Tattoos and piercings - why?

Sorry but I'm seeing too many young mothers painted if you will with tats. What do they tell their kids when they start asking about them. I also see the same women, the mothers with piercings. If one is having children wether tats or designer clothing isn't time to ease up on the fashion statements.

There also have been several problems in local schools and when the news shows the attendees at the meetings on the news they're loaded with tats, piercings, multi colored hair etc complaining do more for their children. And the audience is representative of what one sees in the local area. I can't help but think the problem children see this and has an influence of somekind. Now to their credit at least they're going to school board meetings but they also know they're being filmed.

I remember by the late 90s many were getting a ivy crown around the arms or something near the ankles and that would be it. But now it's no discretion. Now they want to be a neon sign.
 

I've never seen anyone whose appearance was in any way improved by a tattoo or piercing. I just don't understand the motive behind having such hideous disfigurement. Some people are just covered with them.
That's just me though. A grumpy old woman!
 

WhatInThe said:
Sorry but I'm seeing too many young mothers painted if you will with tats. What do they tell their kids when they start asking about them. I also see the same women, the mothers with piercings. If one is having children wether tats or designer clothing isn't time to ease up on the fashion statements.

There also have been several problems in local schools and when the news shows the attendees at the meetings on the news they're loaded with tats, piercings, multi colored hair etc complaining do more for their children. And the audience is representative of what one sees in the local area. I can't help but think the problem children see this and has an influence of somekind. Now to their credit at least they're going to school board meetings but they also know they're being filmed.

I remember by the late 90s many were getting a ivy crown around the arms or something near the ankles and that would be it. But now it's no discretion. Now they want to be a neon sign.
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They always look awful.
 
I hate tattoos. After a while, they seem to meld together into dark blue blobs. Tattoos are not for the people, who have them on their bodies, but for the people looking at them. Someone is telling you about themselves. A banana peel may be a cherished symbol for you, but plastering yourself with banana peels won't have that effect on the viewer. Instead of a statement of belief, it looks like you lost a bet.
 
I wore a lot of crazy clothing when I was her age: bell bottom pants, paisley shirts with long collars, shell necklaces, goofy shoes, weird eyeglass frames, etc. I had hair that was a bit too long and sideburns that belonged on a civil war general. But, as I matured I was able to easily ditch those items and start dressing more like Mr. Bond, James Bond. I am not sure the heavily tattooed youngsters of today will find it that easy. Perhaps a good job will be to get an MD as a dermatologist and specialize in tattoo removal.
 
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CarolfromTX said:
I think people want to stand out, and they think tattoos will do the trick, and it’s easier than actually achieving something. If you ask me, it’s style over substance.
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I agree. It is a certain number of folks that are just starved for attention, and will do who knows what to get it !
 
Rose65 said:
I want to understand what drives this. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's personal choice after all . I am just fascinated by the why.
There seems to be an epidemic of them on show all round us, on men and women, young and old. Entire arms and legs are covered.
So is it tribal? If so, which tribe?
If it is for art, is it to show everyone or just personal?
What of class - do upper class have tattoos and piercings? If not, why not?

Piercings must be very painful and infection must be a concern. Especially on parts of the body that are tender. So is it to show courage that someone would endure pain? Not to mention costs, I assume it all costs a lot.
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True! Tattooed people seem to be everywhere these days.

I found this partial explanation in reference to this current tattoo-popularity phenomenon:

Why People Get Tattoos​

Recent research deepens our understanding of how tattoos are perceived.

The primary motivation for those who got a tattoo (25%) had to do with its personal meaning (such as to mark a significant experience or struggle). Participants reported reasons such as “to keep my mother’s memory,” “a way of honoring my first child,” and “presented what I was going through at a certain time of my life.”

Some participants (12%) also felt that their tattoos were an extension or expression of who they were. As one respondent remarked, “My body is a book, my tattoos is [sic] my story.”

Some participants also reported that they found tattoos to be an appealing form of art.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/head-games/201909/why-people-get-tattoos
 
Jeni said:
There are most likely as many different reasons as there are tattoos ........ there are many all over different spectrum of the population .......

the $$ can be very expensive and makes me wonder what priorities some have. spouse has 2 got them after 40 and had the discretionary income ........so i was fine
what must drive people crazy is it can be a hit and miss with the artists and have seen a show dedicated to trying to repair or hide horrific tattoos ..... it is sad to watch some of the bad outcomes they want fixed or removed

piercings of all sorts are a constant source of infections if area not keep clean etc..... saw some real mess with people with infections.
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True! They can be botched up big time! I met this White Dragon Kung Fu student who had a tattoo on his arm which was supposed to resemble a dragon, but which looked more like a docile camel instead.
 
