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The Secret Life of a Human Tattoo Machine
Why tats aren't just for Popeye, Mike Tyson, and Angelina Jolie anymore.
It wasn't long ago that tattoos were the exclusive province of Popeye and grizzled ex-cons. To sport a tattoo—the name of a drunken one-night stand, scrawled in a fading blur—marked the wearer as both low class and weak on impulse control.
Not anymore. About 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 sport tattoos, says the American Society of Dermatological Surgery, and that percentage is only going to increase as everyone from Angelina Jolie (who has scripted the longitude and latitude of her adopted children's birthplaces on her body) to Mike Tyson (portraits of Che and Mao complement a warrior face stencil) keeps upping the ante.
In Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink, Jeff Johnson gives a salty tour of the shops that nervous mothers once forbade their sons and daughters from visiting. As the co-owner of Sea Tramp Tattoo Company in Portland, Oregon, and a practicing artist who has wielded an ink-and-needle gun that "smacks the skin between 60 and 120 times per second" for decades, Johnson's got an endless supply of stories to tell.
There's the homesick Lone Star State G.I. who drew a copy of his state's flag from memory for the artist to create and then returned later shouting, "This ain't the flag of Texas, and I ain't no fuckin' Portugese!"
Musing on dozens of cases of surprise tattoos gone wrong, Johnson notes, "It's amazing how many people can't spell their spouse's name."
Woven throughout Johnson's funny, outlandish, and sometimes disturbing anecdotes about drug-addled tattooists who fall asleep while blotching the arms of customers, scam artists who promise sex for services rendered, and the still-at-large serial killer who embazoned his victims' names on his body, is an intricately rendered history of a once-marginal service industry.
The reason why old tattoos turned greenish-blue? The mercury necessary for a top-notch black ink was requisitioned for World War II. Thirty years or so ago, says Johnson, no one cared much for quality or cleanliness.
"The customers were drunks, bikers, weirdos, and college kids. But more than that, we the artists were predominantly fuck ups."
That's no longer the case, argues Johnson, whose affecting personal story from slacker to serious craftsman neatly parallels the rise of the tattoo industry from side-show to mainstream.
Indeed, Tattoo Machine helps explain why ink is on the rise. We live in an age in which we increasingly personalize our clothes, our coffee drinks, our Web browsers, our hair color. Why not our bodies?
The inks are brighter and longer-lasting, the designs more ambitious, and the shops today are clean and safe, says Johnson. At a few hundred dollars, "the quality of art is often better than what a middle-income person could afford to spend on a painting for their home."
And one thing's for sure. That flaming skull on your shoulder blade is a better conversation starter than a generic seascape above your fireplace.
Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of Reason.tv and Reason.com. A version of this story appeared in the Sunday, August 16, 2009 edition of The New York Post.
|8.18.09 @ 10:41AM|#
Man, there is going to be some ugly-ass saggy skin all over the place, in about forty years.
<strike>strike through</strike|8.18.09 @ 10:46AM|#
Why not our bodies?
Why our bodies? It isn't "self-expression" to hire someone
else to etch crass "art" on your skin. If anything, it's the
opposite, a type of conformity.
|8.18.09 @ 10:46AM|#
Nothing says body personalization like getting the same tattoo as everyone else.
|8.18.09 @ 10:47AM|#
"At a few hundred dollars, "the quality of art is often better
than what a middle-income person could afford to spend on a
painting for their home."
Yes because nothing says art like that tribal band on my bicep or
tramp stamp on my girl friend's lower back.
|8.18.09 @ 10:48AM|#
Of course in a few year if I decide that velvet naked Obama riding a unicorn painting just isn't as cool as it used to be, I can just take it down as opposed to having to have surgury to get it removed from my wall.
smartass sob|8.18.09 @ 10:51AM|#
We live in an age in which we increasingly personalize our
clothes, our coffee drinks, our Web browsers, our hair color. Why
not our bodies?
Uh, shouldn't that be customize rather than
personalize? Our bodies already are personalized - they're
personally ours - and each one is different.
|8.18.09 @ 10:52AM|#
I have only 2 tats.
One is where my lower back becomes butt cleavage. It says "Exit
Only."
The other is on my penis. It says "Ma."
