If you guys follow me on my various social networks, you probably saw today that I posted a comment left by someone on my video about how my tattoos actually grossed her out. I really thought this comment was funny and kind of dumb and I laughed it off and posted it as a joke.But it got me thinking about being a heavily tattooed woman in 2016.
I started getting tattooed 15 years ago. The world was a different place then. You just really didn't see that many heavily tattooed people-- least of all women. I have always been a punk at heart and I have always wanted to sort of live on the outskirts of the norm. When I started getting tattooed... I did it to be different. To be unique. To stand out. And boy did I!
What I didn't realize was the lifelong dedication visible tattoos are.
I get emails all of the time from people asking advice for first time tattoos or from people wanting to get hands/necks/faces. Let me first say that I am just one person who has lived with being heavily tattooed for many years, and these are my experiences and opinions. But I know that a lot of my equally (and more heavily) tattooed friends tend to agree.
Before you get heavily tattooed, you HAVE to think about it. Tattoos are not something that should be done on a whim. Especially big pieces, or very visible pieces. If you are going to a tattooer with any sense of ethics... they will also tell you these things. Most reputable tattooers won't tattoo hands, necks, or faces unless the person is already heavily tattooed and already spent some time living in that body. This is for a reason! They aren't just trying to be dicks, I promise.
One of the major things you have to get used to is the attention. And a lot of people get tattoos in the first place for attention... but oftentimes don't realize what they are getting into. Get ready for daily stares. Daily questions. Daily touching. Get ready for people to want to talk about tattoos in the most inappropriate places. There is nothing more awkward than your gyno inserting a speculum while she asks you which tattoo hurt the most. Get ready to be judged when you are trying to appear professional. Once you get tattooed, your personal bubble no longer exists. I have been touched, grabbed, and fondled by men and women equally with no permission asked or remorse given for not asking. I was once standing in line at the grocery store, having just finished a heavy workout at the gym. I was wearing a sports bra and a tank top, and the woman behind me ran her hand down my disgustingly sweaty back and said "Wow! Your back piece is beautiful!" Dude. Just no.
I can say that the world has changed a lot in 15 years. I don't get nearly as many dirty looks as I used to. Now that tattoo shows are the norm, people don't judge as harshly. Preppy girls now have neck tattoos. It is a different world. In general. You will still get haters, I promise.
And even though society has shifted a little... corporate America hasn't. Getting a job with visible tattoos is still just about as hard as it used to be. If you don't have a set career, please dear God do not get your face tattooed. Nothing bums me out more than seeing 19 year old kids with no future plans that are fully blasted. I got lucky to have the job that I do... but I still don't have my hands, neck or face slathered in tattoos so that if, God forbid, I ever need to get a "real" job, I can cover everything up.
At the end of the day... tattoos are a personal choice. No one can make that choice for you. But think long and hard before you make the commitment to be a "tattooed" person. Honestly... I got them in the first place to be different. And now I kind of just feel like another one of the flock.
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