tofty.livejournal.com]

ahahahahahahaha *hugs*

[submarine.livejournal.com]

I have a couple planned in my head that I'm not letting myself get until I've lost a certain amount of weight, as a reward for it.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

:O actually, that's a pretty good idea! I might have to steal it. Or something.

[submarine.livejournal.com]

Yeah! It means I have a fair amount of time (due to the fair amount of weight) to really think about what I want to get, and be sure of it/them when that time comes.

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

I have some friends whose son runs a very successful tattoo parlor near Mobile, and they are very supportive of him. He had very clear and serious career goals, so they have given him the same money for tattoo and piercing courses as they gave his sister for nursing school. I really admire them for taking his goals seriously when a lot of parents would have been turned off by it. They both have tattoos by him, but they are fairly alternative folks, even though they are over 50.

For myself, I can't envision committing myself to one image for the rest of my life. I also view it a bit as I do nude photos; I didn't do it while I was young and firm, so why would I want to do it now that I am old and flabby.

I'm just as glad my SO has no tattoos, though it would not be a dealbreaker if he did. I just find that so many people get carried away and keep getting more work and often it doesn't match and I think they just can't see themselves and realize what they are doing. One or two well-designed, well-placed tattoos can be very striking. Too many, or poorly executed tattoos, especially of overly cliched subjects, are a turn-off to me.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I have this feeling that the human body is kind of fabulous and miraculous in its workings, and so I don't so much feel the difference between "young and firm" and "old and flabby" is anything but interesting, and not really less appealing. Nor do I have any objections to heavily-tattooed folks. (Truth be told, I have kind of a personal kink for body-writing, although I prefer it temporary, and done by me -- I like people who allow me to treat them as my own personal drawing tablet! :))

But I do see what you mean -- and I absolutely agree that badly-done tattoos can be awful. The one I want, have wanted for many years, is both simple and subtle, and so I don't think there's all that much room to screw it up. Although truly, the possibility of a screw-up is one of the reasons I'm hesitating now.

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

I don't have particularly negative feelings about being old and flabby, especially since I have acquired an SO who is quite vocal in his appreciation of my fleshly nature. But I think it's kind of a specific to the art of tattooing that the work looks better when it holds its form and doesn't get all stretched and droopy. I have memories of my uncles' old WWII tatts, all blued and blotchy on their sagging forearms, and it's just not a look I'd go for. The other technical aspect is that the image I would want, a California poppy, is orange and pale green, not colors that are very stable as tattoos.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

ahahaha great icon!

Now see, I'm pretty fascinated by those faded, stretched out tattoos. I mean, no, I suppose ideally one would would want one's tattoo to hold its original shape and color forever, but speaking as an observer, I always look at those tattoos and am reminded that that tattoo (and really everything about that aging person) is a story in progress, and it just makes me curious to know the story in a way that new tattoos don't as much.

Not much comfort to the person whose pinup girl looks as though she's melted a bit, I know! :D

Orange and green are unstable tattoo colors? I did not know this! What are stable ones? Black, I suppose. Red?

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

I am no tattoo expert by any means, but I work a lot with ink on paper and occasionally with dyeing fabric. It's sometimes easy to forget that color in practice is not a pure and abstract thing that we mix at will, but a combination of specific pigments that come from different chemical sources and react with one another as well as with the base upon which they are set.

The rise of full-color tattoos is fairly recent, after years of a more traditional black/red/dark blue/dark green spectrum. Apparently the lighter and more exotic colors fade more quickly and require periodic touch-ups.

Also, remember that tattoo ink can contain metals which stay in your body. Besides the potential for skin irritation, they can respond to the magnetic force of medical procedures such as MRIs. Obviously the dangers are fairly low or they would not be so popular, but it's something to think about.

As for the sagging, I guess the pin-up girl ages along with the wearer!

[coco-palmolive.livejournal.com]

For several years, I've wanted to get ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ALL WRONGS REVERSED tattooed on the inside of my wrist. The thing that stops me is that I know that particular location would hurt seriously, and there really isn't any other place I want to put it.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

:O Yes, but it would only be briefly painful, and then you'd have an awesome tattoo!

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

I don't have any because I'm paranoid about getting hep-C. (Weird and/or hypochondriacal, but true.) Also, I'm afraid I'd just get sick of the design.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

No, I understand. Hahahaha, I am hoping that L.'s son will make extra-sure to stick me with totally sterilized needles, since I am a friend of his mother's.

And I sympathize with the concern about getting sick of the design. This is why I think that no one should ever be allowed to get a tattoo on impulse, or to commemmorate a rocky romance. (Wino forever, anyone?) But I figure if you've had the same design in mind for a while and haven't changed it, then you're as close to safe as you can be, where tattoos are concerned.

