TheRealBarbossa · 36-40, T
2 of my tattoos are Elvis related. Not because I believe he will always be my no1 artist, but because "he" and his music helped me throughout hardships when I was younger. He's still my no1 artist and still brings me comfort, but the tattoos are a reminder that "comfort comes if you're willing to listen"
If it wasn't for his music I'd be dead a long time ago.
Am I making sense?
I also have a sibling tattoo on my left wrist to remind me that no matter what, they're always there for me. Makes it harder to put a blade up against it.
If it wasn't for his music I'd be dead a long time ago.
Am I making sense?
I also have a sibling tattoo on my left wrist to remind me that no matter what, they're always there for me. Makes it harder to put a blade up against it.
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@TheRealBarbossa that’s awesome!
Ohplease47 · F
@TheRealBarbossa I would make mine a picture of Bono singing Elvis back into his phony sold out gravestone
Handfull1 · 61-69, F
I got both of mine after 50. It wasn’t what I got as much as why. I lived my first 50 years for everyone else. Although I still look after many people these days, it’s my choice now, not others expectations. Tattoos were the beginning. No regrets!
PerfectionOfTheHeart · 46-50, F
I can see that side of it. And if I chose to link the bad moments and thoughts with what I’ve chosen to adorn my skin, I never would’ve gotten them. But instead I focused on the strength represented in my tattoos. The simple word “Strength” on the back of my shoulder to make me feel like my mother is watching over me. The two tattoos my dad drew with his own hand, one right on top of the veins on my wrist so every heartbeat I have can somehow make a part of him live on. The Celtic tree etched in between my shoulder blades to symbolize my ancestors who made it possible for me to even be here.
I wanted art to connect me with my loved ones who are no longer here, and for me it was an easy decision to capture their radiance through this art form. I can’t run my fingertip over a memory and feel its warmth, but I can run my fingertip over the tattoo on my skin and smile as the warmth of a loved one’s signature is artistically left behind.
I wanted art to connect me with my loved ones who are no longer here, and for me it was an easy decision to capture their radiance through this art form. I can’t run my fingertip over a memory and feel its warmth, but I can run my fingertip over the tattoo on my skin and smile as the warmth of a loved one’s signature is artistically left behind.
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@PerfectionOfTheHeart thanks! That makes sense
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
In many human cultures the skin is believed to provide a path between the physical body and the spiritual world. So symbols might be chosen for good luck or safety - think of the anchor worn by many sailors. That said, my dad was a sailor but refused a tattoo for fear of needles and infections.
bijouxbroussard · F
I got my first tattoo at 20, and I had been looking forward to it. It was a symbol that meant something to me, and I now have a total of four that have represented different stages in my life.
I got that first tattoo when few women had them, and two promises I made myself (and kept) were, never putting anyone’s name on myself, and never placing a tattoo on any area that couldn’t be covered by clothing. My parents didn’t know I had tattoos for almost 30 years, until I became ill and spent a month in the hospital.
I’m planning to get one last tattoo—a sunflower in memory of my mother, who passed away recently. 🥺
I got that first tattoo when few women had them, and two promises I made myself (and kept) were, never putting anyone’s name on myself, and never placing a tattoo on any area that couldn’t be covered by clothing. My parents didn’t know I had tattoos for almost 30 years, until I became ill and spent a month in the hospital.
I’m planning to get one last tattoo—a sunflower in memory of my mother, who passed away recently. 🥺
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@bijouxbroussard your life story on your skin - cool!
Magenta · F
Ditto. I relate. I get why some do it. But there is nothing that is so important to me as to perma mar my skin with it. I prefer my skin pure. No piercing's either. I have many others ways I can represent, express or visit what has deeper meaning to me.
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@Magenta interesting that many people I know can commit to a tattoo, but can’t commit to other things in their lives. I like some of the explanations posted here - they make sense - just not for me.
Ynotisay · M
I have one. It's pretty small and it's hidden. It's a symbol that has a couple of meanings that I lean in to as a person. I even got it on a symbolic date. It all lined up and when certain things line up I pay attention. And the reality is I don't even think about it anymore.I don't look at it and ponder the meaning. But if you're curious I'd say do it for yourself and not for others. Because a lot of people get them because they want to be viewed a certain way. That's their call but I would imagine there's more regrets taking that path.
hippyjoe1955 · 70-79, M
My wife and I were walking down a beach one day when a stranger and his wife stopped to chat. The stranger said "You two are Christians aren't you?" Kind of surprised I acknowledged that indeed we were Christian and I asked him how he knew. He pointed at my chest and said "I can see your dove of peace". I had forgotten that a number of years ago I had indeed had a dove of peace complete with a green olive branch in its beak tattooed on my chest.
JimboSaturn · 56-60, M
I am the same. I can't think of anything that means so much to me as to tattoo on my skin. I don't feel a need to create an outward representation of an event or belief. I don't use bumper stickers and any other visual images to project myself.
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
@JimboSaturn Don't ask me questions . . look at my bumper sticker . . that tells you everything you need to know about me!!! 😩
emmasfriend · 46-50, F
I am not a lover of tattoos, especially when they are so prominent that they seem to assault the eye.
Best kept to places where they are only discovered by intimate acquaintances - just my opinion.
Best kept to places where they are only discovered by intimate acquaintances - just my opinion.
