<p>@musicprnt …Yep, S1 works out for two hours every day before the workday begins. The gym is in the same building as his office. There is no fat! Aside from his full leg tattoo and the one on top of his foot, the rest of his tats are on his abdomen. There are none on his arms,shoulders,face,neck. </p>
<p>I think many of you would be very surprised at the number of tattoos to be found in the C Suites. They aren’t sleeves or on the neck, but I promise you that they are there under those conservative clothes. </p>
<p>@ Hisgracefillsme, I don’t think it’s about hate, but personal preference and aversion. I personally find them unattractive and sometimes offensive. Most people have things that express their passions and deep personal meanings that are not displayed on their body. For instance, they can scrapbook or other crafty ways to display their important things in more conservative, less permanent way than adorning their bodies.
I am glad that I didn’t permanently alter my body with things that attracted my interest as a young woman that I no longer like as a middle aged woman. As a fifty something aged woman, I love to look back at photo albums, and honestly shake my head at some of the clothing I wore, my chosen hairstyle and even jewelry that I did during that period of my life. I had semi big, permed hair, wore stylish clothing that includes shoulder pads and polka dot panty hose, shoes that were colorful, high heals and patten leather. I wore multiple gold chains and charm holders with lots of charms on them ( doubt you know that happening, dated style ) The point that some of us who don’t like tats are trying to stress is that your tastes change as you age and making a decision to permanently alter your body ( unless you endure painful, pricey procedures to remove ) might not be a great choice .</p>
<p>@VaBluebird </p>
<p>Thank you! I started this thread and as I was curious how the folks of CC felt about them. I’m pretty surprised that fellow CCers take offense with yet another tattoo thread. Haven’t we seen other threads resurface over & over? Many members have been here since CCs inception/for years, so they are bound to see things repeat. </p>
<p>Have there been threads about tattoos in the past 3 + years since I began lurking/joined? I have absolutely no clue. Discussing tattoos was the last thing on my mind because DD was on a college admissions journey and I had no time for such threads. I was here to dine from a more serious menu. It’s nice to be in the other side of the obstacle course! I can now mull over life’s trivial issues. </p>
<p>As long as it’s been thought through and it’s not on your forehead, tattoos can be a good way to memorialize something that was very important to you. Even if it’s not as important as it once was, it can be the same as a photo in a scrapbook–a reminder of something that was once a large, and important, part of your life.</p>
<p>Ahh, the annual tattoo thread. It’s apparent that it’s mostly a generational thing. I got my one tattoo right before graduated college. It was an outing with my closest friends and it still makes me happy when I think about it. I debuted it to my parents at my graduation, figuring they couldn’t be too mad on that happy occasion. 15 years later and I still love it and intend to get another. </p>
<p>I would say a majority of my friends in their 30s have at least one. These are college educated professionals, including doctors and teachers. </p>
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<p>Personally, I have no interest in getting tattoos, but also have no particular reason to prejudge someone who has a tattoo (of innocuous content). I would suggest that anyone wanting to get a tattoo consider how others in potential areas of employment think of them; if there are potential negative consequences, then limiting them to areas easily covered by normal clothing worn in such types of work would be sensible.</p>
<p>I wanted to get my nose pierced when I was 16. I never did it. My daughter got her nose pierced, so now I feel like I can’t for some reason.
But I still would like to.</p>
<p>To me, if I’m being frank, it speaks to an issue of classism. Many people say they’re “trashy” or “tacky”–why? There are some beautiful tattoos that have deep and personal meaning. The only reason I can think of is because tattoos over the past few decades were seen mostly on people that were considered “lower-class.”"</p>
<p>I’m sure that’s part of it for me. But I don’t think you’re getting that some of us just don’t find ink on skin attractive. And people keep repeating “but they’re meaningful” - but yeah, so what? That doesn’t change my aesthetic judgment. </p>
<p>But I also say if something’s personally meaningful to you (and that’s great), then go for it. My judgment is aesthetic, not moral. And of course there are gradations - no one is going to lump the little flower on the ankle with the full sleeves. </p>
<p>It’s one of those things I feel quite strongly about for me and mine, but otherwise if I notice “modest” tattoos on people, I just mentally shrug and go on with my day. It’s so commonplace these days it barely registers. </p>
<p>To me it speaks to rashness and needing attention. And if it weren’t permanent, this thread would have died on page one. No one, NO ONE, can be sure they’re going to want the same thing in 20 years. Would you do the same thing with your hair, either color/style? No? Then why would you ever get a tattoo?</p>
<p>Just google “tattoo removal” and after you’ve read up on the pain and cost involved (once to get the tat, and several times after to remove it), go to images and you’ll see the skin is permanently messed up. I’m sorry but when I see a tattoo, small, big, whatever, I think immature and needing attention. And obviously from this thread, so do many, many others. You probably could generalize (meaning there are exceptions, like military - no one yell at me for this generalization please) that people choosing not to get tattoos have reasons and those reasons probably makes them question the maturity or personality of those who get them. And that includes young people.</p>
<p>I’m not really understanding why it bothers some people so very much, what other people choose to do.</p>