[kickthebeat.livejournal.com]

i knew i had an old lj post with a photo of my tattoo in it; for you, my love, i was able to hunt it down. it is here (http://onthecontrary.livejournal.com/54331.html). though i have yet to determine what they would be, i want another tattoo on the inside of my wrist, because i think it is a smoking hot location, and one on the back of my calf, because i, uhhhh, also think that's hot.

my mother, now in her mid fourties, has seven tattoos. the last one was inked around ten years ago, but if you ask her, she'll tell you she never intends to stop.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

:O It's lovely! The stars! The swirls! I'm glad you shared with me! (That must have been during my lj hiatus, and it's one of those posts I'm sorry I missed.)

Thumbs up to your mom, Keri. I hope she does keep going! :D

[somniesperus.livejournal.com]

Oh how I covet a tattoo. My feeling is, if I still want one when I'm thirty, I just might go for it. What design do you want?

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I think that's an excellent plan! You'll keep us posted, right, and send your pals photos? :D

The design I want is the one on my icon. I want it for several different reasons, all of which make perfect sense to me but which are not necessarily apparent to the casual observer, which is mostly exactly how I prefer my Statements.

[thalia]

I would totally get a tattoo if I could come up with a design that I was sure I'd still like in 20 years. Alas, I haven't.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Well, keep thinking about it! If you're anything like me, one day you'll find it and everything will just click. AND THEN YOU MUST DO IT AND TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT.

[thalia]

If I come up with a design, and I'm brave enough to do it, I promise I'll tell you about it. Don't hold your breath, though.

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

I've seen unusual and beautiful tattoos, but I have no desire to get one. I'm sincerely grateful that they weren't in when I was 20 or I'd have a unicorn on my ass or something. I like piercings, but being allergic to nickel turned me off it forever.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Yeah, an allergy to nickel would definitely cramp one's piercing style, I'd think. :(

And hahahaha to the be-unicorned asses of America! The idea of all those people who get their tattoos and then the next day or the next week or the next year stare at them in the mirror and moan, "what was I thinking?" I mean, i wonder what that percentage is, of all tattoo owners? Probably a pretty high one -- that's the nature of tattooing.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Also, I love your icon. It reminds me -- and since you are a librarian the resemblance is probably totally deliberate -- of that library poster campaign where celebrities are photographed with books under a giant READ.

:D:D:D:D:D

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

And I didn't even make it! I wish I could remember where I got it; I'd at least credit. Did you know that Alan Rickman has done one of those Read posters? It's kind of funny, since kids would probably only recognize him dressed as Snape. So he musta did it for the librarians! :) I really should buy myself one, just for the hell of it.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I have my favorites too, but I didn't know Alan Rickman had one of his own.

Wouldn't it be great if they did one of each of the major HP characters?? I would buy one of each, I promise. And probably have them framed, I am that much of a dork.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

I have a phoenix and sunburst between my shoulder blades. L has one that matches.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice! Is it a "realistic" design (insofar as I can apply that to a creature which doesn't exist :D) or a more stylized one? Is it big? B/W or color? Does it have a story?

Okay, I am being nosy, I know. I'm sorry. But tattoo stories fascinate me, and I love to hear them. (But only if you feel like sharing, she adds belatedly.)

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Shh, go look in my LJ gallery. There's a picture there.

There is a wonderful story behind it. I have suffered from depression since I hit puberty. I went through years of therapy and finally got to a point where suicide was a probability, not a possibility. A good friend intervened and drug me to the doctor. They put me on meds. Seven years later I was able to come off of them.

It also stands for the fact that I have come out of bankruptcy and made myself financially stable.

It also stands for getting through many horrible relationships, some abusive, and finding an amazing partner.

His stands for conquering alcoholism and drug addiction, surving parental and spousal abuse, finally maturing, beginning to believe in himself and finding his perfect partner.

We have truly risen from some very dirty ashes. It's a whole new world.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Oh, how wonderful -- I hope things just keep getting better and better for you. ♥♥♥

[tilney.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking of getting the exact same design that you have on your icon as a tattoo. It's beautiful, simple, can be done as small and as big as you wish and still look good. And I love fractals. I was thinking of text, but I seem not to treat words seriously enough, so a simple graphic thing is neat.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

:O:O:O This is so weird -- I used that icon because that's the design I have in mind as well! Not only do the golden mean and fractals and the fibonacci sequence all fascinate me, but also the relationship to the nautilus means something important to me, and so. :O:O:O

I'm sure we're not the only two people ever to want this diagram, but I think the odds of two people on each other's flists having this idea are a little steeper!