Sometimes that second one says "Massachusetts."
|8.18.09 @ 10:55AM|#
I will personalize my body when the techonology is available that allows me to change my body so that I can run a ten second hundred meters or have a 40 inch vertical leap or see through walls and clothes or something fun like that. I don't really see the point of tattoos.
|8.18.09 @ 10:56AM|#
Tats are sooooo last century, what with the incredible degree of
self-mutilation going on now.
I predict the next fad will be intestinal braiding.
|8.18.09 @ 10:57AM|#
I predict the next fad will be intestinal
braiding.
There is that whole tongue forking thing too ...
|8.18.09 @ 10:57AM|#
We live in an age in which we increasingly personalize our
clothes, our coffee drinks, our Web browsers, our hair color. Why
not our bodies?
If that is the case why would you put a tattoo where you cannot see
it? It is a signaling device to the world: I am desperate for
someone to pay attention to me.
Man, there is going to be some ugly-ass saggy skin all over the
place, in about forty years.
Don't worry, the Obamacare plan will cover all laser tattoo removal
with zero deductible and zero co-payment. Think of all of the
uninsured today who do not have that simple right.
|8.18.09 @ 11:03AM|#
There is a bar tender at one of the places I frequent. Beautiful girl in her 20s. She has a nice face, short dark brown hair, and one of those tiny pixie like bodies. She has just the right look to pull off the 21st century post punk look she maintains. It all works well except for the huge collection of nasty ass tattoos she has down her right arm and shoulder. It just makes me want to vomit. It is like that idiot artist from Hawaii who painted cheesey dolphin paintings on ferraris. Why?
hmm|8.18.09 @ 11:03AM|#
The other is on my penis. It says "Ma."
The one on my penis is similar. It says "Wendy."
Sometimes it says "Welcome to Missouri and have a nice day"
<strike>strike through</strike|8.18.09 @ 11:03AM|#
You know what's sick? I'll tell you. Helen Thomas has a tramp
stamp. It says:
I
♥
JFK
|8.18.09 @ 11:07AM|#
My tatoo is that I have no tatoo.
The opening paragraph of the article got things right: Tatoos mark
you as lower class, even if you think of yourself as someone who
isn't lower class.
Tatoos announce that you weren't satisfied with your body in its
as-delivered condition.
And why the continued fascination with tribal tatoos? Isn't the
history of Anglo Saxonry rich enough that today's tatoo-minded
Caucasian can't find something other than some generic variation on
barbed wiring?
Sonya Sotomayor|8.18.09 @ 11:09AM|#
I'm thinking about getting a face tat. Weasel whiskers or something similar.
<strike>strike through</strike|8.18.09 @ 11:13AM|#
You know, the Nazis had tattoos they made the Jews wear...
|8.18.09 @ 11:14AM|#
I'd like to start a tattoo removal business. I think we're about five years from the fad dying. Then it'll be sailors, bikers, and prostitutes that have tattoos, as God meant it to be.
BakedPenguin|8.18.09 @ 11:14AM|#
There's a tattoo "artist" on the street where my storage space
is. Over his shop is a big, ugly hand painted sign that says
"Tattoos by Wizzard".
If you can't even make your sign look good, why the hell should
anyone trust you with something that's going to be on their skin
forever? (I'm going to be charitable and assume the misspelling was
deliberate).
|8.18.09 @ 11:16AM|#
Has anyone ever had the entire Sistine Chapel ceiling tattooed on his/her flesh?
Irving House|8.18.09 @ 11:17AM|#
I have no tats and don't plan on getting any. But for a while, I considered getting a tat of the minimalist self-portrait my friend Matilda Fairbourne Foster used to often draw when she was nine and ten.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 11:17AM|#
Tatoos announce that you weren't satisfied with your body in
its as-delivered condition.
I agree. By the way, do you have any sons, and did you cut off any
parts of their weiners?
|8.18.09 @ 11:18AM|#
Five years seems like a good guess Pro. Kids drive fashion. And tattoos are fashion. Every generation of kids wants its own fashion. No one wants to do the things their parents did. It shouldn't be too long before tattoos become something old and unhip people do. Tribal arm bands and tramp stamps are already comically out of fashion. It is just a matter of time before the whole thing runs out of fashion and a lot of people are going to feel pretty stupid.
|8.18.09 @ 11:19AM|#
"I have Maxwell's Equations tattooed on my back."
