To think some people are going to regret some of these ridiculous tattoos.

[riverwalk]

What is it with tattoos lately. They're just getting ridiculous and some of them look plain stupid. Rita Ora has some just under her armpits, the part of the arm that gets dangly as you age. Just what is the point, they don't look good at all. I don't think they define you as a person (as lots of them say) at all. How does it.

What is it based on through Mary?

If you don't want them on your children because you don't think they look nice then you do sound like a control freak. If you don't want them on your children for any other reason then you are quite simply being discriminatory.

River walk. It is because you are imposing your will on them when they may want something different.

My mum doesn't like tattoos. Would she stop me getting them. No.

Oh right, I thought it was just being a mum.

I agree with you lilac.

I don't feel like i have ruined myself mary i am still a clever and beautiful woman.
Is it only visible ones that look ridiculous? The ones you have do not then?
Goodluck stopping your kids getting one.
When they are adults they will do what they want.
My parents hated tattoos a lot.
I always loved them. I got mine when i was an adult and just hid them

If you don't want them on your children because you don't think they look nice then you do sound like a control freak.

No, she sounds like someone with an opinion. Has she threatened to lock them in a cupboard?

If you don't want them on your children for any other reason then you are quite simply being discriminatory.

No. At most she is pointing out that society can be discriminatory about people with tattoos. Actually, the word 'discriminatory' seems more than a bit strong.

"findo there is a lot of evidence linking inks and cancer."

Headofthehive55, I don't doubt that there is evidence linking inks with cancer but not tattoos specifically. I imagine if you're working in the printing industry, the volume of ink you're exposed to daily over a working lifetime far outweighs the quantity of ink used in even a big tattoo. I would imagine too that in printing, a significant route of entry of ink particles into the body is through inhaling.

Thanks FindoGask for that info. I hadn't even thought about a drunk person moving about not did I know about the bleeding.

findo the risk was more absorption into the skin from the hands I seem to remember. Certainly the volume used would be a factor I imagine.

There is very little good research on the issue, and it's very difficult to do. You see I would imagine most people haven't a clue which chemicals are in each colour of their tattoo and cancer having a long build up time and it's very common, it would make it a very difficult thing to investigate.

The inks themselves are not standard, so you cannot compare a selection of tattooed skin with non very easily. Black ink for example may be a mixture of colours...easily demonstrated by the chromatography test using biros at school. And one black may contain different chemicals to another.

Certainly it makes it much harder to spot a melanoma.

"Id love a tattoo but im allergic to black ink"

How did you find out about that?

I agree that that is far too much judginess going on here - on both sides.

Still, each to their own, it just surprises me that so many precautions, standards, are applied on other areas but not that one.

I also wondered about sun safety with sleeves. As you might remember from school science a black surface absorbs much more heat ( radiation) than a pale colour as pale colours reflect light better. If your arms therefore are absorbing a greater dose of radiation, it would seem to suggest a greater risk of skin cancer.

I was speaking to a guy who is campaigns on sun safety on the government committee about the use of sun cream on such skin and he was told me the evidence for sun cream did not consider tattooed skin. Do you need more sun cream? Does it work as well? There was no answers.

I suppose my interest is an academic scientific one, I've no particular interest other than that.

Whoever is planning to tell their children not to have tattoos, it will probably have the opposite effect.

Toad. Why would it not be discriminatory? Rejecting someone on the grounds of having tattoos is just that. You couldn't day don't play with someone because of their colour or where they live.

It is just that attitude the shows how narrow minded people are. Do tattoos or piercings stop someone from doing their job? No. Unless you can give me an example of someone not being able to function because of s too or piercing I don't see how anyone can be so judgemental.

I am not saying you have to like them. Opinion is fine. But to say you would cry because your children got one shows a narrow mindedness and immaturity that most people grow out of.

Well, I disagree. I think if I help them to understand that visible tattoos make it hard to get a good job, are permanent and frankly, are unnatractive, then I like to think they'd be sensible enough to follow that advice.

Someone not wanting their child to defile their bodies isn't being a control freak, it's called being a parent.

And I don't discriminate against people with tattoos, as I said, two close friends and my brother have loads of visible tattoos, just because I think their arms look ridiculous doesn't affect how much time I spend with them!

You really don't see how you are imposing your beliefs, that are based on aesthetics and an out dated view of people with tattoos is not being controlling. Unattractive. Your view. Defile. What a crazy word to use.

The only thing you are really teaching them is to judge a book by its cover.

