My recent Irrational Arguments Against Tattoos post was intended to discuss some of the most commonly used, although admittedly weak, arguments against tattoos.
I received the following comment in response to that post:
This blog is clearly confirmation bias where the author is attacking the lowest common denimator’s opinion against tattoos rather than real issues people have with tattoos, their culture, and the conformity of anti-conformity. If you want people to care about what you write, you shouldn’t pick on the weak arguments.
I will be the first to admit that this blog is biased in favor of tattoos. But if these 10 arguments are the weak ones, where are the strong arguments?
How do you honestly feel about people with tattoos?
What is it about tattoo culture that bothers you?
Do you still think that tattoos are a form of anti-conformity?
Is the Bible, specifically Leviticus 19:28, the cause for your dislike of tattoos?
I want to hear from anyone who dislikes tattoos. Pass this link along to anyone who you think can provide a valid, strong argument against tattoos.
Either leave a comment on this post, or visit my contact page to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you and will respond to any issue that is brought up.
I’ll tell you what I dislike about tattoos.
The vast majority of art is dreadful. But that’s fine because most art is executed for the personal enjoyment of the artist, on disposable media. It’s good clean fun.
Tattooing is different. It’s not just for the artist’s enjoyment because the medium is somebody else’s skin. Without exception, that somebody gets permanently stuck with the outcome. They cannot dispose of their tattooed skin at the next garage sale.
Yet tattooing is still subject to the same failure rate as any other art. And fail it does. I think that 90% of tattoos I see are artistically flawed, improperly placed, technically faulty, or the wrong size.
In other fields, society has ways to enforce standards to keep unqualified practitioners from harming their clients. We have rules to keep inept surgeons and aircraft designers in check. However, art is subjective, immune to regulation.
So what I dislike about tattoos is that there can be no standards. A lack of standards means shoddy results.
Thank you for the reply, John. This is a very interesting perspective, and one that I have not yet heard.
I agree that many tattoos out there are artistically flawed, but 90% is pushing it. Because art is such a subjective thing, the owner of the tattoo may very well find his/or ink to be aesthetically pleasing even though you or I find it appalling.
Everyone who seeks out a tattoo has the responsibility of finding an artist who is capable of giving them what they want. There may not be a defined standard, but a look at an artists past work is a very reliable way to determine if they have the skills needed to do their job to the standards you are looking for. If you walk into a tattoo shop without doing any research on the artist and you walk out with a bad tattoo, I really have no sympathy for you.
While a lack of standards may leave room for shoddy results, it is by no means a certainty. And contrary to what you may believe, having a standard in place is not a guarantee of quality or even a generally pleasing result. Standards are typically put in place to keep people safe from harm, not to make everyone happy.
You mentioned surgeons, so what would you say to a board certified plastic surgeon who gives women impossibly large breast implants, inhumanly smooth skin and lips that are twice as plump as humanly possible? Many people would find these things unnatural and displeasing, much like tattoos.
Restaurants are held to health standards, but these standards don’t mean you are going to get a good tasting meal there. Have you even seen someone with a bad haircut that they got from a certified hair stylist?
Consumers generally make decisions based on reviews from others. Standards or no standards, it is up to you to make educated choices if you expect to be satisfied with the product or service you are buying.
The permanence of tattoos just makes the choice that much more important.
I dislike tattoos for a few reasons. I feel tattoos are just another excuse for people to get attention. For example your friend passes away and you get some memorial tattoo.. How much of a friend were they that you feel your going to forget them? You only do it so people notice it. Another reason I mainly dislike tattoos is that I think if you take good care of your skin it’s naturally beautiful why ruin it. Also, I don’t condone this but people often judge your character based on a visable tattoo do you want to be judged solely on that? People shouldn’t do it but let’s be real they do. In closing I believe everyone is entitled to do as they please as long as its not hurting anyone I just personally feel its wasteful.
Thanks for your response. Most of what you said was already covered in my post, ‘Irrational Arguments Against Tattoos’.
Yes, some people get tattoos for attention, but this does not apply to all people with tattoos. People do not get memorial tattoos because they think that they are going to forget a lost loved one. Looking at a tattoo can act as a trigger for a memory that is not lost, but would otherwise not be actively remembered or talked about.
I, like many others with tattoos, do not see a tattoo as something that ruins the natural beauty of the skin. This is purely a personal opinion and a valid reason for you to not get your own tattoos, but not what I would consider a legitimate reason for other people not to get tattooed.
Your last point about being judged by others is a topic that I write a lot about on this site. Understanding that you will be judged for your ink is a very important part of the decision to get a tattoo or not. Recognizing situations where it may be more appropriate to keep your ink covered is another important thing to learn, which is why I personally recommend getting tattoos in places that can be covered when necessary. If I am in a casual situation where I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt with my tattoos showing and someone wants to judge me for that, so be it. They are the ones missing out.
