<p>I actually AM glad I waited until my late 40s to get my tattoos. No telling what I would have gotten at 18! I understand what many here are saying about the negative connotations, but I agree with the WSJ that much of that has changed in professional circles. I know a lot of competitive runners have tattoos, and they sure don’t strike me as trashy people or drug users. I think there is a lot more willingness today (except maybe on this forum) to look at everybody AND their tattoos on an individual basis. If the tattoo fits the person and that person’s individuality, it all seems to work just fine. I really don’t have a problem being judged by someone because of my tattoos. I don’t see it as much different from someone hating my haircut, my make-up, my bright blue SUV or my cowboy boots. Whatever.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s an age-based thing, but I think to many middle-aged people, a tattoo on a girl says she is “wild.” A tattoo on a guy says, “He must have been pretty drunk when he got that.” I realize that this isn’t what you mean to say with your small, tasteful ankle tattoo of an ancient symbol of life and love (or whatever).</p>
<p>“I don’t see it as much different from someone hating my haircut, my make-up, my bright blue SUV or my cowboy boots.”</p>
<p>If it’s a visible tattoo, it’s different from all of those things, which can be changed based on the occasion. You might judge me based on my Johnny Cash T-shirt, but the judge in court won’t judge me on it, because he won’t see it, even if I’m wearing it.</p>
<p>* Season 3 should be out! I’m completely addicted to that show and very sad that I won’t get more useful House quotes this year after tonight.*</p>
<p>I’ll have to look for it
You have seen Jeeves and Wooster haven’t you?</p>
<p>but I think to many middle-aged people, a tattoo on a girl says she is “wild.”</p>
<p>Well considering that this middle aged " girl" has gone to live music clubs till past midnight ( with my H BTW- although it was my idea ) three nights out of the past ten, I’m having a good time feeling a little wild ;)</p>
<p>I thought of this interesting debate when I was buying running shoes yesterday. The young (20 something) employee of the store (a competitive runner) had both the Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote on his calf (couldn’t miss them – he was wearing shorts). I said, “So…the road runner?” He said, “Please. I was young and stupid.”</p>
<p>I think there is a big difference between a 17-year-old getting a tattoo and a middle-aged person getting one. Getting a tattoo might be a fairly mild way of expressing the mid-life crisis, compared to what some people do. Also, you would have only half of your life to regrett, as opposed to almost all of it, so the impact is less, even if it’s a mistake.</p>
<p>That makes sense! I felt bad for Coyote guy. It was pretty big…</p>
<p>Hunt: Would you think less of a person’s judgment if they never regret a tattoo? I’m asking this because I’m curious as to whether you see a lack of regret for a tattoo as something that would only happen for someone with permanent bad judgment as opposed to someone who does regret their tattoo, meaning they only had bad judment at a certain age.</p>
<p>Again, I have to make a strong distinction between a visible tattoo and one that isn’t normally visible. If we’re talking about a visible tattoo, I would question the judgment of anybody who ever thought it was a good idea. I suppose regretting it later would make me think that the person was at least capable of learning something.
Look, what would you think of somebody who had vampire fangs permanently implanted? Or some even more extreme body modification? The only question, I think, is where you draw the line on what is a bad decision. Personally, I don’t even like pierced ears on women, so my views may be extreme in that direction.</p>
<p>I would think somebody with permanent vampire fangs probably had very poor judgment. In fact, when I was fifteen, I knew a boy who filed his canine teeth until they were semi-sharp. I thought he was an idiot. I draw the line of “I don’t like it” in completely random places (I like pierced ears, but not the cartilage; I like a few tattoos, but most seem very silly to me). I draw the line of “This person must have awful judgment” at something that will obviously impede them in life, which means it varies from person to person. A professional and well-off tattoo artist with full sleeves does not have bad judgment since their tattoos probably bring them business. A prospective professional ballet dancer who gets them has horrid judgment.</p>
<p>dis-grace, I think we’re in basic agreement, but might draw the line in a different place. I recognize that the line might also depend on where you live.</p>
<p>Anecdote: We were in NYC a couple of years ago, and we were in a store that sold all kinds of expensive Goth stuff. By the checkout were some temporary fangs. I said to my son, “Hey, look, it says these are the best fangs you can buy.” “No, they aren’t,” said the store clerk.</p>
<p>Certainly there are things I think are unattractive.
The person who apparently had a mohawk implanted into his/her skull I thought was over the top. ( way over the top 
)
I also don’t like to see earlobes stretched, eyebrows or anything besides a couple piercings on the ears and the nose pierced.
I don’t like bars and rods , I hate that Ferdinand the bull thing that some people do & I will admit I do think tongue piercing or any piercing that is supposed to be overtly sexual is trashy. ( and should be illegal on children under 18)</p>
<p>But just as I am learning that overly conservative clothing is not predictive of political leanings, I am also learning that lip rings and tattoos are not necessarily an indication of extreme behavior.</p>
<p>My D is definitely a risk taker. She seems compelled to take calculated risks, but I am impressed that they are indeed very calculated- as she researches extensively and makes decisions almost as slowly as I do.</p>
<p>Last year, when she was 17, she wanted to get her nose pierced for her birthday. I didn’t have a problem with it & I was just glad she didn’t get something more unusual pierced as some of my friends kids did.</p>
<p>While she won’t be able to get a tattoo until she is 18, if she was choosing a questionable ( more noticable) area or subject, I would have had an objection.
I am going to do more research on the safety of the dyes and whatnot, I am very comfortable with the technique used, but I don’t know much about the dye process.
She has high pain sensitivity so that isn’t a problem & I have a strong stomach so I am not only going to watch, but also take one of her friends who wants her nose pierced but whose mom doesn’t want to come. ( she is 18)
But because we both research things to death ( there is more than one reason why both my kids took/are taking a gap year), I feel comfortable that by the time we make our decision we will be able to live with it.</p>
<p>… That must have been unsettling, Hunt.</p>
<p>“… That must have been unsettling, Hunt.”</p>
<p>Actually, we thought it was one of the funniest things ever. You wouldn’t believe the stuff they had in this store. In addition to Gothwear, they also had a bunch of latex costumes, like Alice in Wonderland, etc. We were just there to be a top hat for my daughter to wear to play Willie Wonka, honest!</p>
<p>Ya Hunt…the old “willlie wonka hat yadda yadda yadda and thats how I got this latex suit…” story.</p>
<p>Well I made an appt for D to get her tattoo.
She will be disappointed the shop she wanted couldn’t get her in till August & its sister shop in another neighborhood, can’t get her in for another week.</p>
<p>But the other day when I was at her end of the year party for a sports team, I noticed that one of the dads not only had both forearms tattooed, but he had extensive tattoos on both of his calves.
I can’t say if it helped his employability ( I think he is a firefighter), but as he is the hottest dad that I have ever known personally- it didn’t take anything away .
But I guess I should have remembered what his tee shirt said ( it had the name of a tattoo shop), cause D is going to be disappointed to have to wait.</p>