Tattoos...why are so many so ugly?

[foxy]

Yesterday at my gym a beautiful young guy with an amazing body was taking a shower across from lucky me. Unfortunately he had about 4 of the dumbest looking tattoos. I don't understand why people will spend endless hours at the gym perfecting their body and then deface it with all that ink. OK, I admit I'm not a big fan of tattoos but I wonder about the choices people make. So many of them look like they were picked out by a drunken sailor on shore leave. I would think that something so permanent and supposedly so personal would entail some thought. Maybe the fact that we live in an age where the biggest selling "art" is the crap Thomas Kinkade churns out but at least they can be thrown out with the trash. Whatever happened to aesthetics?

[Paul Revere]

Foxy;

 

I agree with you completely. My theory on the current fad of tatoos is that young people don't yet have the sense of permanance. I am lucky to be old enough to have pictures of myself in the 60's and 70's. I went out of the house dressed like that!? I wore those loud plaid bell bottoms!? I wore my hair like that!? Luckily its easy to change our clothes or our hair style. The tatoo is permanant. Its like having a favorite shirt, that you wear a lot. But do you really want to wear the same shirt, every day for the rest of yor life? That's what tatoos equate to for me, wearing the same shirt every day for the rest of your life. And don't we all have something in our closet that we thought was the coolest thing when it was new, but now we are embarassed to even give it to Goodwill?

 

All those 20 somethings with the grapevines around the biceps. Is is required for gay men of that age? I have a vision of the sagging grapevines when those boys reach 50 or 60.

 

And don't even get me started about calling it "art".

[bigguyinpasadena]

I am not a big fan of Tat's either.It can be hot when a fella you are doing a B/D scene with has one(if he has the right attitude to go with it)But on a smooth young guy or a jock/gym rat it just looks silly.

Maybe it is a reaction to the cookie cutter Gap/Abecrombie/etc..looks that are being hoisted off on our culture(both gay and straight),a way to claim identity.

Or maybe it is more of a tribal thing"every one I know has one"that will look very silly upon reflection in later life.

One friend of mine,who started hooking when he was 14,claims that his tattoos are a way for him to reclaim his body after being"used"as an annonymous sex toy for so long.

[+ Lucky]

Well, first of all, foxy, you should consider yourself lucky that you got to see this hot guy naked in the shower, right? An aren't you also lucky that you never made such a bad personal choice as he did? Yes, indeed you are.

I personally am not in favor of body tattoos. Rarely do they ever look like anything that interests me...although I do remember a Thai guy once who had a tattoo of a shooting cock that looked pretty nice. A Thomas Kinkade tattoo would actually be an improvement over virtually every tattoo currently available. Pehaps we could start a trend here...

In the meantime we will just have to struggle to ogle these hot young guys despite their tattoos. Lucky us!

[+ deej]

I'm not a fan of tattoos. They tend to ruin perfectly good skin.

 

That said, I've seen some "tribal armbands" on muscular arms that are hot as hell. And one of my favorites had a similar band around his ankle that was fun to lick when I had his legs in the air. :o

 

Still, 80% of the tattoos I see make me wonder "what was he THINKING?"

 

Then again, go to any beach. Half the guys there will invoke the same question just with their choice in bathing suits. :9

[+ Lucky]

I changed my mind!!!

 

Whoa! I have suddenly decided that I like tattoos. At least I like the one on page 7 of the Sunday Styles section of the NYT.

There is a full-page photo of Frederik Ljungberg in his Calvins, strategically pulled down to show off his animal tattoos. This animal is crawling right up his skin from under Frederik's bulging crotch. (I think a family newspaper has never seen such a crotch bulge!)

[ready182]

I once met a scort in NYC who had a cool tatoo. It was done all in red ink, and was across his chest, and designed to look as if he was scratched by finger nails. Very original & hot.

 

Still ready

[Trixie]

Although I have a "thing" for tats, I have to agree, most of the ones you see today are pretty awful. Especially those I like to call "Vanity Tatoos", pointless motifs meant only to accentuate the musculature of those who hit the gym heavily.

To me those actually do the opposite, and detract from the physique. Another weird one I see alot lately are chinese symbols tattooed on men's calves. Perhaps they're meant to lend an aura of mystery, but mainly, they don't.