Hi, I’ve posted here on your blog a few times, so you likely know I love tattoos, and my reasons, but, like yourself I also enjoy talking to people with or without tattoos about their feelings on being inked or not, and in the case of people who tell me they hate tattoos, I like to ask why, I’m not sure whether this is likely to be of interest to you but from the answers I have been given over the years, I believe evolutionary biology to be a factor, and this is why:
As children we are mentally hard-wired to believe, without question what our elders tell us. This is how the human race has survived so long- an infant can not question or test the ‘knowledge’ passed down to them from their parents, so for example if an adult tells a child ‘don’t eat these berries, they are poisonous’ or don’t swim in that river, there are crocodiles..’ any child who ‘tested’ this advice would quickly die, and so, in evolutionary terms, or brains from a young age are ‘forced’ to accept as fact and truth what our guardians teach us.
There is no biological filter to distinguish between bias / fantasy / illogical and the hard facts. I believe you pointed out somewhere in your blog that no-one is born hating tattoos, you are right of course, just as no-one is born racist or bias against a certain group of people, these beliefs, predjudices etc are taught to youngsters who being to young to question, assimilate and accept the information as truth, whether this info. is that you shouldn’t play with bears or that tattooed people are low-life scumbags who have multiple contagious deadly diseases and are all headed for eternal damnation in a hand basket.
As there is a huge biological variation in individual brain makeup, life experiences, culture and social intergration or lack there of, it is physically impossible for some people to let go of the beliefs their parents / elders taught them, even in the face of huge amounts of contradictory ‘evidence’ and these persons will likely pass their beliefs to their progeny, who may inherit their parents biological inability to let go of inherited beliefs.
In other individuals the ability to rationalise, be logical, analitical and able to challenge as adults beliefs taught to them as youngsters in much more developed, so I would suggest there is infact a biological / genetic/ evolutionary element to this debate.
Sorry this is long, hope I am not rambling, but I have heard from enough tattoo haters the same out-dated predjudiced beliefs that I feel this could be a valid argument against tattoos from the point of view of the other side?
I don’t like tatoos on women because they invariably detract from the beauty of the woman for me perfection is a beautiful woman with clear skin and no blemishes.
I don’t care about men’s tatoos because I don’t fancy them. I personally would never have a tatoo because I am proud of my body the way evolution has formed it over hundreds of thousands of years.
I am finding it harder and harder to find a good looking women who I actually find attractive these days. Invariably though the larger proportion of women who still are clear of tatoos have in my opinion a greater intellect and self confidence.
Regards to all
Peadar
Does my post above apply to you then Peadar? just curious as to where your obviously very strong feelings originate? are they really, truly your own ideals, or did you inherit them along with other ‘undeniable truths’ from your elders?
Do you really feel that a woman can not be beautiful if she has tattoos, or do you just tell yourself tattooed women are unworthy of your affection because you were encouraged to accept stereotypes of days gone by as fact, and that it is acceptable to dislike a human being because of their body art, without even trying to know them as a person (if they are female, that is, because you could only want to get to know a female with the intention of making her your life partner, right? )
Can’t say I envy the ‘lucky’ lady that falls for your irresistablely warm and open minded charm, what if you find this stunningly uninked girl, and she turns out to be an evil witch, whilst so many tattooed lady’s you wouldn’t give the time of day are some of the warmest, most open minded loving and beautiful people I have ever met, a lucky break for them that you are not interested, I say.
I don’t want my daughter (mid 20s) to get a tattoo and so far so good. I look for arguments when she brings it up and that first one about “flawed art” is a darned good one but people tend to think the art they choose will be good art so I don’t expect that to resonate.” Heres a good, pithy argument I just saw: “A woman getting a tattoo is like saying ‘Hey let’s put a moustache on the Mona Lisa – There doesn’t that look better!
Why would a woman get tattoos and make her body look like graffiti on a gas station men’s room.
Hey! Just an observation.”
I am older and I think they are UGGGGGLY. All of them that I have ever seen are distasteful and ugly and thats my opinion and I’m entitled to it! But I don’t try to influence anyone but my daughter. God, I hope she never gets one and the occasional time she brings it up I feel like my hair is on fire. I guarantee you that 75%+ of people over 40 (i.e., employers) feel the same way I do about tattoos in general and more so on women. Mindboggling that a woman would get herself tattoo’d. The promotion of tattoos is so irresponsible. Its bad for people to be narcissistic! Why the heck would anyone glorify narcissism and dumb, self-destructive narcissism at that? I know, just to make life harder for parents of young people.
I forgot to mention. I am a partner in an Engineering company we have a preference for hiring people without tatoos. It is not easy to know whether they have them if they are discreet. We do have employees with them but never send them as ambassadors to our clients offices.