Loser. All the cool people have Durac's equation.
Rich|8.18.09 @ 11:21AM|#
That flaming skull on your shoulder blade is a better
conversation starter than a generic seascape above your
fireplace.
The best tat I ever saw was at a Jersey water park.
Photographically-real life-sized Colt .45 on a woman's (large)
breast. I did not start a conversation.
No "tit for tat" jokes, please.
Forrest|8.18.09 @ 11:22AM|#
a lot of people are going to feel pretty stupid
Stupid is as stupid does.
|8.18.09 @ 11:22AM|#
Isn't the surgery angle also part of it? For a small tat, it costs about $200 (according to teh internets). In the gran scheme of things, that's not too bad as part of the TCO.
Warty\'s Mom|8.18.09 @ 11:22AM|#
"I agree. By the way, do you have any sons, and did you cut off
any parts of their weiners?"
You've had enough junkfood for today, Warty.
|8.18.09 @ 11:29AM|#
There's a tattoo "artist" on the street where my storage
space is. Over his shop is a big, ugly hand painted sign that says
"Tattoos by Wizzard".
You mean
this guy?
You don't live in Jefferton do you BP?
JD|8.18.09 @ 11:29AM|#
Wow, buncha haters here. You know what the difference is between
tattooed people and non-tattooed people? Nothing - except that I've
never heard anyone with ink slam everybody who doesn't.
And to anyone who talks about "being satisfied with your body in
as-delivered condition": got the same disdain for anybody who works
out, loses weight, styles their hair, shaves, or wears makeup?
Ratdog|8.18.09 @ 11:32AM|#
Contemplating getting a tattoo, Nick? If so let me offer you a little advice that may help you learn from my mistake. At all cost do NOT get a snake tattoed on your face. Definately go with the monkey, it's more appropriate for a facial tattoo.
|8.18.09 @ 11:33AM|#
I'd like to start a tattoo removal business. I think we're
about five years from the fad dying.
Sorry, but it's
already been done.
hmm|8.18.09 @ 11:33AM|#
I hear the tattooed people are just as bad as the gun strapping
freaks. Except tattoos don't kill, well unless you get
hepatitis.
I'd have to flay my back to get rid of mine. I think I'll keep
it.
Ben Kenobi|8.18.09 @ 11:34AM|#
Jesus, what a bunch of up tight haters you all are. I got a tatoo because...I liked the way it looked on me. I could care less what someone else thinks about it. Its often covered by clothes.
*|8.18.09 @ 11:35AM|#
JD | August 18, 2009, 11:29am | #
Wow, buncha haters here.
You should see us when dog-shooting cops come up.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 11:36AM|#
I could care less what someone else thinks about
it.
Precisely. That is why you are defending your choice to strangers
on a message board.
|8.18.09 @ 11:37AM|#
"You should see us when dog-shooting cops come up."
That is nothing compared to the dog shooting cops with tatoos who
are birthers treads.
Xeones|8.18.09 @ 11:41AM|#
I once made fun of tribal armband tattoos to a new roommate, who then turned out to have one. Whoops.
Ska|8.18.09 @ 11:42AM|#
That is nothing compared to the dog shooting cops with
tatoos who are birthers treads.
....who didn't stop overzealous Christmas shoppers from stampeding
a Wal-mart employee.
*|8.18.09 @ 11:44AM|#
Xeones | August 18, 2009, 11:41am | #
I once made fun of tribal armband tattoos to a new roommate, who
then turned out to have one. Whoops.
Did you screw her anyway?
Ratdog|8.18.09 @ 11:46AM|#
JD, I don't know you, but can see you've got a real for saying
it as it is.
Cheers
docweasel|8.18.09 @ 11:49AM|#
wow, this article writer is really up on the latest fads from 10
years ago.
actually, in my experience, both tattoos and piercing are seen as
passe and over by the younger set (most of my friends are early-mid
20s and plenty of teen-aged younger siblings) and seen as remnant
of the long-dead grunge rock scene. of course there are exceptions,
but it's absurd that this is some kind of exploding new trend. I
think he actually caught it on the downside of the curve.
