Anyone and everyone seemed to be getting them. Now not so much. So many people are going to look absolutely ridiculous in their old age.

A question I ponder every time I hear of someone’s report about getting one.

There will be plenty of “I just got another one” stories, but that isn’t the question. No one is impressed when someone who owns 15 guns buys another one; what is interesting is when who never owned a gun before decides to become involved in the shooting sports.

For me the question about tattoos is similar: Are people who never had one before still getting them? And if so, who are they? When I do notice what appears to be a new tattoo, it seems to me that it’s more likely these days to be a woman who has one. And if that’s true, it’s not too surprising. Women are generally much more concerned about obvious appearance displays (and to impress other women) than men are.

Tatoos can be a bit of a hot button issue, personally don't have any and chalk it up to individual choice.

Along with multiple piercings and stuff that folks do, how they look 20 years down the road doesn't seem to be a part of the equation when they get them.

quote:

Are people who never had one before still getting them?

Yes. My wife just got her first one at 49. Since we've been together (19 years) she has talked about getting one but hadn't gotten around to getting it.

I like to say that Tattoos are like guns: can't have just one. Don't think she'll get another one but I could always use another gun

I hope it is slowing down. When I go to the gym I’m amazed at how many young, beautiful women have tattoos, and not just one, or small ones either. They have large, sleeve tattoos, or multiples on their back, shoulder, legs, thighs, etc. I just don’t find them attractive on women at all and they seem to be getting them in more numbers than men. For me it is a turn off. Around here at least, I would be willing to bet that for women ages 18 through 35, about half of them have at least one tattoo, and that is probably a conservative estimate.

quote:

Originally posted by Browndrake:
I hope it is slowing down. When I go to the gym I’m amazed at how many young, beautiful women have tattoos, and not just one, or small ones either. They have large, sleeve tattoos, or multiples on their back, shoulder, legs, thighs, etc. I just don’t find them attractive on women at all and they seem to be getting them in more numbers than men. For me it is a turn off. Around here at least, I would be willing to bet that for women ages 18 through 35, about half of them have at least one tattoo, and that is probably a conservative estimate.

When I trained for short track ice speed skating, some of the training was on inline skates at a roller rink. Following a training session there was roller derby practice. I noticed one of the derby skates was nearly model pretty with an incredible body. But she had weird colored hair and stupid tatoos.

A turn off for me. The worst one I ever saw was on my boss. He was young, fit, tall, good looking, all that. We were shooting hoops and he took off his shirt. He had a tramp stamp. Really turned my stomach.

I retired from the Navy and have a couple that I got 30+ years ago. Back then only Sailors, bikers and prison residents had them. For Sailors tatt's were kind of a right of passage and also a matter of identification if you got separated from your parts. I had designed one a few years ago that incorporated several key aspects of my career and it was fairly large but today even kids in high school have them so I scrapped that idea. Looking like a member of the #tattoometoo group isn't that important to me.

My youngest daughter got a bunch after high school but after college a funny thing happened........... she had trouble getting hired in her field of work. Imagine that. So she had them all removed.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
There will be plenty of “I just got another one” stories, but that isn’t the question. No one is impressed when someone who owns 15 guns buys another one; what is interesting is when who never owned a gun before decides to become involved in the shooting sports.

Thing with buying more guns is that you ever get in a situation when you need money to survive, you can always start selling off your guns so you can eat and have shelter. Can't say the same thing for tats.

My older brother was 14 and got the urge to make his own (prison style) tats. By summer's end he had to have given half the neighborhood tats. Initials or a cross mostly.

Good thing home-grown tat guy + cheap ink + bad technique = mostly faded given enough years.

Just yesterday, we got a Christmas card from an older couple we’ve known for several years. They’re both well into their 70s. The wife said her health has been good and didn’t expect any surgeries this coming year, but “might have a tattoo removed.” What?!? You decided that was a newsy thing to share?