This thread is a perfect example of small minded people attempting to fight a petty battle.

Or, this thread is a perfect example of people having opposing views. Which is fine. I don't have to like tattoos because you do, and nothing you say is going to convince me otherwise. It's not the end of the world if a stranger on the internet doesn't agree with you...

In a lot of ways I agree with mary. I think it is the job of a parent to steer children away from things that might cause difficulties for them. For example we know it's perhaps not a good idea to have a child at 16 because we see the difficulties that may lay ahead. Others may add that it doesn't stop you having a fantastic career and give examples, but we know the path would be much harder.

Now I don't doubt that people are becoming more accepting of tattoos in general and therefore less discriminating, but some employers will still be without doubt, wrong through that may be. I think she is saying she is trying to make the path easier for her children and that surely is in a parents job discription?

If people dislike tattoos, that's not offensive. They just have a different opinion. If we all felt the same, the world would be boring.

If people make the assumption that people with tattoos are stupid/chavs/idiots, that is offensive. However, it's best to just write these people off as narrow-minded, and not pay any mind to what they are saying.

If people openly discriminate against people with tattoos - turning them down for jobs purely based on the fact that they are tattooed, shouting at someone in the street and calling them names because they have tattoos, etc - that's unacceptable, and they should be called out on it.

Unless people fall into the third category, which I haven't seen anyone doing on this thread, I can't get too riled up about it. I'll defend tattoos, and defend the people who get them, but I wouldn't get drawn into any kind of silly argument with them. If people fall into the second category, I tend to just write them off as knobs and leave them to their frothing.

Some people are too defensive about their tattoos, but it's understandable. To me, my tattoos are like a piece of precious jewellery, but with the extra importance of it being on my skin, permanently. They represent my family, the illness I overcame, the major moments in my life, and when someone calls everyone with tattoos uneducated, or chavvy, I do find myself getting defensive, because it feels like a criticism of what they represent.

Goodness, I would hope nobody gets shouted at across the street for having them!

Why is it people talk about permanency of tattoos (a drawing you can cover up) but never cosmetic surgery or botox?

That shit is going to move or melt as peeps get older. Will look far stranger than a colourful doodle. And mostly it will be on the FACE!

And don't get me started on the scooter children who'll end up with one leg longer than the other... That's going to cause massive future ishoos.

It's interesting what people are saying about steering their children away from them. I would try to steer DD away from having a child at a young age - having been there myself, I know how difficult it is.

I wouldn't steer her away from having a tattoo though. I'd want to make sure the design is what she wanted, and that she found a reputable parlour, but I wouldn't discourage her or try and stop her.

I suppose it's more about helping them realise the discrimination she might face? As you outlined.

The things is, even most tattooed people have their limits, and wouldn't get tattoos on their neck, face, etc.

Because they will suffer heavily from judgement and discrimination and basically a hell of a lot of 'WTF were you thinking?'

There's been quite a furore down here recently due to a young lad who was refused entry to a bar because he has facial tattoos, and the bouncer made a judgement about the sort of person he might be, how likely he might be to cause trouble to kick off in the bar, etc.

This guy is learning the hard way that facial tattoos will cause him a fair amount of grief in life.

As a parent, I would absolutely discourage my DC from getting facial tattoos. I think you'd have to be deeply disingenuous to think facial tattoos are OK and will be broadly accepted by society, and that they will do little other than severely hamper your path in life. So if we accept that facial tattoos are significantly problematic, then it's not hard to see why some people have a problem with obvious/prolific tattoos in general.

Even tattoo devotees tend to avoid the face. Why is that? A nice design on the cheek, chin or forehead? Why not?

Oh god I'd discourage her from having a facial tattoo, because even though I disagree with any discrimination for having tattoos, I know that she almost certainly will face discrimination if she gets a facial tattoo, whereas a tattoo on her ribs or her ankle or her back is much less likely to see her being discriminated against.

For what it's worth, I've never seen anyone be shouted at in the street for their tattoo - it was an extreme example of cases where I would be bothered by people disliking tattoos - so it wouldn't influence whether I discourage DD from having tattoos or not. I've never been discriminated against for my tattoos - in fact they've enhanced how people react to me - but if I had a facial tattoo, it would be a very different story, so of course I'll discourage DD from getting one. If she still goes ahead and gets one... well, it's her body. I can't stop her from doing anything with it.

For me personally, I don't like the idea of getting tattooed on the face. It's why I've got nothing on my feet. I don't like the idea of getting the tattoo done, and I don't particularly want anything on my feet - or my face.