Tattoos, pros/cons

[+ poolboy48220]

My first (of two) was a Starfleet shield on my left shoulder, about 20 years ago. I asked the tattoo artist if she could do it in gold. "Not if you want to live", she said. They hadn't figured out non-toxic metallic colors then, I'm not sure if they have since.

[Stormy]

Started out cute,,,ended up weird

His tattoos are a turn on for me.

[Guest]

I haven't the slightest notion that anyone "owes" me an explanation as to why he has a tattoo. I just find it interesting that nowhere have I ever seen anyone explain the rationale, and that, even in a somewhat anonymous and non-threatening environment, no one seems to want to provide such an explanation (and, in fact, provides testy non-responses).

 

I Hope I don't ever come across as snarky/testy, sometimes I just get a little gruff.

 

So to answer your question as to why I got them/like them it's multifaceted. First I found them attractive on men, ever since I was a kid I would see men with certain tattoos that were very sexy. There's a sexual eroticism for me. The other reason is I like the art that I chose as it represented a part of me. I chose things that I was willing to wear for the rest of my life. I really like how one provides some definition to my shoulder, it accentuates it. And the last reason is the process and the memories it provides. I remember the pain I was going through after a break up when I got my two big pieces, where I was at in my life. They're a symbol of strength that reminds me I survived. They also make good conversation pieces when I'm at the pool at the gay camps I go to.

 

Sure they're not going to age well, but then again, nothing does.

[big-n-tall]

Everyone I know who has multiple tattoos tend to have them because each tattoo represents something significant in their lives.

 

I'm sure some people do it because they are in a way addicted to it. And I'm sure there some people who get tattoos simply because they can and they want to.

 

As to the topic of this post, I don't mind tattoos for the most part. Although I do think large facial tattoos are distracting. If I find a man attractive, tattoos won't stop that attraction. There are 2 guys on rentmen (one in NY who absolutely covered and one in Vegas who has a fair amount) that if this pandemic wasn't raging, I'd hired them in a split second.

[Guest]

So to answer your question as to why I got them/like them it's multifaceted. First I found them attractive on men, ever since I was a kid I would see men with certain tattoos that were very sexy. There's a sexual eroticism for me. The other reason is I like the art that I chose as it represented a part of me. I chose things that I was willing to wear for the rest of my life. I really like how one provides some definition to my shoulder, it accentuates it. And the last reason is the process and the memories it provides. I remember the pain I was going through after a break up when I got my two big pieces, where I was at in my life. They're a symbol of strength that reminds me I survived. They also make good conversation pieces when I'm at the pool at the gay camps I go to.

 

Sure they're not going to age well, but then again, nothing does.

Thanks, WC, for actually providing an answer to the OP's question. I've always really wondered myself, and it's nice to finally get an answer. I don't necessarily agree with the rationale, but it's nice to understand what's going on in the mind of at least some of those who get the tattoos. It's much more informative than simply having someone simply blurt out that it's "pointless to try to explain."

[marylander1940]

I don't mind them... unless they reach the neck and face...

[Guest davebk]

I don't mind them... unless they reach the neck and face...

 

Oh, but that peek of a tattoo just above the collar of the shirt makes me want to see that guy without a shirt on so badly... makes me wild on a well muscled guy in public

[Rudynate]

Oh, but that peek of a tattoo just above the collar of the shirt makes me want to see that guy without a shirt on so badly... makes me wild on a well muscled guy in public

 

You're a connoisseur. The one that i especially like is seeing a narrow margin of tattoo below the cuff of a starched dress shirt.

[Guest davebk]

See. Tell me you don't want to rip that shirt off?

[Guest davebk]

And then there is this, @Rudynate

[sydneyboy]

See. Tell me you don't want to rip that shirt off?

I would like to have his head examined.

[Rudynate]

And then there is this, @Rudynate

 

 

Wonderful-gives me a boner.

[Guest]

Tattoos suggest a certain dissatisfaction with one’s self and a need to permanently embellish. Sure, some may take on special meanings with symbols or memorials, but alas, making the body a canvas is trying to make the body a billboard. Indiscreet tattoos will limit how far some will be able to advance in some professions and social circles.

[Rudynate]

Oh, dear. This isn't the middle of the last century.

[sydneyboy]

Oh, dear. This isn't the middle of the last century.

There is another thread running on this forum where psychoanalytic explanations are offered to resolve an area of conflict. Could this be another one?

[Rudynate]

There is another thread running on this forum where psychoanalytic explanations are offered to resolve an area of conflict. Could this be another one?

 

 

Amateur psychoanalysis is a devious, spineless way of putting people down.

[Guest]

Tattoos suggest a certain dissatisfaction with one’s self and a need to permanently embellish. Sure, some may take on special meanings with symbols or memorials, but alas, making the body a canvas is trying to make the body a billboard. Indiscreet tattoos will limit how far some will be able to advance in some professions and social circles.

Last year, I went scuba diving with a divemaster who had tattoos. One of the other divers, a young woman, asked him about getting a tattoo. He said "Don't get any tattoos until you know what your career's going to be, and that the tattoos won't interfere with that career." Probably good advice.

[Rudynate]

Last year, I went scuba diving with a divemaster who had tattoos. One of the other divers, a young woman, asked him about getting a tattoo. He said "Don't get any tattoos until you know what your career's going to be, and that the tattoos won't interfere with that career." Probably good advice.

 

The divemaster's meta-message was that one should never get a tattoo on impulse. Those are the people who say, "I wish I'd never done it."

[sydneyboy]

Amateur psychoanalysis is a devious, spineless way of putting people down.

Don’t take it too seriously.

[Guest]

Last year, I went scuba diving with a divemaster who had tattoos. One of the other divers, a young woman, asked him about getting a tattoo. He said "Don't get any tattoos until you know what your career's going to be, and that the tattoos won't interfere with that career." Probably good advice.

Absolutely! I suppose the challenge comes when one changes their mind after 20 yrs

[sydneyboy]

Absolutely! I suppose the challenge comes when one changes their mind after 20 yrs

I have made this point a number of times on this thread.

[Rudynate]

Don’t take it too seriously.

 

I do take it seriously. Its never a good thing to feel self-satisfied at another's expense.