Tattoos

i have two tattoos - one on my right ankle and one behind my left shoulder. both were acquired when i was almost 50.
i have never regretted either of them and never will.
neither was painful to have and i've been thinking of another one but can't make my mind up what to have.
however i must say that i don't like to see arms or legs totally covered in tattoos - although there can be some really beautiful ones. a friend of mine, for instance, has twining roses up the sides of both legs and also on her arms - truly works of art!
would i have mine again - yes, in an instant.

Each to his own Lupatria!

Elliesgran - it's probably the thought of all that snot that gathers in a nose piercing! - oh yuk!!

Not keen on them myself, and I don't think any of my sons have them (!). My sister decided she wanted one for her 60th so our nephew paid for it and took her to get it done. She loved it, I (and DH) thought it was garish (too many colours). She had it slightly extended a few years ago and that seemed to tone it down a bit. Now she says she wants another for her 70th .

I hate them. I have only ever seen one that I thought was even half way attractive and that was a daisy chain tattooed around a wrist, which was quite pretty. Personally I would rather wear a daisy chain bracelet.

That said, I have suggested to my daughter that she has "Type 1 diabetic" tattooed on her wrist, as that could be a life saver.

I think my dislike of tattoos stems from them being associated (I'm sure it's not just me) with "hard men" and "troublemakers". They always make me feel very uncomfortable.

My son has one on his forearm. I insist he wears long sleeves when he's with me, as I just don't want to see it.

Hideous, vile , disfiguring things.. My elder son had one on each arm when he was 16- obviously too young to be legal anyway but we did not find out until he was 18. He always had dressing gown on when he came out of bathroom & in summer used to wear tee shirts in garden. We thought he was just very cold or maybe ' private'.

Then I went into his room in the early hours to wake him up as I was driving him to airport for his holiday & there he was with British Bull Dog on one arm & Wimbledon Football club on the other. It is just as well he was going away for 2 weeks as it took easily that long for me to calm down.
Many years later when the football club had changed to WFC & he realised that the bull dog was associated with rather unsavoury characters he had to have them covered up & have 'sleeves' of oriental fish out over the top- it cost a small fortune but removal was far too expensive an option.
He now lectures his children on the folly of his ways & says he will disown them if they ever have a tattoo.

Yes this is definitely a generational thing. I once remarked on Facebook that I couldn't understand why people wanted to get tattoos as I think they look ugly, and I got a shedload of abuse from young people in return. There's a TV programme I'm particularly fond of and I follow it on social media. It has mostly young fans and a lot of them have had tattoos of images or dialogue from the show done on various parts of their anatomy. I'm sure they're going to regret it in 10 years when the programme is long finished and mostly forgotten.

Matter of choice.? I am sure when body tissue starts to 'sag'
in later years and it is not possible to identify what tattoo is what then they may just wish they hadn't gone through what was a totally unnecessary process like making holes in ears and other parts of the human body.

I believe that it is to do with lack of self esteem when it is extensive. It says look at my body art and not at me, a bit like putting on a mask, it gives you a way to face the world from behind a disguise. I have a small and discrete tattoo myself and I know it was done as an act of rebellion in a bad relationship, he hated it.

Each to their own, but if you cant get a job because you have visable tattoos then you shouldnt be allowed JSA. If you make yourself unemployable then feed and house yourself.My DH has 2 tattoos( 1 on each upper arm) he was 20 years old when he got them and now wishes he had never been so stupid.

ANYA Totally agree with you it's not a form of self abuse

Thanks sweetcakes

I know a lot of young(ish) people with tattooes and they are mainly lovely caring people. It's a form of body art in their eyes.

I'm not saying I like the look of it, or that they won't regret it perhaps one day. But they are all quite happy and well balanced IMO. It's a fashion. And fashion is so often condemned by The Older Generation. My parents hated my Beatnik phase!

I find them repulsive, fascinating, sometimes beautiful and sometimes funny. Watching a wedding dress programme was hilarious as a very tattooed lady, arms festooned with blue and red roses, tried to find a gown that would set off her tattoos. In the end she chose a beautiful strapless dress . . . and a long sleeved 'shrug' type top that covered everything.
That said, I'd rather not see them at all but saying so would be a sure way to see at least 1 DD adorned.