<p>They seem to have a visceral reaction to things that could be viewed as threatening, although I have difficulty believing that a tattoo of your childrens names or a primrose is a threat.</p>
<p>Not everyone choose to dress, or live the same way & wouldn’t it be frightening if we did?</p>
<p>People who would judge me solely on the basis of whether I have a tattoo or not, are people whose opinions I could not value less.</p>
<p>I don’t have one btw, but not because I am afraid of provoking a reaction.</p>
<p>Honestly I think everyone judges everyone every day in some way or another whether we want to admit it or not. For me if I see someone with excessive tats I think “I would never do that” in the same sort of way I feel when I see people drunk off their butts in public or when I see someone with weird colored hair. Another person might have the total opposite reaction to excessive tats, or piercings, or hair color. It happens every day to everyone. No one is talking about friendships, they are talking about visceral reactions that people have. I would never categorize it as feeling “threatened”…I’m certainly not threatened by someone with shocking pink hair or crazy tats, but I absolutely think “why on earth would they do that?” Perhaps if we were in a situation where a conversation would evolve, I might find out “why on earth they did that” and I might find it interesting…who knows. There is a huge difference between what people think when they pass someone in the street and what people think when they engage with someone. </p>
<p>Apparently the recently dismissed editor of the NY Times Jill Abramson has a couple of tattoos. One is a NYC subway token image, and the other is reportedly a “T” in the font of the NYTimes masthead. Maybe Sulzberger didn’t know about those when he appointed her. </p>
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<p>Kind of like choosing a spouse! Of all the people I know who have tattoos, I don’t know any who have had one removed. I can’t say the same for the number of people I know who have ‘removed’ a spouse. ;)</p>
<p>EK, I think your interpretation is a little off. No one is saying that they believe a tattoo of children’s names or a rose is a “threat.” But we all have visceral reactions to things we don’t care for. </p>
<p>And of course we all judge one another to some extent on what we wear / how we carry ourselves. The person who shows up for a formal job interview wearing sweatpants with a drawstring hanging out and a cat sweatshirt and unkempt hair sends a signal about herself, even though she might be perfectly qualified. The person who shows up in a three-piece suit to a casual outdoor picnic sends a signal about himself. The person who wears (unironically) 1980’s style clothing with big shoulder pads and leg warmers and big hair sends a signal about herself. The person who wears Lilly Pulitzer hot pink and green sends a signal about herself. The person who wears Tammy-Faye-Bakker-style mascara and makeup sends a signal about herself. The guy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with the hipster 'stache and Warby Parker glasses sends a signal about himself. I don’t know why a tattoo is exempt from that. It’s an avenue of personal expression, that some will like and some won’t. </p>
<p>You asked for feedback on what to wear to your daughter’s wedding - because, in part, you wanted to send certain signals. You didn’t want to be so casual it didn’t appear as though you didn’t take it seriously, and you didn’t want to be so formal that you would be inappropriate to the occasion. </p>
<p>I will agree that I’m glad I didn’t choose my tattoos before my late 40s. I’m pretty sure I would have wished I had chosen differently. I certainly don’t have any regrets about the three tattoos (largest is 2"x2" or so) I’ve gotten since then. My daughter got 2 tattoos when she was 16 (with my permission). She is now an Episcopal priest and doesn’t regret the tattoos. They don’t show in her robes (or most dress clothes) and certainly have not hampered her career. My son REALLY wanted a Nike swoosh when he was young and I didn’t allow it. He is grateful to me that I did not. He (my WildChild) has no tattoos, but is considering a small Ironman logo. My latest is one I got in December 2012 after I completed my 2nd Flying Monkey Marathon (I did my 3rd last November). Many Monkey finishers have gotten Monkey logo tattoos. The color I used in mine and the addition of the 26.2 to it has made it a “go by” for others. I’m proud of my accomplishment, love the design and doubt that I’ll ever regret it. </p>
<p>My appreciation of tattoo art is contextual. I might appreciate the art itself, but when the art is presented on a canvas of skin, I have been socially conditioned to regard it as low class-- same way I appreciate washing machines, but when they are strewn on someone’s front lawn…</p>
<p>I agree that the appearance of a small tattoo of a rose is different from a tattoo stating " kill whitey". However posters dont seem to be differentiating when expressing their revulsion.</p>
<p>I don’t know what part of “I don’t care for the look of ink on skin” is unclear, EK. I don’t like the aesthetic look, regardless of whether the picture is of a rose or of the saying “kill whitey.” Of course “kill whitey” has a moral stance associated with it than a rose doesn’t. I feel like people are deliberately being dense here. </p>
<p>My sister has a tattoo around her wrist. I hate it. It isn’t the best quality and it implies something about her that isn’t true, that one might think she had cancer when, in fact, she didn’t. </p>
<p>Yesterday at Target I saw a woman with a very young baby. From the front, she looked fine. It was another story from the back. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap cami. Across her upper back/shoulders were the words (in fancy script): f…ng (the word was spelled out) royalty, then a lot of design stuff around and below, well onto her back.
WHY would a person get something like that printed on their body? I get the designs, but those words? Really? You want your child to see that on you? I judge. I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her. </p>
<p>I may have mentioned this before, but my daughters still laugh about the girl from their HS who had their HS mascot tattooed on her ankle. That is just plain weird. Try explaining that to your grandkids!</p>