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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be judgy pants about people that have tattoos and keep getting more, especially women??

532 replies

dontsqueezetheteabag · 28/01/2013 09:08

I hate tattoos. Whilst I appreciate everyone has a right to their own taste and choices I still cannot get over the fact that people have them in places where they are visible.

A colleague of mine has just returned to work after M leave with a horrific tattoo from her wrist to her elbow. How can she go out and meet clients looking like that?? It can be seen through tops and obviously below short sleeved tops.

What I really don't like is seeing lovely brides on their wedding days, strapless dresses and tattoos on their upper arms and backs..... urgh!!!!!!

Anyone else with me??

OP posts:
Moistenedbint · 28/01/2013 22:54

"""You are unreasonable for making moral assumptions about another person's behaviour/ attitude based on a minor difference in their appearance. """"

News Flash we all judge, we all have prejudices and we all make uncharitable assumptions. It's human nature and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. At least the OP is being honest unlike so many others here.

MooMooSkit · 28/01/2013 23:01

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

MooMooSkit · 28/01/2013 23:14

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

DupontetDupond · 28/01/2013 23:22

YANBU to dislike tattoos.Tattoos aren't my thing at all. I have a few friends who have them (not mahoozive ones, smallish one on ankles, back, arm etc...)

They're still my friends though, tatts or not. I guess tattoos really are the marmite of personal taste. So YABU to be quite so judgy... I was probably in the same boat as you a few years back!

But I'd never dream of getting one as I (secretly) think they look truly awful. And the links to the pics of the tattooed bride & groom at the top of the thread? Yeuch! But they look happy and I guess that's what matters.

wickedwitchofwaterloo · 28/01/2013 23:44

I am fully sleeved up, I have a full chest piece, I have the left side of my neck and throat done and both sets of knuckles, all visible on a regular basis.

All of these pieces are beautifully done and cost me A LOT of money. Whether you like tattoos or not, I'd defy you not to appreciate the sheer skill of the artist who did both my sleeves (based on An American Werewolf in London and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, respectively)

I'm 31 and a nanny. I have been for nearly 13 years and I'm yet to hear any bad words from employers or be unemployed for any extended period of time Grin

mirry2 · 28/01/2013 23:46

Do you thnk it's a form of exhibitionism? Just asking.

superstarheartbreaker · 28/01/2013 23:55

I LOVE my tattoo. It is a discreet place. It is a symbol that means something special to me. It was a magical process. I don't regret it.

EldritchCleavage · 29/01/2013 00:22

a world of newsreader hair and wrap dresses

Jan Leeming World! No, please, anything but that!

Here's a bit of tattooing I find it strangely hard to loathe...

mirry2 · 29/01/2013 00:29

Noooo. The eye is creepy - does nothing for me.

StuntGirl · 29/01/2013 00:40

Badvoc the way I see it tattoos (and to an extent piercings) represent a time in your life. I might change tastes, and the tattoo I get at 20 might not be what I'd choose at 40 but it'll be part of me.

I have two small scars on my chest where I once had a piercing. It's just a part of me, a part of my story, a part of my life. I regret nothing, even if it does leave its mark.

LibraryMum8 · 29/01/2013 04:21

I dislike them as well. I think the bride one looks hideous, not fab.

ditavonteesed · 29/01/2013 07:14

What people keep cming back to is that tattoos arent shocking, not one person here who has them has stated that their intention is too shock. There have been lots of explainations of what peoples tattoos are for and what they mean to them but people either arent reading those or are too set in the stereotype that people with tattoos are out to somehow have an impact on others.

MaryAnnSingleton · 29/01/2013 07:25

badly drawn tattoos are nasty on anyone -that would be offensive to me- but I love my only tattoo which is the word calm written on the inside of my wrist - it shocked my parents (and I am not a young thing any more) but it pleases me. It hurt a lot btw.

pigletmania · 29/01/2013 07:29

I hate them, they don't look classy but uabvvvvu. It's their body they can do what they like with it. Eople have tattoos for many different reasons, some are grieving for a lost child or partner and have them done in their memory. Who are we to judge them and tell them what to do!

Moistenedbint · 29/01/2013 07:38

""Here's a bit of tattooing I find it strangely hard to loathe...""

Grin its not the tattoos which make him hot though... It's that divine body.

noddyholder · 29/01/2013 07:46

The assumption that something has no value if it becomes mainstream or ubiquitous is a lazy argument doled out when the protagonist has nothing better to say. I don,t think anyone is saying they are unique etc but it is the right of everyone to choose and once again all,the ire from those without. I am not a huge fan as I have said before and I have one but I defend the right to have choice over your own body no matter who decides it offends them.

noddyholder · 29/01/2013 07:48

Btw this thread has made me really look at mine again which I haven,t done in 20 plus years and remember that time in,Thailand with fondness 30 years ago when I had little else to worry about than what my tattoo would look like with my tie dyed bikini.

GirlOutNumbered · 29/01/2013 08:05

Yanbu to not like tattoos, that's your opinion, however yabu to judge people, of course. It's very shallow to make a decision on someone's looks, but then so many people do it.
I am a teacher and have a large arm tattoo. I don't feel it's appropriate to have it on show when I am working, but that's just me. A female colleague who is in management does and you an clearly see it. It certainly has not made any difference to either the students or parents, who thankfully judge her on her ability to do her job.
They are so common nowadays I struggle to see what you are judging them on.

Moistenedbint · 29/01/2013 08:19

Tattoo motivation is an interesting question. Some individuals do it as a tribute or commemoration of someone/something, some do it to appear "edgy", bit transgressive, sexy, rebellious, enhances the machismo credentials cos its "badass innit", then conversely you have herd mentality or the need for approval from a specific group.. Tribal identification I suppose. While others find it gets them through a midlife crisis (this is usually the preserve of the staid conformist, who wants to convince the world that deep down, hes really a cool, edgy guy not a nine-five bank teller with 2.5 kids and a sexless marriage). The theres middle-class rebelliousness, the shock factor or impact it creates.... which is v. much enjoyed by some.

TomDudgeon · 29/01/2013 08:20

I don't regret my tattoos
I regret that every other fucker now has them too

Moistenedbint · 29/01/2013 08:20

No one is saying that you're not entitled to get a tattoo...merely that its not to our taste for the reasons expressed above.

NC78 · 29/01/2013 08:22

"I still cannot get over the fact that people have them in places where they are visible."

I haven't read the whole thread so don't know if someone has already said this, but what is the point of getting a tattoo somewhere where it is not visible?

Montybojangles · 29/01/2013 08:36

The look on a mans face when he discovers it maybe NC?
Because its enjoyable to suprise people who think they know you from time to time?

Oblomov · 29/01/2013 08:57

I haven't seen that many tattoos that are that well done. Most I see are done really badly and look awful. I have seen a few beautiful ones. My brother had one done by Darren Stares and some of Darren Stares's work is beyond beautiful.
But most that I see, just walking around each day, they are truely awful.

FryOneFatManic · 29/01/2013 09:15

I didn't have my tats done to shock people, I did them for me. They're never visible in a work environment anyway, and rarely at other times. They do have meaning for me, especially a pegasus on the back of my shoulder that represents the fact that I've always wanted to fly (but sadly would never pass a medical to be a pilot due to crap eyesight and hearing).