Hate them all. Unfortunately, even when the fashion dies out the tattoos are there for ever.
My daughter has a tiny seahorse on her shoulder which was done when she was a teenager. She's had three or four laser sessions trying to remove it and all its done is make is paler and fuzzier. Looks worse than before.
She's 50 now and wishes she'd never had it done. Thank goodness she can keep it covered most of the time.

I once had a prisoner to sort out/help with employment on the 'out' He had a tattoo on his forehead that read F***off. He couldn't understand why no oe would employ him. In the end he some very expensive NHS treatment for removal. Need I say more

I think they are hideous my nieces have them and are covered, one even has her grandmothers birth and death date up her legs (why??). Thank goodness mine haven't got them (yet) and hope they don't. when the skin sags as so many are saying what will they look like. Ugh

Son has two small tats on upper arm/shoulder. They look fine
But I do know someone whose D H paid for her to have an enormous tat all over her back as a present. Now there is something about this that
Makes me shudder. There is BMW a lovely short story by Paul Jennings about the tattooed man.

B T W not BMW! Blooming predictive text!

2 of my SIL's grandchildren have them The girl (24) over most of her torso apparently .I have seen the boy's(18)It covers all one lower leg .I expected him to pull his jeans up to show me but he dropped his trousers which was a bit disconcerting Have to say it's beautifully done. But why would you ?Their father was in the navy and has lots.
My brother died earlier this year and SIL had an owl (personal significance)tatooed on her shoulder for her 70th paid for by her children. I thought 'good for her'(I wouldn't mind a tiny one somewhere discrete myself)but it's rather bigger than I expected....beautifully done though .I think it was £120 so the big ones must cost a fortune .Not sure my brother would have approved but I bet he's grinning somewhere .DH thinks it's dreadful ....

My DD has her left arm tattooed, Orchids with lots of tendrils.
She came off a horse years ago, rolled into a thorn bush and has lots of fine scrathes all over her left arm.
She got so fed up of people assuming she self-abused that she decided to have them covered.
They were her choice and actually the opposite of self-abuse.

Another friend has her leg tattoed, she was in an accident as a child and the tattoos cover the scaring.
She also got fed up of always being asked how she got the scars.

It's not a fashion I care for at all and I was disappointed when three out of our four children opted to have them (all fairly small and easy to conceal).

What I don't understand is people who choose to be covered in them. They look as though they need a good wash.

Also, as someone else pointed out, they are very expensive and yet the people who claim to be poor seem to be able to afford these horrible inkings. Just my opinion, of course, and no offense intended to those who like them.

Loathe them - but it is each to their own. Probably my upbringing where tattooed bodies were the mark of deckhands and prostitutes - i.e. so called lower classes - not educated , nice people like my Hyacinth Bouquet mother!
However, my grandson (28 yrs old) is ashamed of his arm tattoos done as a teenager going "with the gang" as they are not in keeping with his present managerial employment role. Hs wife has small ankle tattoos but wears opaque tights or trousers at work as she feels embarrassed.
As many of you have said, why deface a beautiful body with tattoos and piercings although piercings are not as permanent. Already there are "older" women with multiple tattoos and they do not add attraction to the ageing body.
I admit I am biased as nowadays they are not regarded as a sign of hard or criminal people - but they still give me the "unacceptable" message and can be a barrier to certain areas of employment .

Each to his own of course ...but personally I hate them ! I would never employ anyone with visible tattoos .....it's just my opinion ! They can also be embarrassing ...,my husband had one when he was young and in the Navy ...it's just the emblem of the RN on his upper arm .....I had to laugh when he told me why ...on a drunken night out in Singapore he and his navy colleagues got together with a contingent from the Army to go on a night out (well you know what sailors are (and Army !) ...trouble was, he and an Army chap went to the tattooist and BOTH had RN ensignia tattooed on their upper arms ......he never say the army chap again and often wonders what happened when he got back to his barracks .........so if anyone has an aged relative (probably in his 80s now ) who was in the Army but has a RN tattoo ....now you know why !

Both my DD & her OH have them, I personally am not a fan but both of them have beautiful tattoos. I agree we are of an age where our views of tattoos are Sailors, Hard Men & Women who were regarded as "rough" also Gypsies.

I know my DD is intending having more but all her's have a meaning in her life. Don't know that I would ever have one.

My eldest Step-Son had one done when he was 18, his F & I just looked at it & said ok you're stuck with it for life but it's your body. His M went absolutely mad at him - not much point when it's done

I do not like them at all. Saying that,they are the trend nowadays but I reckon folk will regret having them as they get older.