Ratdog|8.18.09 @ 11:50AM|#
You in Los Angeles Pro Libertate? If so I got the girl for you, full life size skeleton and skull on her back, starts at her heels and ends at the back of her skull. Or the other way around, depends where you start.
|8.18.09 @ 11:53AM|#
Pro Lib, I have a friend that has a tat from his knee to his ankle that looks like flesh peeling back to reveal a coil-over gas filled shock absorber.
|8.18.09 @ 12:02PM|#
Just want to go on a rant hereand say that I hate tattoos. If
you're out of shape a tattoo just makes you look like you think
you're not out of shape. If you're attractive and in good shape, a
tattoo just distracts from the natural lines of the human
body.
That is all.
Xeones|8.18.09 @ 12:04PM|#
Did you screw her anyway?
It was a dude, dude.
A friend of mine knew a guy who had Bill Cosby's face tattooed on
his calf, with the caption "COSBYCORE."
|8.18.09 @ 12:05PM|#
It is the continuing realization of the retarded things I would have written on my body when I was younger that keeps me from getting tattoos. Basically, I don't think I'll ever really be old enough to get a tattoo.
|8.18.09 @ 12:07PM|#
I want to get a ruler tattoo on my schlong. It will be graduated in centimeters but marked in inches.
*|8.18.09 @ 12:15PM|#
SugarFree | August 18, 2009, 12:06pm | #
Did you screw her anyway?
It was a dude, dude.
So the answer is "yes" then.
Happy somebody got the joke.
|8.18.09 @ 12:32PM|#
A few observations-
The only thing worse than sporting a tattoo is the term
*hater*
If people insist on getting a tattoo can we please remember the
rules- men can't have one below their waist. Women can't have them
above, particularly their tits or neck.
And now a bit of racial advice. I'm black. Hey fellow black folks,
no dark tattoos, especially when you are Wesley Snipes black. That
just doesn't make any damn sense. White women and men, give up the
barb wire...please. Mexicans, stop with the cursive shit. As a
fellow minority, I know all of you haven't been to prison, so don't
get tats that look that way.
And ladies, don't just get one predictable tattoo. If you jump in
the water, go all the way and get about ten. That way I can look at
it as purely sexual and objectify you the way you want me to.
That's all for now.
|8.18.09 @ 12:38PM|#
I have only 2 tats.
One is where my lower back becomes butt cleavage. It says "Exit
Only."
Are you sure it doesn't say "Two Way Traffic Ahead"?
NTTAWWT.
|8.18.09 @ 12:39PM|#
My work wife is all tatted up. She waffles between saying she has four and saying she has five. I know where four are. She denies a fifth if asked directly.
hmm|8.18.09 @ 12:39PM|#
The only thing worse than sporting a tattoo is the term
*hater*
Hater hater.
|8.18.09 @ 12:39PM|#
The only thing worse than sporting a tattoo is the term
*hater*
You should get a tattoo that says "I Love Haters."
hmm|8.18.09 @ 12:41PM|#
My work wife is all tatted up. She waffles between saying
she has four and saying she has five. I know where four are. She
denies a fifth if asked directly.
Time for an exploratory mission.
|8.18.09 @ 12:52PM|#
"My work wife is all tatted up. She waffles between saying she
has four and saying she has five. I know where four are. She denies
a fifth if asked directly."
How is it that your wife can have a tattoo and you not know where
it is? Does she only have sex once a month in strictly the
missionary position and in complete darkness and even then half the
time substitutes a doll for herself leaving you none the wiser?
|8.18.09 @ 12:58PM|#
John, did you miss the "work wife" reference?
I'll get tattoos only when they come in programmable digital ink,
so I change them or even turn them off.
|8.18.09 @ 1:00PM|#
John,
What hilly said and:
and even then half the time substitutes a doll for herself
leaving you none the wiser?
Maybe. I have my suspicions.
|8.18.09 @ 1:03PM|#
If people insist on getting a tattoo can we please remember
the rules- men can't have one below their waist. Women can't have
them above, particularly their tits or neck.
This is excellent advice. I can't think of a single exception to
this rule. And, neck tats are icky on anyone, not just
chicks.
My uncle refers to my generation (Gen Y/millenial) as "Generation
Tattoo." This is usually followed with a "...must die."
|8.18.09 @ 1:10PM|#
Not a tat hater, and I will freely admit to not getting the
attraction, but every time I have a waitress or see some other
person in a low-wage, low-skill job covered in tats, all I can
think is that they have decided that they want to be at this
station of their life for the rest of their life.