Now, give me a man with a Christ of sorrows tattooed on his right bicep, an eightball over his heart, 'Vato Loco' in gothic letters across his tight abdomen, and 'Lito' on his neck, and I will melt into a puddle of warm, wet, sticky Trixie!!!

[VaHawk]

Well, no criticism intended on my part towards anyone. I personally find multi-piercings and tasteful tattoos super HOT! but only on men/women under 35. And what is the big deal about sagging tattoos in the mature years? There is already laser surgery available to remove tattoos, and I'd be willing to wager that the technology, availability, costs and results will only improve a thousand fold in the next 30 years. So cut the young boys and girls some slack already.

[foxy]

>Well, first of all, foxy, you should consider yourself lucky

>that you got to see this hot guy naked in the shower, right?

 

I was especially lucky when he started washing himself and started to get a hard-on. Somehow his tattoos seemed less important. Then he turned his back and I just had his perfect bubble butt to look at.

[foxy]

RE: I changed my mind!!!

 

>Whoa! I have suddenly decided that I like tattoos. At least I

>like the one on page 7 of the Sunday Styles section of the

>NYT.

>There is a full-page photo of Frederik Ljungberg in his

>Calvins, strategically pulled down to show off his animal

>tattoos. This animal is crawling right up his skin from under

>Frederik's bulging crotch. (I think a family newspaper has

>never seen such a crotch bulge!)

 

That was a nice ad wasn't it? Still the panther on his tummy didn't distract me from him pulling down his underwear for a glimpse of pubic hair above that big bulge. Calvin still puts out good ads even if the underwear sucks.

[Samai139]

VaHawk:

I know, I know, you said "no offense to anyone" but I have to reply.

Why is 35 the cut-off point for piercings and tats?? Why do you assume that all 35+ men and women are suddenly sagging, non-sexy, and not worth a glance? Sorry. I got my ear pierced and a tasteful tat well after 35 and guess what? My parts are NOT sagging and I can always take off the earring/stud and cover up the tat because it's in a place where no one sees it--unless my shirt is removed.

Final word: It's the age issue. What do you want us over 35 men to do? Crawl into a hole and die? Without the experience and wisdom that comes with age, culture and society (gay or straight) lacks dimension.

[Damascene]

Tattoos like every thing in fashion go in and out of style. When they go out you are stuck with an expensive fad to remove.

 

Tattoos however like anything trendy or not look best on someone with confidence to carry them off. Many people follow trends (i.e. get tattoos) to make themselves look and feel better and thus boost their confidence, but they did not the the confidence to carry it off in the first place.

[camshaft9]

To me, there's nothing hotter than a white boy with tatoos. I used to see porn actor Ted Cox on a regular basis. He was a very hot boy with a lot of skin art. Trashy boys look better than Chelsea boys with tats. In the old days, they were a sign of masculinity ie sailors, old reliable types. Now they are too common.

[al]

RE: I changed my mind!!!

 

>Whoa! I have suddenly decided that I like tattoos. At least I

>like the one on page 7 of the Sunday Styles section of the

>NYT.

>There is a full-page photo of Frederik Ljungberg in his

>Calvins, strategically pulled down to show off his animal

>tattoos. This animal is crawling right up his skin from under

>Frederik's bulging crotch. (I think a family newspaper has

>never seen such a crotch bulge!)

 

a look

 

http://www.qx.se/nyheter/artikel.php?artikelid=2564

[VaHawk]

Whoa, man, you totally misread my post, but I guess that could be my fault for not wording it better. I was not implying anything about anyones attractiveness or body who is over 35. But I think someone over 35 who walks around with multiple piercings (especially on their face and tattoos covering their bodies do not look their best). And the sagging I was referring to was when people are in their late sixties and older.

[+ Hoover42]

RE: Old Reliable (was Tattoos...why are so many so ugly?)

 

>In the old days, they were a sign of masculinity

>ie sailors, old reliable types. Now they are

>too common.

 

Speaking of Old Reliable...

 

I used to order photos and audio tapes from them all the time. My last order must have been about ten years ago now.

 

Does anybody still buy stuff from them? Are they still in business?

