Not to want to be grabbed...

[FrenchRuby]

I'm quite heavily tattooed. I know I'm bound to get a reaction, positive or negative and to be honest, I'm not bothered either way, you either like tattoos or you don't. They're on my body so I'm not fussed if someone doesn't like them.
But the thing that annoys me is when some people notice my tattoos they start grabbing my arms and pulling them towards them. I get people pulling at my clothes, pushing up my sleeves to look further up my arms. I've even had one women move my top down so she can get a better look at my chest tattoos. Now is this just me being sensitive or is that completely out of order?
I've had some of my friends say stuff like 'I'd have told her to piss off' etc but that's not really me, I don't like being rude and I don't like confrontation.
I don't think I should have to cover myself up, as I said before, I don't mind people looking, obviously otherwise I would have got them in more discrete places. I don't even mind people asking questions about them, I get a lot of questions and to be honest I like telling people the stories of my tattoos. But I really think grabbing a complete stranger is a bit out of order. AIBU?

It will be hard the first time Ruby but you need to - you can do without being mauled and manhandled! If they get huffy or snotty you can pull a "poor likkle me, I was scared you were a mugger" - they are in the wrong the minute they lay a finger on your person, so there is nothing they can say to make it right. No matter what they say you have the "well why didn't you just ask me to show you/tell you" truth to fall back on. They just make themself look slightly deranged if they go on about it. People will back off immediately you say something, they literally just don't think you're a person until you remind them.

Do you mind me asking how old you are?

This used to happen to me all the time when I was younger, but not so much in the last 5 or so years. I'm now nearly 38. So, wasn't sure if it's because tattoos are now so much more widely seen now, or if it's because people are less disrespectful when you get older?

I'd grab them back in the same manor they've grabbed you. How would they like it if the shoe was on the other foot?

If they say something to you for grabbing them just say: What? Is thought it was the norm, seeing as you grabbed me in the exact same manor!'

YANBU

Why not try "Are your eyes in your fingers or something?" as a stage before "Get your filthy mitts off me, you filthy perve"

minshu I'm 24 :)

Aha! When you're old and crabby-looking like me, all your problems will be solved

YANBU at all. I don't have tattoos but I do have crazy hair and I've had my picture taken and people coming up to me and touching me. Once a girl grabbed my dreads in a nightclub toilet and yanked them.

It drives me mad...no-one has the right to do that at all. I hate people in my personal space as it is.

YANBU, I do think that the suggestions to just grab them back come under the heading of '2 wrongs don't make a right' though. Maybe a haughty, "Excuse me but what do you think you're doing?" or even "could I have your name and address please, I'll need it for the police report!"

YANBU! I have one on my wrist, rest are hidden and people grab my wrists. They soon let go when they realise how furious I am. NEVER touch me unless 1. You're my partner or 2. You're my mum (even then dont like it too much)

YANBU am another one who has had people randomly touching my tattoos, mostly my wrist tatts. Used to happen all the time when I worked in retail, I'd got to hand someone's shopping to them and they'd reach out to touch my wrist instead. It was bloody weird.

If you are too nice to speak up for yourself, then lie.

Oh god, you shouldn't have done that! I have (insert highly contagious rash/infection here)!