And tattoos are the *worst* thing to ever happen to porn.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 1:14PM|#
And tattoos are the *worst* thing to ever happen to
porn.
Worse than gaping?
micro2000|8.18.09 @ 1:18PM|#
I've never seen a woman and said "She'd be better looking if she just had some tattoos."
Ska|8.18.09 @ 1:26PM|#
I've definitely seen some that I wouldn't think were nearly as hot without them.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 1:28PM|#
Suicidegirls is a weird combination of ugly girls who get lots of terrible tattoos to try to seem hot, and hot girls who make themselves ugly with lots of terrible tattoos. It must die.
Me|8.18.09 @ 1:31PM|#
Tats are for carnies and/or people who are afraid to try
meth.
The meth-using carnies will, of course, have tats.
It's part of the costume.
Xeones|8.18.09 @ 1:41PM|#
Xeones is no fag. He only likes dudes who have soft
hands.
It's only gay if they enjoy it.
<strike>strike through</strike|8.18.09 @ 1:41PM|#
Just a year or two ago this was a pro-tat site. The anti-tatters were violently shouted down. People brought guns to the threads and said crazy things. It was ugly!
|8.18.09 @ 1:44PM|#
My apologies sugerfree. My eyes skipped over the "work wife" part. Eventually she will break down and show you the fifth tattoo. It is just a matter of time.
<strike>strike through</strike|8.18.09 @ 1:53PM|#
"The Fifth Tattoo." Sounds like a cold-war thriller.
JD|8.18.09 @ 1:56PM|#
Women can't have tattoos above the waist? WTF? I know a couple women with beautiful back, shoulder, and arm work. Frankly I prefer that to leg work. OK, neck tattoos look ghetto. (Although I realize the irony here...some people think all tattoos look ghetto.) And while I'd never say that someone _must_ have ink to look better, I have seen really nice pieces that enhanced the owner, "natural lines" be damned.
Xeones|8.18.09 @ 2:06PM|#
I'm with JD. I'm personally not fond of lower back tattoos, but
i won't complain about, for example, some chick's tramp stamp as
long as she doesn't bitch about the three black teardrops i've got
inked under my right eye.
Actually, though, i sympathize with
this one.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 2:11PM|#
We have some white knights defending the self-mutilated, I see. I hope now an offended tatted-up skank starts crying about how mean we are. Dagny?
|8.18.09 @ 2:19PM|#
Judging from my last trip to an amusement park - 70-80% of young fat unattractive white women have tattoos. I don't see how the popularity of tattoos among that demographic translates into tattoos becoming increasingly hip with taste makers.
Katmandu|8.18.09 @ 2:44PM|#
If people insist on getting a tattoo can we please remember
the rules- men can't have one below their waist.
OK.
Xeones|8.18.09 @ 2:49PM|#
Shut the fuck up, Warty. If you own your own body, that comes with the right to do graffiti on it.
KT|8.18.09 @ 2:56PM|#
Ha, man you guys are some cranks. Is anyone here under 65 and/or
still using their original hips?
(And no, I don't have any tattoos)
|8.18.09 @ 2:59PM|#
I dont think Angelina Jolie's tattoos put anyone off...
For a magazine article I once wrote under duress (rent was due) I
had to interview a zillion UCLA college and grad school guys about
what they thought made women sexy. Tattoos were mentioned at least
80% of the time.
Now this was 1998 and obviously trends change, but there clearly
was a time when tattoos signified "sexual edge" i.e. has hidden
kinks.
|8.18.09 @ 3:09PM|#
"Now this was 1998 and obviously trends change, but there
clearly was a time when tattoos signified "sexual edge" i.e. has
hidden kinks."
Mari that time has long passed. I dare say 1998 was about the peak
for the coolness market for tattoos. It has all been downhill
since.
Vogateer|8.18.09 @ 3:12PM|#
micro2000
I've never seen a woman and said "She'd be better looking if she
just had some tattoos."