I have no tats, and no piercings

I visited Seattle a few weeks ago. Apparently, the craze is still alive and well out there.

For me, no thank you. Haven’t got a one.

I'm seeing a gal right now that has 3. I asked her if they had meaning. She laughed and said she got them because she thought they were pretty and later reverse engineered a meaning.

They should be, as said earlier, for sailors, bikers and jailbirds. Or at least kept tasteful. I find excessive tattooing unattractive on women, offensive, even. And I don't want to hear any "if you don't like it, don't look" horse shit. You can't help but look. It's like a train wreck.

I knew a guy who had "Crazy White Boy" tattooed on himself. I said to him, "You'd better keep your nose squeaky clean so you don't go to jail. The ___ and ___" (you don't need to know) "will have a field day with you."

I think certain areas are still seeing this trend but it has slowed in other areas. I personally don’t have a tattoo. I considered it right after high school as a memory of a great friend that was killed but thankfully decided against it. At my hospital we have a lot of staff members with tattoos. I don’t care as long as they take good care of my patients. My previous hospital didn’t allow exposed tattoos so everyone walked around with bandages or sleeves. It was comical actually. The patients seem to share my thought process; they don’t care about the tattoos as long as they receive good care. And like others have said, there a few knockouts with full sleeves etc which takes away from their natural beauty in my opinion. However if they’re happy I’m happy for them. I just hope they stay happy over the years as aging occurs.

quote:

Originally posted by Browndrake:
I hope it is slowing down. When I go to the gym I’m amazed at how many young, beautiful women have tattoos, and not just one, or small ones either. They have large, sleeve tattoos, or multiples on their back, shoulder, legs, thighs, etc. I just don’t find them attractive on women at all and they seem to be getting them in more numbers than men. For me it is a turn off. Around here at least, I would be willing to bet that for women ages 18 through 35, about half of them have at least one tattoo, and that is probably a conservative estimate.

This, it's fugly. Seeing a beautiful young woman with her entire arm covered with black ink......it's like putting a bright blue bumper sticker on a red Ferrari. You can actually see what it is from 10' away, any further and it just looks like a bruise. It seems like they're still in full swing here and about half the women in the age group have 1, many of those have multiples.

The other thing is that nobody seems to publicize is that they are detrimental to your health. There are many studies that your body digests the ink over time and it has all kinds of stuff in it that is detrimental.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,

My leftist daughter is inking up. She is the first and only one in our family to have any as far back as my grandparents. The thought popped into my head when I was in the USMC, but I never acted on it. I’m glad I never did.

I REALLY don’t like tattoos on women and especially body piercings. To me, they are blemishes no matter what the subject is or how good the art is.

This has jarred a not so pleasant memory.

9 years ago the son (we’ll call him Allen) of some friends of mine wanted to join the USAF and get into Pararescue but unfortunately Allen was rejected due to too many visible tattoos.
Having been rejected by the USAF and not feeling welcome at home Allen went to live with his father and tried getting into the military again. This time, despite his tattoos, the Army took him. During this time Allen also had found the love of his life and married her after he finished AIT.

Within a month after the honeymoon Allen was in Helmund Province. Two months later while on patrol Allen took a round to the chest and died in the field. Two months after that his wife gave birth to twins.

I think of Allen every day and how something as benign as his tattoos changed his life and the lives of others close to him.

A niece of mine had a Prayer of some sort on her inner thigh and a picture on FB of it. I asked her if it was an Instruction Manual.

I don't think so, no. It appears as if this stuff is now so acceptabe, no one bats an eye at it. Especially distasteful to me is seeing a woman with that stuff all over her skin.

When I was young, tattoos were reserved for servicemen, bikers and convicts, and all of them male. If a woman had a tattoo, it was in an intimate location- a teddy bear on her inner thigh or a butterfly on her ass, and no one saw it except her doctor and her lover and if it were up to me, that's the way it would be still.

It's a very sad downturn in this society that this stuff is now perfectly acceptable. Very sad. Are we savages?