Piercings and tattoos, I don't get them

[captainborgue 343]

Honestly, I don't see the point in trying to explain why someone has a tattoo. Everyone who gets one has a reason for doing it, and while we may find some of those reasons distasteful, ultimately it is absolutely nobody else's business.

[GeekySonic 1,150]

I never saw the problem with tattoos. The skin underneath it is just skin. I admit, I've seen a few tattoos that looked... undesirable. But more often than not, they can be amazing pieces of art.

 

Piercings, meh. Whatever floats your boat.

 

I personally plan to get tattoos of my own one day. I got a whole list of ideas.

[TubeSock2018 325]

I used to not get the appeal of tattoos. The idea of a permanent mark seemed a little odd in the sense that if someone if significant to you, you can just get a shirt with that same mark. The permanent element, I feel, is just a mental thing. 

Like you're proving something to yourself by making it a permanent thing and a statement.

And I never got any of it. Tattoos of flowers. Tattoos of names. Whatever.

 

But then I got really into Smash in my youth and now I'm crazy about the game. A lot of my friends play Smash and Smash has become a really big part of my life. 

Now I'm planning on getting a tattoo of this (without Pac Man)

And it's weird because, like I said, I never got the idea of Tattoos.

The story as to why I would want to get this particular character tattooed onto my arm is a long story, but what's important is the implications.

I think tattoos are kinda like cutie marks. It's something you just get when you find that one thing in your life that resonates meaning. 

You just get it because it suddenly makes sense. 

And yes, Smash is just a game. But what the game has come to represent and what surrounds the game has become a huuuge part of my life. 

 

And that's what I mean when I say that tatoos are kinda like cutie marks. When you find that one thing that has overwhelming significance in your life, you then understand why someone would go out of their way to permanently ink their skin. 

 

Because I'm a fan of MLP, but I'd never get an MLP tattoo. Doesn't hold enough significance. So I'm not saying just because you have important things in your life, suddenly you're gonna get a tattoo. I mean it has to reach a certain level of significance and transcend beyond what it originally was. 

Smash is just a video game intended for kids. It's what surrounds it that gives an ordinary objects extraordinary significance. 

And for everyone it will be different and it will be complicated. Some people can give a brief explanation (I like this movie. I like this person), but to truly explain why you would ink your skin and effectively help someone understand, you'd probably have to really explain with a lot of details. Tattoos that are easy to explain seem like they would have a higher chance of resulting in eventual regret. 

 

That's how I see tattoos now. 

Edited January 13, 2016 by pollo20x6

[Unikitty 1,212]

Tattoos seem trashy, no matter what the tattoo is. Our bodies are works of art on their own. A tattoo on it is like graffiti on top of the Mona Lisa, or some other great, respected painting. Is it respect to your body by having sharp needles poked in it, to have unnatural inks and substances injeced into your skin?

 

By this logic, we should also no longer use make up. We should forget clothing as an appealing item and use it in only the most bare-standard form for protection. We shouldn't brush our hair or soap our bodies. Heck, forgo washing entirely. Our bodies are perfect at their base and we should only exist on that level, ignoring society and personal preferences.

 

People with tattoos aren't disrespecting their bodies. The body is a canvas to do with it what we feel is right. Be it tattoos, piercings, bodybuilding, modeling, etc. It is a tool for us to use to appeal to ourselves and others.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Unikitty

[Crecious 256]

I got my ears pierced when I was 19. One of the best decisions I made as an adult.  
Now, I get where you're coming from, I do.

I was raised with parents who despise most piercings and frown upon tattoos. 

 

Lemme give a quick explanation. 

My mother is a doctor. She's had kids come in with colds, and nose piercings, you know, the kind like bulls have? 

They blow snot bubbles. That's pretty gross.

 

Tattoos, that's a different matter.

Too many downsides.

[Nila Bean 133]

To be honest, I don't think people get piercings/tattoos for everyone else to think they have a "meaning". It could have a meaning to that particular person, and absolutely none to you. 

 

One day I plan to get a tattoo of the name of someone very special to me...it probably will have "no meaning" to most people and they won't have any idea who she is. But Oh well. It isn't for them. Everyone has them for their own reasons.