Feel the same way. I wonder if there's a connection between my
fondness for clean lines in architecture and my fondness for clean
(but curvy) lines in the female body. For me, tattoos just get in
the way, making for an unbalanced, cluttered aesthetic that I don't
care for.
|8.18.09 @ 3:18PM|#
"Feel the same way. I wonder if there's a connection between my
fondness for clean lines in architecture and my fondness for clean
(but curvy) lines in the female body. For me, tattoos just get in
the way, making for an unbalanced, cluttered aesthetic that I don't
care for."
If there is, I am the exception that proves the rule. I feel the
same way about tattoos. But, I love victorian and greek revival
architecture and would gladly spend the rest of my life bulldozing
modern achitecture.
short, fat bastard|8.18.09 @ 3:19PM|#
My girl came the instructions tattooed on: This side up, insert Tab A here, etc . . . .
Vogateer|8.18.09 @ 3:20PM|#
Mari Dupont:
I dont think Angelina Jolie's tattoos put anyone off...
Meet me. I think she'd look much better without them.
For a magazine article I once wrote under duress (rent was due)
I had to interview a zillion UCLA college and grad school guys
about what they thought made women sexy. Tattoos were mentioned at
least 80% of the time.
Makes me think of a similar argument to why guys like women who
smoke: If they're willing to risk getting cancer, they're probably
willing to risk getting an STD. Replace cancer with hepatitis, or
the idea that tattoos are symbolic for promiscuity, or the idea
that tattoos are a sign that the woman is starved for attention and
might sleep with people to get that attention, and guys basically
see an easier target for a one-night stand.
That might all be nonsense, but it doesn't stop people from
thinking that way.
Vogateer|8.18.09 @ 3:30PM|#
John:
If there is, I am the exception that proves the rule. I feel the
same way about tattoos. But, I love victorian and greek revival
architecture and would gladly spend the rest of my life bulldozing
modern achitecture.
Oh, I'm fond of that architecture as well, but I certainly couldn't
afford those styles in my home, so I'm glad I like modern style,
too. But in those styles of architecture, I (with my wholly
untrained, ignorant eye) see those details as almost a texture
that's consistent with the whole structure, so it doesn't look
unbalanced or cluttered to me. Certainly not in the same way
certain people fill up their house with knick knacks, which would
be more how I see tattoos.
|8.18.09 @ 3:47PM|#
Worse than gaping?
OK, you have a point there.
Tattooed gaping is the worst thing ever to happen to porn.
|8.18.09 @ 4:04PM|#
No problem, John. I get used to making the joke and forget it's
not a term everyone is familiar with.
Eventually she will break down and show you the fifth tattoo.
It is just a matter of time.
Well, she just had a kid, so hopefully she'll wait a while.
Warty|8.18.09 @ 4:06PM|#
Well, she just had a kid, so hopefully she'll wait a
while.
But not so long that she loses her udders, though.
|8.18.09 @ 4:08PM|#
"Mari that time has long passed. I dare say 1998 was about the
peak for the coolness market for tattoos. It has all been downhill
since."
It depends on the subculture. I'm in LA, and work in the biz. For a
recent project, I had to review about 200 photos of very popular
(i.e. money making) bands, along with a few recently signed
ones.
About half are in their 20's and tattoos abounded. Clearly, someone
with more pop cultural insight forget to tell them tats were
"over".
BUT, to your point, mercifully few had the entire arm/leg/head
covered.
|8.18.09 @ 4:35PM|#
Too late, Warty. Five days after birth she only weighted five
pounds more than before she got pregnant. She ate like a pig all
through pregnancy too. I should know, I helped her.
I'm pretty sure all the other women at work thinks she's in league
with the devil.
Vogateer|8.18.09 @ 5:20PM|#
Last time I checked, the biz wasn't much of an arbiter of taste. I would say the coolness market ≠ popularity or money market. Once tattoos were on boy band members, the coolness factor dropped like a stone.
micro2000|8.18.09 @ 5:45PM|#
Makes me think of a similar argument to why guys like women
who smoke: If they're willing to risk getting cancer, they're
probably willing to risk getting an STD. Replace cancer with
hepatitis, or the idea that tattoos are symbolic for promiscuity,
or the idea that tattoos are a sign that the woman is starved for
attention and might sleep with people to get that attention, and
guys basically see an easier target for a one-night stand.
That might all be nonsense, but it doesn't stop people from
thinking that way.
