What do tattoos mean to/for you?

And in "favors."

 

/preemptive'd!

 

Money, it's a half sleeve, gonna be expensive!

 

Yes that will be expensive.

 

I'm not really into them myself.
But.
There's a woman I work with who is rather conservative in her dress and other visible aspects of her life.
There's a rare occasion when she wears a shirt that shows a little cleavage.
I've noticed (wasn't staring I promise!) that she has a tattoo on the upper part of her left boob, and just seeing the little part that's visible is very sexy.

 

Having heard some discussion on traditional tattoos, what are your thoughts on UV/blacklight reactive ink?

 

Well, unless you hang out at raves all the time, I'd imagine most people aren't going to notice glow-in-the-UV work in locations where tattoos are often displayed, such as at the gym or on the beach.

 

i like the idea of UV/reactive ink if it's something that is important to you, but that you don't necessarily want everyone and their mom to see. certified person accountant by day and gogo dancer by night? totally useful. cubicle warrior indoors and hardcore biker outdoors? why not?

i'm wondering if there are tattoos that dissapear in sunlight but show up black indoors for golf caddys or any sort of outdoor workers that aren't socially allowed to have tattoos

 

I guess that rules out caddy for me. Although I can't really think of a lot of outdoor jobs where tattoos are taboo ?

 

I currently have seven and a half sleeve in progress.

 

I have "Let him sleep, for when he wakes he will move mountains" on the left side of my chest, close to my heart. That one's for my elder son. When he was around 1 year, he showed some warning signs of autism. Still quite high-functioning, but he was starting to lose some vocabulary and to shut down socially. He's almost 6 now and is doing so much better. The quote resonated with me because when he wakes to his potential, he's going to do incredible things.
I have a rough wooden cross surrounded by 4 purple roses and one rosebud. Purple roses are the wife's favourite flower, so that's for her. The four blooms are for me, my wife, and our two kids, and the bud is for the pregnancy we lost a few years back. For only six weeks, that was still my child, and I won't forget her.
I have yet to get a dragonfly, a wedding band of some sort (since I often forget to wear mine, or it makesmy finger itch), and a bear paw trailed by two cubs' pawprints.

I'll never put one on my body that doesn't tell a part of my story. Some people get them just because they're 18 and they can. If it's nice-looking, I don't have anything against it. If it's cliche or corny or poorly done, I'll think it's dumb, though I'm not one to call people out on stuff.

I've seen some pretty cool uses for UV ink,though I think there's a higher quantity of allergic reactions to it.

The one thing I can think of that I think is singularly, unequivocally stoopid is having one's eyeballs tattooed. Not a picture of an eyeball. No no. Actually having ink injected into the membrane of the eye itself. Maybe I'm stodgy, but I think that's just a little too out there.

 

Half sleeves seem to be popular with women as of late. Interesting trend.

 

I photograph a lot of formal events and want to be able to uphold a certain look if need be and it can easily be covered with a half sleeve shirt which I own many of.

 

I think having tattoos is great. I think not having tattoos is great. I think if you have opinions that are any more elaborate than these, you have too much free time.

 

You had me up until the 'think' part, at which point this conversation went WAY over my head...

(ink poisoning effecting the cognitive ability?)

 

To me a tattoo would present some kind of idea. I guess that is the idea behind those Chinese characters - inasmuch as they actually mean what the people who get them think them to mean

I guess it would be a synergy of an idea and a design - like a lot of art. Of course, that is just why I would get a tat. I imagine for a lot of people it would be just something that looks cool.

I don't have any tats myself. Nothing against them; just never really had anything impress me enough to want to decorate my skin with it.

 

I love to look at them, and (in my head) critique them for their design. I love to hear the story behind why someone would get their tattoo and what it means to them. I attempt not to judge them, and even if I do, I wouldn't say that I would.
Personally, I wouldn't get a tattoo that was not meaningful to me in some way, which is why I've never gotten one. It's a lifelong commitment and I haven't found anything that is that meaningful to me yet. Added to the whole - I hate needles and am afraid of commitment.

 

I have an orchid on my right shoulder, and I'm thinking about getting more tats - they'll be small because I'm not a fan of sleeves or other large tattoos.

It's true tattoos are (supposed to be) lifelong, so that's why a lot of thought and consideration has to go into them. I honestly roll my eyes over people who get tattoos of their boyfriend or girlfriend's names, only to break up two months later.

I got a lot of criticism when I got my orchid tat, especially from my parents. Whoa, did they go nuts. They still freak out if my tattoo pokes out from a shirt during the summer. Whatever!

 

Must be horrible having to spend the rest of your life only dating people with the same name as your ex
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This is pretty much my philosophy where tats are concerned to. It's all about what it is expressing.