Not to get prominent tattoos

[Flashbangandgone]

This isn't so much about liking or not liking the look of the tattoos themselves.... We all have different tastes and what one person will perceive as beautiful, another will perceive as ugly, and that's fine and not my point.

My issue is with tattoos' permanence, and why (however, beautiful the person might think their tattoo is) a large number of people mark themselves very prominently (I'm thinking full arm, chest, leg etc. rather than a small dolphin on the heel type of thing or a name of a loved one somewhere discreet) in a way they'll never be able to erase... How can they be confident they won't change their minds as they age, and fashions and their tastes change?

Surely it would be like buying a piece of clothing that you're forced to wear for ever, or exchanging your hair for a permanently attached wig (that you may love now, but will you want that hair style in 20 years?)

In short, I get why people want body art... I just don't get why they want it permanently.

Okay, why are you intrigued by it?

Because I don't understand why people would do it.... but clearly a lot of peopel do, so there's clearly a difference in perception there, and I'm just trying to understand it. It's just natural curiousity.

Do you never wonder why some people view the world very differently to you?

If you'd saved for years to buy a particular painting, a piece of art that you loved and admired, would you then exchange it for a different painting in a couple of years as your tastes had changed? If the answer is yes, buy your art from IKEA and don't get a tattoo. For a lot of people the answer would be no. I still wear clothes and listen to music and have art and a husband which I had years ago. It's about the type of personality I have. A lot of people are the same. Of course I have matured and like different things also, but my tastes in general are the same.

If you want body art because it looks nice, why not get a henna tattoo?

Because some people don't want henna tattoos? People want colour, a permanent piece that symbolises a person or an important event or memory, or just because they think it's beautiful.

If people wanted henna tattoos, surely that's what they'd get?

By the way, I don't even have tattoos! There is one that I want (and have wanted for 20 years) but I can't justify the expense and refuse to compromise. I may well get it when I'm 80!

Because I don't understand why people would do it...

To answer this (from my viewpoint), because I wanted to. Mine is on my upper back, so not really that prominent unless I choose for it to be, but I got it because I loved the design. There isn't any deeper reason.

Re "why people do it". I had my tattoo to mark the end of a pretty difficult period in my life and the start of a new, much better one. Every time I look at it I think how lucky I am to have had the life I have had since then and remember just how badly things could have gone. It's a powerful reminder for me and an expression of my choice to try and build a more fulfilling life.

Why do you need to 'get' it? By all means don't pop down your local tattoo studio and have a full sleeve done, but otherwise it's not really affecting you. It's not something you need to 'get'.

I don't get why people spend huge amounts on clothes/holidays/clubbing but I accept that everyone's different and what other people do has absolutely nothing to do with me.

I think tattoos say a lot about a person.

It says a lot about a person with a well considered, much-loved design that they saved up for and researched the best artist they could afford.

It equally says as much about a person who got drunk in Magaluf and had "I'm an arse" tattooed on their ass.

I just feel sorry for the young girls of today who have life-changing tattoos in visible places that limit their life choices and career opportunities because it's so in fashion right now.

I totally hate tattoos (for me) but dustarr has put the whole experience beautifully.

It's a 'whole' thing and a lot of people don't get that.

What the actual fuck is going on?
Third one if these threads this week.
Second one today.

One person attention seeking, I would say.

MrsHathaway nailed it I think - when someone is heavily tattooed I think it looks far more artistic when it makes up one or two large coherent pieces rather than a miscellaneous collection. If you're planning a big tattoo to represent several significant events or a significant period in your life then it makes sense to choose an area of your body that's seen in its entirety or not at all, like the chest, back or arm, so that the entire tattoo is seen (or hidden) and its meaning isn't lost

I think one large piece (or lots of large ones!) looks so much more cohesive than a little one on your ankle (dolphin FFS?!) and a little one on your shoulder and a little one on your lower back. They just end up looking messy, whereas a proper big work of art really makes an impact.

I bet most of the regrettable ones are the little ones that aren't well considered because they were 'only small' whereas if you're going to the trouble and expense of having a large tattoo done somewhere visible you're going to make damn sure it has a lot of meaning.

Why do you need to 'get' it?

I don't need to, but I'd like to... don't see what's wrong with that.... I don't see why people get so defensive on this subject.

Some interesting responses that have helped me 'get it' a lot more - thank you.