Bingo. Aside from my subjective preference against tattoos, there
is the psychological association of tattoos with anti-social
behavior, drug use, and attention seeking. I don't care if anyone
gets tattoos or not, as this is all personal preference, but I am
pretty sure the research confirms such associations.
|8.18.09 @ 5:51PM|#
Way too much over-thinking.
Men like women who smoke because of the easily transferable nature
of oral fixations.
|8.18.09 @ 7:05PM|#
Sorry guys, tattoos will never be over. They are still settling into their place in culture. And seeing as how Western Culture has yet to completely dominate the globe and absorb/merge with other cultures, we have a long ways to go. Tattooing has passed the counter-culture threshold and is firmly entrenched in the mainstream. Meaning it's no longer the subversive thing to do. Though as some have been getting at, the way to subvert mainstream tattooing is to do something outrageous. But when has outrageous behavior not been the subversive thing to do? And acknowledging this fact, does it render outrageous behavior no longer subversive? I don't claim to know what cool is, but what I do know is that I wouldn't look like Henry Rollins if I covered my body in tattoos. And Henry Rollins looks like a badass.
|8.18.09 @ 7:32PM|#
Oh, sorry, Episiarch, missed your The Stars, My Destination reference. Great book.
|8.18.09 @ 11:35PM|#
The only tattoo I'd think about getting, and may just actually
get, would be a small one with a short statement like 'Live free or
die' or the Gasden Flag. Probably on one of my biceps, forearms, or
rear upper shoulders.
Of course, I am a naval reservist, so maybe I also can get away
with the 'sailor' exception.
|8.18.09 @ 11:37PM|#
Unfortunately, my hypothetical removal might not be covered under Obama-care. *Gives the evil eye to that bitch Napolitano*
Art-P.O.G.|8.19.09 @ 2:35AM|#
I've got about 8 tattoos*. About half my left arm is covered and
about 3/4 of my right arm. What all you tat-scoffers need to accept
is that not all tattoos are created equal. Getting Gargamel
tattooed on your lower back may be laughable, but getting Dirac's
equations tatted on you is actually pretty badass.
In fact, I'm thinking about getting "Late to H&R threads"
tattooed on my chest. ;)
*Yeah, that's right. I lost count. They started merging.
micro2000|8.19.09 @ 1:06PM|#
What all you tat-scoffers need to accept is that not all
tattoos are created equal.
Completely subjective. You may as well try to argue which Pop Tart
flavor is the best.
tattoo enthusiast|8.19.09 @ 8:23PM|#
Tattoos are personal symbolism of an individual. No one has the right to judge a person simply because of his tattoo!
|8.19.09 @ 8:35PM|#
Now if someone had the Santorum thread tattooed on their ass,
well, that would be good.
Followed closely by tattoos of the Declaration of Independence
and/or the Constitution.
DWPittelli|8.19.09 @ 11:08PM|#
The fact that 25% of people -- yea, even paragons of taste and self-control like Angelina Jolie and Mike Tyson -- have a tattoo does not change the fact that they still "mark the wearer as both low class and weak on impulse control."
|8.21.09 @ 11:52AM|#
"Tattoos are personal symbolism of an individual. No one has the
right to judge a person simply because of his tattoo!"
Spoken like a true fashion-following sheep. One of those fools who
"rebels" or tries to "stand out" by doing what everyone else does.
Where's the logic?
Two things to remember next time you go for a cool tat:
1. You are absolutely unique. You don't need personal symbolism to
be who you are.
2. Nobody freakin' cares who you are.
printer cartridge supplies|8.22.09 @ 9:56PM|#
Tattoos are one of the mystic form of art. There is always a meaning behind every tattoo inked to the skin.
Vogateer|11.18.09 @ 2:16PM|#
Ha! This article is old, but I find it hilarious that the Google Ad showing up on this article at the moment is a body make-up that specifically mentions covering up tattoos as part of its purpose. It also mentions stretch marks and varicose veins, but the picture shown is of someone covering up an arm tattoo with make-up.
Wonder if Google knows that its Ad algorithm is favoring the side of the tattoo-averse in this argument.
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More Articles by Nick Gillespie
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- Briefly Noted: Commie Art, Matt Welch, November 3, 2009
- Tyranny of the Minority, Damon W. Root, November 2, 2009
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