 

...Hoover

[bigguyinpasadena]

RE: Old Reliable (was Tattoos...why are so many so ugly?)

 

The fella that owned old reliable used to hang out at the spotlight a lot.He has retired/sold the rights to his photos etc,,,,

That is a shame -he used to get such hot street trash to pose for him...And Straight To Hell's sex stories combined with these photos-heaven!

[Samai139]

VaHawk:

Ok, I understand your point. American culture is fixated on "age" and it bothers me, because we all age; and we all die. Each generation has their "fads" and we either admire, envy, smile, adapt, abhor, or react in some other way to them. Personally, I don't think there is anything worse than someone, of any age over 25, who is "stuck" in what was "hip", "cool" "with it" when they were younger----men in their 50's still wearing pony tails; men in their late 30's with mullets; men in their 60's still wearing tie-dyed t-shirts; or a variety of other examples.

It is fun to disagree though, isn't it? And still remain cordial?

Thanks for giving me something to think and write about.

Enjoy.

Buzz

[+ Hoover42]

RE: Old Reliable (was Tattoos...why are so many so ugly?)

 

Ah, too bad. What was that guy's name? Hurley, I think.

 

Regarding S.T.H., I have a small collection of those which I STILL read every now and then...sigh.

 

...Hoover

[+ Lucky]

RE: I changed my mind!!!

 

Breaking News: towleroad.com reveals that a new book about men's underwear tells the truth: Ljungberg's panther tattoo, the one reaching down so sexily into his crotch, is a FAKE!!! I feel so violated. The fact is that he has a panther tattoo on his back, and they copied it for the ad. Marketing madness- but it sure looked good!

 

http://files.blog-city.com/files/D04/81608/p/f/fredrik_ljungberg_174117g.jpg

[Epigonos]

RE: I changed my mind!!!

 

At age thirty five I decided to do something NO normal, rational, adult school teacher of that age would ever do. I got a tattoo. I had my birth sign tattooed on the back of my right shoulder. Thirty three years latter I am still happy with it. Yes I realize that it is small and inconspicuous.

 

A couple of years before I retired tattoos became all the rage with my students. Once they knew I had one they frequently ask my advice. I ALWAYS told them, if they had to have one, to get it in a place where long sleeve shirts or bloused would hide it and to limited them to a maximum of two. Furthermore I told them to remember that many older people considered tattoos tacky and déclassé.

 

Now in conclusion I am one of those tacky people who like tribal bracelets around the bicep and tribal patterns on the center of the upper or lower back. I find them sexy as hell. I will readily admit that I find Asian style FULL body tattooing unattractive. But in the end as in all else in this world it simply comes down to a matter of personal taste.

[seaboy4hire]

RE: I changed my mind!!!

 

That is good advice you gave the students and that is what I did when I got my tattoo on my bicep. When on the rare occasion I have to go for an interview or used to have to meet with upper mgt for work I also made sure that if I was wearing a white dress shirt it was of good heavy quality in the arms to make sure my tattoo was hidden.

 

Hugs,

Greg

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com

[email protected]

Your low rent escort http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

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[Guest MickeyMoosie]

To return to the question posed in the original thread..........

 

So many gays are doing it because they're lemmings. The "hot" guys are doing it so, to be part of the "hot" crowd, they get one too. It's one thing to adopt fashion choices that are easily sent to Goodwill, but it's another thing to tattoo your body for life.

 

The reason so many tattoos are hideous is because most people have no taste. It's just that simple.

 

The advice I give friends who think they may want one is to go get a henna one and see if they like it. How many times have we obsessed on something for a long time, finally break down and buy it and then weeks (or even DAYS) later look at it and think: "What was the fucking big deal about that?!?"?

 

I remember an interview with Cindy Crawford, yeeeeeeeears ago, where she was asked if she had considered a tattoo and her response was: "Yes, but then I decided it wouldn't look good at my granddaughter's wedding."

 

That bitch is smart.

[Guest MickeyMoosie]

Here's a perfect example of someone ruining their body with a tattoo.

 

Chris Evans is perfection yet he decides to put a tattoo UNDER his chest? Why there?

 

Hideous.

 

http://www2.queerclick.com/images/2009/01/chrisbro.jpg