<p>S2, who will be turning 19 soon, is home for Winter Break after his first semester freshman year. Seems “everybody” (a few of the the guys from home) pierced both ears while they were away, or as soon as they got back. He told me he was going to as well, since at 18 he no longer needs my permission. Well, technically that is true, but while he is still supported by me financially, I believe I still should have some control, and I really feel strongly against it. </p>
<p>I explained to him how I felt and why. As a business major, I think it is a big mistake. In my opinion it is very unprofessional looking, and as a businesswoman I know it can have an impact at job interviews - even if they are taken out for the interview, you can still tell. Frankly, I find it a silly look. I was told I was ridiculous, and old-fashioned. The age-old Mother infuriating “everybody is doing it”, certainly did not help me see his point of view either. Whether he understands or agrees with my position or not, or vice-versa, for now he hasn’t gone ahead with it. I’m not naive enough to believe he won’t ever just go do it, whether I approve or not. For now, he still looks, to me, like a nice clean-cut young man. I am hoping the issue doesn’t come up again.</p>
<p>OP & those who love tattoos and piercings can rail and whine as much as they want, but it was asked what adults think & it seems a fair sampling of adult thought has been represented here. Be aware that there will of course be people judging you – you don’t have to like that you are being judged but you will be. Visible body art via tattoos and visible piercings CAN affect career and job options and importantly as has been pointed out, can be a serious health risk.</p>
<p>A very good friend of mine was a physician and was working part time in a Dermatologist’s office while waiting for his board license work to clear. He told me that 90% of this dermatologist’s extremely lucrative business was removing tats. And this was 1995. Can you imagine the cash cow that tats are for dermatologists these days?</p>
<p>I have never been able to live with the same wall color for more than 5 years or keep the furniture in the same place or the same drapes so why would I want to see the same design on my body forever? You may be able to look at something forever but I sure couldn’t do it. I like BB’s experiment. Look in your closet and see if you could wear anything in there for years and years. Maybe do a henna tat and see how you like it. To me that would make sense as you could change it or remove it more easily. As for piercings, stay away from ones in your tongue as you can damage the enamel in your teeth.</p>
<p>Not as bad as male circumcision (which parents do to their kids, and is irreversible, I think). (If they waited til age 18, I guess it would be all right.) But that’s just the way it seems to me. Others will feel differently.</p>
<p>My son is uncircumcised, and I find tattoos repulsive. I had my ears pierced when I was 23, but I don’t wear earrings often. I wouldn’t care if my son wanted pierced ears, but would not care for any other body piercing. And what is up with those huge disc things guys are wearing in their ears these days? Those look awful to me too!</p>
<p>Metal nose rings, the ones that look like hanging snot, are very popular on the West Coast. No so much in colder climates. I wonder why :rolleyes: ;)</p>
<p>A friend of mine lost her daughter in a tragic accident. I don’t know the exact story, but she said her daughter sent her a message that she was okay and at peace and it had something to do with a lady bug. Her mom recently had a lady bug tattooed to her ankle. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m willing to bet that is one beautiful tattoo that she will never have removed.</p>
<p>Every time I see someone with a nose ring, I think “and there in the woods a piggy wig stood, with a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose. With a ring at the end of his nose.”</p>
<p>I think a tatoo looks better on a young body but as stated before, we dont stay young. I know many people who regret it with time. I do know some people (including women who have the sleeves). it actually suits one as she is rather wild .She says it makes her feel beautiful. On someone reserved like me its ridiculous. I have double piercings in my ears. I rarely use the second hole. My D’s have single piercings in their ears and one has the cartilage. I dont wish for them to get their eyebrows, lips or tongues pierced. So glad they dont want to. I think the small hole in the side of the nose looks fine but he hangy thing in the nose is plain distracting and gross IMO. My H who is more conservative than me will not pay for college if they get tattoos. End of story and they know he means it.</p>