 

It's a form of expression for a lot of people.

[cider float 2,538]

It's hilarious when someone starts a topic and has to say "no offense" because they know they're gonna offend somebody.

 

It's equally hilarious when they post a double standard like "it's okay to get them on the ears BUT NOWHERE ELSE" or "It's okay to have tribal tattoos because they mean something but nothing else".

 

Dash it all, maybe I should give up my plans to get a tattoo. It might offend people like the OP. :lol:

I hope you do get a permanent tattoo

 

I love the idea of people getting a permanent picture on them because of me. But I highly doubt you would do it.

Edited January 14, 2016 by cider float

[Discordian 6,015]

I hope you do get a permanent tattoo

 

I love the idea of people getting a permanent picture on them because of me. But I highly doubt you would do it.

I actually have two I wanna do and I know where I'm gonna put them too. Most of the problem is money and motivation. A little bit of physical conditioning too cuz I don't want that shit to stretch or shrink of I change body shape later down the line.

 

And make no mistake, you or your opinions have no affect on my desire to get one. I was being facetious.

[cider float 2,538]

I actually have two I wanna do and I know where I'm gonna put them too. Most of the problem is money and motivation. A little bit of physical conditioning too cuz I don't want that shit to stretch or shrink of I change body shape later down the line.

 

And make no mistake, you or your opinions have no affect on my desire to get one. I was being facetious.

How about writing "Get Offended" on the face. That would get the message through. So when people are talking with you that's what they'll be looking at the whole time.

 

Don't be facetious commit to it.

Edited January 14, 2016 by cider float

[Discordian 6,015]

How about writing "Get Offended" on the face. That would get the message through. So when people are talking with you that's what they'll be looking at the whole time.

 

Don't be facetious commit to it.

There's no message. I want tattoos that are for me. No one would even see them.

 

I'm not an idiot who does something just to get a reaction out of people.

[Celli 4,338]

I had an ear piercing once, but it was annoying to take care of. 

Personally, I don't like piercings and tattoos, and I don't plan on getting either, mostly because I don't like the idea of getting poked with a needle a hundred times a second.

But, I'm not going to tell someone off for having them, either, if you wanna tattoo, then go for it, if you wanna gauge your ears, go for it. It's not my business.

[Shou 100]

I think they are both cool. It is just a style from some and others they feel like it helps define them

[Lisa 5,553]

Everyone has their own reasons. Some get them for personal meaning. You know how they say an image is worth a thousand words? A tattoo or piercing can depict "a thousand words." It can tell a story about someone's history, or it can present someone's personality/traits in a visual form.

 

There's also the fashion side of reasons. Tattoos and piercings have been trendy for a long time and have continued to be since the 1970's. They can make a fashion statement, some people find tattoos and piercings to be sexy and in certain cultures can present someone's status in society.

 

Which is another reason; cultures. In some countries tattoos and piercings are used for traditional reasons and/or ceremonial ones.

[Cactus 155]

I'm honestly really surprised by some of the responses on here, and some of them are incredibly rude. People have different tastes, and you should accept that. You should encourage them to indulge in what they enjoy; that's what makes everyone so unique and interesting. Don't tell someone that something that they've made a big decision to get is "ugly" or somehow "ruining their body." They wanted it. They thought about the consequences, and they still wanted it.

 

I have my ears and nose pierced and I'm planning to get a tattoo of a cactus on my ankle at some point. I love the way my nose piercing looks. I love how much more confident it has made me about my nose, which used to be my biggest insecurity. I love turning my head in the light and seeing a sparkle out of the corner of my eye. I love when my boyfriend says how much he likes it, and I love when other people like it. I understand that many people don't find them very appealing, but do you really want to rob people of these feelings by telling them they're ruining something just because you personally don't like them? Simply, don't get one yourself. 

Edited January 14, 2016 by Cactus

[Not_active 732]

I've never liked piercings. And tattoos often look bad, but some can be good looking, if they're not too intense, not too big and placed correctly. Personally I like calligraphy, roman numbers...stuff like that; small, beautiful tattoos.

