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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask how many friends/family do you know with tattoos?

229 replies

recycledcat · 02/01/2022 23:15

Just that really...

I have no opinion either way (I don't have any for full disclosure but that's probably as I'm a wuss when it comes to pain and also indecisive!)

So this isn't a tattoo-bashing thread

Just wondering how many close friends/family you know who have them?

My youngest DS has several but other 4 DC have none. Their friends from what I know have none. My SIL has one and DN has lots.

OP posts:
merrymelodies · 03/01/2022 01:48

Some are beautiful but it's not something that I'd want for myself. No one in my family has any nor do any of my friends (that I know of Wink) but I'm from an older generation whose view on tattoos tends to be negative.

RJnomore1 · 03/01/2022 01:49

My husband has some and my oldest daughter but honestly they are so mainstream now. Even my most conventional friends have gone for them to mark their 49th/50th birthdays etc. I’m much more of a rebel being completely non inked.

Most of them you wouldn’t necessarily have a clue they had one unless they shared with you too.

Unless you’ve actually got wanker tattooed over your forehead there’s really nothing remarkable about having them any more.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 03/01/2022 01:50

None. I find them really unattractive and it would put me off dating someone. A bloke I work with has just had a full neck black tattoo I was just Shock when I saw it.

MissTrip82 · 03/01/2022 02:52

None. Just doesn’t seem a big thing in my circle. Piercings other than one pair of earrings for women also not really a thing.

The wider community is different so I wouldn’t find it off putting in a potential partner if my husband weren’t around. It’s pretty mainstream.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 03/01/2022 05:04

All my friends. Most of my family except my DPs and MIL.

1 person at work in our team of 9 hasn't.

I have 6 largish ones dp has both forearms.

madisonbridges · 03/01/2022 06:14

I have none, none of my family have any nor do any of my friends - at least nothing visible.

Weegiewtf · 03/01/2022 06:23

All my friends. None of my family. Partner covered in them.

Crystaldoves · 03/01/2022 06:35

I dont , dp has a 1 large one. No other family members do.
None of my friends do
One of dps friends is covered
Ome od dps cousins has one
About half my neighbours have at least one.

Crystaldoves · 03/01/2022 06:36

Oh and I know a girl who has one on her face.. she could've gone for something far nicer tbh.

PinkPomeranian · 03/01/2022 06:39

I don't think any of my ckose friends or family/ILs have tats, with the exception of my two siblings who have small ones that are usually concealed. Think butterfly/Chinese symbol style, done shortly after graduation.

I once worked with someone with huge, colourful tats that were serious works of art. I really admired them but don't have the pain threshold for anything like that and wouldn't want anything permanent on me. DH doesn't have any either.

Grapewrath · 03/01/2022 09:02

I have several. I’d have more but the artist I use is generally booked up miles ahead! I find tattooed men attractive, yes.
Nobody else in my family has tattoos. My mum is very critical of tattoos and thinks they’re common lol but is also a heavy drinker and smoker and dresses and looks far older than her age, so I don’t take any style tips from her.
Some parents are weirdly controlling over their adult children’s bodies. I find it a bit creepy tbh

SmallElephant · 03/01/2022 09:07

My SIL has several tattoos (three or four?) and I have a couple of friends with a very small discreet one. That's it.

I don't like them in general (although they can suit some people) and I would be gutted if DH or my teen DC got one.

MedusasBadHairDay · 03/01/2022 09:11

Quite a few, but then I know a lot of people who are into alternative/metal music, so tattoos are far more common within that scene (far more unusual to find people without tattoos tbh)

I've got half a sleeve which I'm planning to extend to a full sleeve, and already got plans for a sleeve on the other arm.

KonTikki · 03/01/2022 09:13

I think that tattoos were a huge craze over the past 20 to 30 years.
However, I have noticed in summer, on the beach (Spain), that less young people appear to be sporting them.
I do think that as a fashion statement tattooing is in decline, the sure step will be the slow closure of tattoo parlours.
There is one on my local High Street. I don't suppose it will be there much longer.
In the 70's I worked in New Zealand and loved the Polynesian / Maori tattoos. Very nearly got one myself as a souvenir, but it just wasn't the done thing back then.
Glad that I didn't now.

Vampirethriller · 03/01/2022 09:17

I've got four but you can't see them unless I'm undressed so not many people know.
All three of my brothers and two of my sisters.
Most of my friends, I can only think of two with none.

HikingforScenery · 03/01/2022 09:18

I have one close friend who has one on her shoulder and on her wrist. I don’t see her very often as she lives very far away.

My niece got one on her chest. We were all very shocked and still often forget she has one.

I pray one of my children want any!

ufucoffee · 03/01/2022 09:32

Almost none. Husband has a few that he got when he was young and regrets. One friend has a tiny one she got when she was young. SIL has a few. No one else in my family or friends have any. Years tattoos were considered quite cool but now it's the opposite. I would find a man that had any visible without clothes completely unattractive. I don't mind a few on men, but only a few.

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 03/01/2022 09:33

@underneaththeash

I know one husband of a friend who had one in his twenties. Another friend who has tried to get rid of one on her arm and has been left with a bruise shaped blur. My nieces have lots of horrible ones, otherwise no. It's very unusual to see them in our town - rich commuter town near to London. They're awful and we've told the kids they'll get less money towards a house/flat if they get one. They could obviously get one after we gave them some money at 25, but hopefully they'll not be so stupid.
Strange how My Body My Choice doesn't apply to offspring. Do you threaten them with financial penalties if they do/don't have a child or coerce them into continuing or terminating a pregnancy too?
BobbleBubble · 03/01/2022 09:38

My Great Grandmother who if alive would be I think 120ish now.

My cousin.

My Aunty has loads!

My SIL has one.

And I’ve seen a few friends post pics on Facebook. One in particular has loads on her arms back of neck - lower back, wrists ankles etc

furbabymama87 · 03/01/2022 09:38

I know 2 people with lots of tattoos, and I've got about 5 friends who have at least one tattoo.

slapmyarseandcallmemary · 03/01/2022 09:38

Most of them. My brother is covered. My sister has one. I have 14. My wife has a few, most of my friends have them - some lots, some a few.

VintageCookbook · 03/01/2022 09:38

We were all very shocked

Why? That's so OTT.

onedayoranother · 03/01/2022 09:42

One friend has quite a few, my stepson had one after losing a bet, and....that's it. I guess maybe a couple more might have small ones I haven't seen. But really only the aforementioned friend, who has a partial sleeve.
I went to Butlins once and was amazed at how many had quite big tattoos.

Aprilx · 03/01/2022 09:43

I have an adult niece with quite a few. Nobody else in my circle has any.

whiteroseredrose · 03/01/2022 09:45

One. She got a tiny heart on her hip as a teenager and now hates it.

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