<p>^Lol, motherbear! I’m normally a very tolerant sort but, medical concerns aside, it’s just so ugly that I can hardly bear to look at people with hardware hanging off their faces and I can’t seem to follow the conversation when they speak to me because I’m just thinking about things like bacterial infections. As a volunteer coordinator, I’ve had to say no to certain volunteers because the younger kids express fear/concern with the way they look (tons of hardware, tons of tats) and their parents likely would too. My own kids agree that a lot of people take it too far and wind up looking like a walking freak show so our standard is “nothing that would frighten a four year old”! </p>
<p>I don’t mind guys with small, tasteful earrings or tats that are in places that are normally covered by a shirt as long as the subject matter is not offensive. My nephew, a Marine, has the “killing” slogan on his forearms and I find that very disturbing. My son has a cross on his bicep and, although I was opposed to it, it’s actually really nice.</p>
<p>I was in the grocery store this fall and there was a young girl with tats all over her arms standing looking at the shelf and coming in the opposite direction a young girl, maybe 3 or 4, pointed and said “look mommy that girl markered all over her arms.” Well said.</p>
<p>My grandmother offered to take me to get my first tattoo. I haven’t been able to go yet since she’s never in town when I’m available, but I do look forward to it one day (I’ve wanted the same tattoo since early in my teenage years and I’ve waited about 8 years to decide whether or not it’s what I really want). She’s in her early 60s and has had her tattoos since she was in her 20s and 30s. She still has no regrets. She’s also very, very well-off so I doubt it affected her too greatly in her career (which, truth be told, I have no idea what she does but I know she had money before she met my grandfather- and it wasn’t family money haha). I want a few small ones that have to do with my family history- something I seriously doubt I’ll ever regret.</p>
<p>I no longer have my lip piercing or nose piercing (I used to play sports and would just be too lazy to put them in after games so they healed) but when I did, I never really had an issue with them (as in, no one said anything to me about them and they never stopped me from getting jobs and what not). One of the other interns at my recent internship (with a state senator) had a nose stud and no one cared. People at my job with the state have plenty of piercings and no one has said anything. I don’t like gauges since those can be hard to heal, after a certain point, but I have no problem with small, discrete facial piercings. Tattoos… well, it really depends on what you want to do. More than half of my professors have visible tattoos so it seems that in academia it’s fine. Even in my short life, I’ve seen tattoos become rapidly more acceptable but I still recognize that there are bosses and jobs that don’t like them. Therefore, people should get them in spots that can be covered until they have a stable jobs and such.</p>
<p>I personally find tattoos ugly and particularly on women. I also don’t care for gobs of heavy makeuop , but then that is my personal opinion. We do have some people that work for us that have them , but my husband would not allow anyone with facial piercings</p>
<p>One thing I have stressed to my daughters is to look at pictures of me back in my teens and early twenties…always good for a laugh to see the hair , jewelry and clothing choices that I chose to adorn myself with and try to imagine me still sporting the same look today</p>
<p>As a side note , my daughter was 20 and home visiting during her summer co-op and I mistakingly thought she had a " tramp stamp " tattoo …turned out is was a tag from her bikini. I was very upset , and then very relieved to findout she hadn’t marked herself with ink</p>
<p>I don’t care for them, but I do find interesting the degree of antipathy some people feel toward them. I know a grandfather, a well-educated, sophisticated man, who became upset during a recent discussion about tattoos and said, “I told my granddaughters - I don’t care what ***** crazy things you do in college as long as you don’t get one of those ***** disgusting things!” I thought it was an odd thing for an 80-y/o grandpa to say. If I could choose (and of course I can’t), I’d prefer a tattoo over any number of other things my kids might do in college.</p>
<p>@ Nrdsb4, post 51 - I understand what you’re saying. One of my ds lost a dear friend to murder last year. She has truly struggled to come to terms with it. When she got a small, 4-word tattoo in her memory (in a place visible only when she wears a bathing suit), she seemed to move closer to a degree of resolution.</p>