 

[KatonRyu 1,033]

I don't get them either. Tattoos can look good if they have some kind of meaning and don't stand out too much, but the appeal in piercings is just beyond me. My girlfriend has a snakebite which I've gotten used to, but I still don't think it looks good. In the end, though, everyone decides for themselves what they do with their body, but if they ask my opinion on it they shouldn't be offended if I tell them I don't like it.

[Koukatsu 5,899]

Bah, all this "small tattoos" and whatnot.
I've got a nice big tattoo on my shoulder, some people would recognize it from somewhere, some wouldn't. Doesn't matter.

It has meaning to me, and relates to a part of my personal history, which is all that counts in the end.
I also plan to get more tattoos. The only reason I don't already is cashflow.

 

I also had my ears pierced. Eventually, started using gages. Got up to 7/16".

[EpicEnergy 23,219]

I guess they just make you look cooler and tougher when you have them on your nose.

[Early Sunsets 2,107]

I used to not like tattoos (I've always wanted piercings: two in each ear, two on my bottom lip, and potentially one in my nose. I need to move away from my parents before I can get any, though), but once I started considering getting a tattoo of my OC's cutie mark, it's started spiraling down into wanting a lot more than that. I still want Booker's cutie mark on my hip / upper thigh, but now I want a big pair of pegasus wings across my back, and I've also been considering something way flashier. Now I kind of want to shave a large portion of the left side of my head and get a giant Fullmetal Alchemist inspired tattoo that flows all the way from the left side of my head to my left hand. That's obviously way more noticeable than a cutie mark or a pair of wings, so I'd need to think long and hard about that one.

Also, something really cool is UV reactive tattoos. They're invisible under normal light, but a black light will make them glow. I think that would make awesome accents for the FMA tattoo if I decide to get it.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Booker

[Fluttershutter 2,491]

I definitely don't get piercings.

Tattoos can be cool but they've become WAY too trendy.

[Handsome Changeling 1,851]

I guess I gotta skin my back cus I got my puppers inked on there! Tattoos with meaning, without meaning, honestly as long as you get them touched up every few years they are insanely good memories! (Ya know unless you're the kinda person who gets an elephant somewhere it shouldn't be... )

[Dreambiscuit 9,875]

If someone wants to have a tattoo or a piercing it’s their own business. Personally I’d never trust myself to make any permanent mark or alteration on myself that I might change my mind about in future years. There are easier, less expensive and less painful ways of expressing one’s self. But to each his own. It’s all a matter of personal expression like hair, clothing, makeup, etc. It only has to please the person wearing it.   

[Splashee 28,564]

Destruction of your body, to make yourself visible. To stand out. That kind of things that you feel you must do if you are into that kind of things.

 

I am not into that kind of things. I have zero of that.

[Passion 3,484]

26 minutes ago, Splashee said:

Destruction of your body, to make yourself visible. To stand out. That kind of things that you feel you must do if you are into that kind of things.

 

I am not into that kind of things. I have zero of that.

You call it destruction, others call it beautification. What is one man's trash is another's treasure.

People destroy their bodies in all kinds of manners, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, unhealthy lifestyle. Tattoos are definitely one of the less dangerous ones and they serve an immediate purpose.

 

I've known a number of people with tattoos. One girl in particular stands out, her entire family has tattoos. She herself has 3 now and thinking of more. And they don't give a damn about standing out. They do it for themselves. Because they love it. And because some of them want to commemmorate certain events in their lives.

Tattoos have been with humanity for thousands of years, it is peculiar that people are fazed by them.

 

Addressing piercings: these hold less value imo, as they don't allow for freedom of expression to the same degree as tattoos do.

[Splashee 28,564]

Just now, Passion said:

People destroy their bodies in all kinds of manners, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, unhealthy lifestyle. Tattoos are definitely one of the less dangerous ones and they serve an immediate purpose.

I also don't do alcohol, tobacco/smoke, drugs and unhealthy lifestyle stuff like eating snacks. That's probably why I see tattoos and piercings as destruction.