Last week at the grocery store here in Toronto. Grand Maw with ten year old girl child. Woman was wearing a sleeveless dress with a a LARGE tattoo that read "property of the Vagabonds motorcycle club" on her upper right arm. I remarked to my Wife....She will be easy to identify, if she is ever found dead in a ditch. Cops photograph tats as a way to identify criminals, along with their photos and finger prints. It used to be that only Carnies, sailors and convicts had tats. Now it's everybody.

f I had the money ( about $100,000 ) to invest in a tattoo removal laser , I would open up a shop called "Regrets " I bet it would be busy all day.
 
jimintoronto said:
Last week at the grocery store here in Toronto. Grand Maw with ten year old girl child. Woman was wearing a sleeveless dress with a a LARGE tattoo that read "property of the Vagabonds motorcycle club" on her upper right arm. I remarked to my Wife....She will be easy to identify, if she is ever found dead in a ditch. Cops photograph tats as a way to identify criminals, along with their photos and finger prints. It used to be that only Carnies, sailors and convicts had tats. Now it's everybody.
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Not Everybody . I wouldn't have a tattoo if you paid me, in all honesty if I liked a picture of something so much that I really wanted to have it with me all the time, I'd put a picture in my back pocket.. much easier to get rid of when you get fed up..

My ex husband was in the Royal Navy.. the first tattoo he ever got was a full sleeve scroll with ''My darling wife Holly" all the way down his arm surrounded by roses.. around his wrist he got our daughters' name...in another scroll

After we divorced and he married someone else she insisted he get my name taken out.. and with such a huge tattoo.. it looked terrible all flowered over... that marriage failed as well.. and now he's on his own after a third pairing failed, and with a horrible faded scrolled over mess of a Tattoo on his arm, with 70 year old skin... NUTS !!
 
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hollydolly said:
Not Everybody . I wouldn't have a tattoo if you paid me, in all honesty if I liked a picture of something so much that I really wanted to have it with me all the time, I'd put a picture in my back pocket.. much easier to get rid of when you get fed up..

My ex husband was in the Royal Navy.. the first tattoo he ever got was a full sleeve scroll with ''My darling wife Holly" all the ayd down his arm surround by roses.. around his wrist he got our daughters' name...

After we divorced and he married someone else she insisted he get my name taken out.. and with such huge tattoo.. it looked terrible all flowered over... that marriage failed as well.. and now he's on his own after a third pairing failed, and with a horrible faded scrolled over mess of a Tattoo on his arm, with 70 year old skin... NUTS !!
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We are on the same wavelength Holly. Never, have I seen a tattoo that is so good it inspired me to get one of my own.
 
Radrook said:
True! Tattooed people seem to be everywhere these days.

I found this partial explanation in reference to this current tattoo-popularity phenomenon:

Why People Get Tattoos​

Recent research deepens our understanding of how tattoos are perceived.

The primary motivation for those who got a tattoo (25%) had to do with its personal meaning (such as to mark a significant experience or struggle). Participants reported reasons such as “to keep my mother’s memory,” “a way of honoring my first child,” and “presented what I was going through at a certain time of my life.”

Some participants (12%) also felt that their tattoos were an extension or expression of who they were. As one respondent remarked, “My body is a book, my tattoos is [sic] my story.”

Some participants also reported that they found tattoos to be an appealing form of art.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/head-games/201909/why-people-get-tattoos
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The personal meaning and the who I am motivation for tattoos can be a pitfall, as people change over time. Artwork? Well that can be sketchy too, although I have seen some young women who had some tastefully done artwork which they might not live to regret.
Some inmates that worked for me when I worked in a prison had swastika tattoos that they wish they hadn't gotten. Of course, there were others who were quite proud of theirs.
 
Nathan said:
The personal meaning and the who I am motivation for tattoos can be a pitfall, as people change over time. Artwork? Well that can be sketchy too, although I have seen some young women who had some tastefully done artwork which they might not live to regret.
Some inmates that worked for me when I worked in a prison had swastika tattoos that they wish they hadn't gotten. Of course, there were others who were quite proud of theirs.
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Yesterday I drove someone to a UPS store. The nearest one was in a fairly new, attractive shopping area where I had not been before. Next door to the UPS was a tattoo removal place. I guess tattoos have definitely hit the mainstream.
 
Nathan said:
The personal meaning and the who I am motivation for tattoos can be a pitfall, as people change over time. Artwork? Well that can be sketchy too, although I have seen some young women who had some tastefully done artwork which they might not live to regret.
Some inmates that worked for me when I worked in a prison had swastika tattoos that they wish they hadn't gotten. Of course, there were others who were quite proud of theirs.
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..and those ones with Cut here across their throat...or Blue tears down their cheeks....
 
I thought about a dove tattoo back in the day.
Glad I didn't because now it would look like a Pterodactyl. ;)
But to each his own.

This shows this guy's tats over the span of years.

tattooed-50years.jpeg
 

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