SUPERVlXEN · F
First of all I’ve made sure that my tattoos are classy and timeless and have a meaning to me which won’t fade with life. I plan on more in the future and will continue keeping it down the same lane.
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@SUPERVlXEN so no Sean Connery tattoos (something I saw once).
If I ever got a tattoo, I’d probably spend months contemplating and designing it
If I ever got a tattoo, I’d probably spend months contemplating and designing it
SUPERVlXEN · F
@trollslayer
None of any person as a portrait or worse, emphasis on classy and timeless. Lol
None of any person as a portrait or worse, emphasis on classy and timeless. Lol
AngelUnforgiven · 51-55, F
For me personally, its like writing my biography but with different ink. There are some things that my mind won't allow me to think about but my body embraces it and holds it tight now and it will always be with me. Even when I'm laid to rest.
CountScrofula · 41-45, M
I'm also without tattoos but the best explanation I ever heard was that people like seeing their own story on their body and a stupid tattoo you got when you are twenty is still about who you were when you were twenty. I get that.
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@CountScrofula i like that explanation!
22Michelle · 70-79, T
Don't have any, but like you I'm okay with the idea, I've just never found one that I like the idea of committing to.
Kathleen23 · 41-45, F
I’ve tattoos on me it’s a decision you can decide to have it
Youwereexpectingajoke · 31-35, M
In my case, I have only gotten things tattooed on me that I know will be important to me forever
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@Youwereexpectingajoke i could see memorializing a loved one as to not forget the the year they were born or died. My wife sometimes forgets the years her mom and dad died.
JimboSaturn · 56-60, M
@Youwereexpectingajoke Hey I'm not knocking them, I guess I just don't feel anything is important :P
eyeno · M
For not having any....
In my youth I pondered on getting a tattoo, then came to the conclusion after sometime.
If God wanted me to have a tattoo, I would have been born with it.
In my youth I pondered on getting a tattoo, then came to the conclusion after sometime.
If God wanted me to have a tattoo, I would have been born with it.
justanothername · 56-60, M
Ideally a tattoo tells a story about some part of your life. Tattoos are also done to show your family history.
The word tattoo is derived from the tat-tat-too sound that the tattooist makes as they hammer the ink into your skin. The tattoo is Polynesian in its origin.
The word tattoo is derived from the tat-tat-too sound that the tattooist makes as they hammer the ink into your skin. The tattoo is Polynesian in its origin.
11knaves11 · 46-50, M
I don't have that many but if i could do it over i wouldn't have any now.
ididit for fashion,
trollslayer · 46-50, M
@jefferson can you elaborate?
Ohplease47 · F
No motives at all, they had the money laying around so they also play the lottery and purchase future unworn clothes like everyone else. Its also still legal. The rich always think we are imbiciles so does it matter a whit? I see these types as ordinary and conformist as the snooty and uber misguided former "middle class" with its phony impossible morality and too much lawn and good old ww2 memories and too many troubled kids...
ThirstenHowl · M
New research also indicates tattoos seem to harm the lymphatic and immune systems
https://www.sciencealert.com/tattoos-affect-your-immune-system-in-ways-were-only-beginning-to-understand
https://www.sciencealert.com/tattoos-affect-your-immune-system-in-ways-were-only-beginning-to-understand
View 1 more replies »
Magenta · F
@ThirstenHowl I read that too.. and killing immune cells and increased cancer risk.
Jexie · 26-30, F
@ThirstenHowl Whoa interesting
ThirstenHowl · M
@Magenta yep, it's not the first article I've seen in the news about it either ... yet another reason to embrace the natural body (as much as possible, e.g., when modification isn't legit needed to preserve health)
@trollslayer regulation of tattoo inks is another area where the EU does a better job than the US (race-to-the-bottom, hold-my-beer deregulation is our middle name)
as to your actual question, I only have one small one in a spot that can be covered up, and it was never planned, I never really thought of getting one never mind what it would be of, it just kind of happened one day when an ex decided she wanted to get one, so we ended up each getting one at the same time, thus I was just randomly flipping through some catalog to find one I found acceptable (I coudn't tell you if it has any actual meaning) ... I never especially wanted one, but that day I also didn't really find it a big deal to get one, even though I can't really remember why I decided to do it ... I probably just did it for her, even though I didn't feel pressure to do so (I also had my hair highlighted because she liked it, which in hindsight just seems ridiculous) ... if I could go back and redo that day I wouldn't have gotten one though
@trollslayer regulation of tattoo inks is another area where the EU does a better job than the US (race-to-the-bottom, hold-my-beer deregulation is our middle name)
as to your actual question, I only have one small one in a spot that can be covered up, and it was never planned, I never really thought of getting one never mind what it would be of, it just kind of happened one day when an ex decided she wanted to get one, so we ended up each getting one at the same time, thus I was just randomly flipping through some catalog to find one I found acceptable (I coudn't tell you if it has any actual meaning) ... I never especially wanted one, but that day I also didn't really find it a big deal to get one, even though I can't really remember why I decided to do it ... I probably just did it for her, even though I didn't feel pressure to do so (I also had my hair highlighted because she liked it, which in hindsight just seems ridiculous) ... if I could go back and redo that day I wouldn't have gotten one though

























