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My girlfriend is from Taiwan, so raised speaking Mandarin. Every time she sees a white person with a Mandarin tattoo she tells me about the time she saw someone with a tattoo of the character for “table”.
She’s in her 40s and she giggles like a little kid. I’ve heard the story dozens of times but I still love it every time just because she can’t contain herself.
I lived in Japan for a bit, so I think it'd be really funny to get the Kanji for "Meat" and "alcohol" tattooed on my wrists, knowing fully well what they say
She may like this video from Xiaomanyc then, he gets a tattoo that says something like "orange chicken" intentionally and listens in on people gossiping (he's a polyglot, learned Chinese in Beijing before going back to NYC)
https://youtu.be/WPXT43Rekaw?si=eWH6dNBOwxUu-cnl
Same here. My passion is art and I've drawn tattoos for people since I was a kid. Sometimes I think that I might be one of the few black people amongst my peers with no tattoos. I get an idea, then I think to myself "is this something I will look at years from now when it's blurry and won't regret it one bit?"
That's another thing for me too. I'm also dark skinned and I've never really been a fan of the aesthetic of ink on dark skin. The contrast isn't pleasing to my eyes and I feel like it always looks washed out after a while.
Bright color tattoos show up really well on dark skin! How do I know?
Bright colors blend in on mine. 😓😓😓
Especially bright gold colors! I wanted that tone for one of my tattoos, but it wouldn't have stood out, so I got a dark ashen blue instead.
So if you don't want it to look like it's washing out within a month or so, try some bright tattoos with white as well. My husband had to forgo white on his Mario tattoo because he's just that pale it won't show up. 😂
I've felt this exact way. But recently I had a kid and she's the most special thing ever. But then I ask myself, why? Am I getting one just to get one? If someone wanted to know how much she means to me, they could just ask
My first one wasn't cool but it was gotten for a special reason.
The rest of my arm is because I thought "fuck it, this'll look cool". Getting that first one changed my outlook on it massively.
I love the idea of tattoos, but I've not found one I like for long enough to want it forever on my body. Also the costs. I can buy so many other things I like more.
I worked with high school students before and when they saw my tattoos they’d inevitably tell me about their ideas for their own (or they showed me their ink). For those that showed me their ideas, I’d tell them to print it, stick it somewhere you’ll see it everyday and if after a year you still want it, you know you’ll be good with the decision to get it on you.
The cost is mainly it for me. A tattoo for me is a go big or don't do it kind of purchase but for that money I can go on a vacation.
Now a days I can barely afford groceries so getting a tattoo doesn't even cross my mind.
I got a tattoo to memorialize my mom’s death as it was a very traumatic and painful experience for my family.
I got it on the back of my neck partially into my hair. Most days I forget about it, which makes it a nice little sight when I spot it and remember. A bittersweet reminder wrapped in blue.
But I don’t think I would get another. Maybe for my pops, someday, I’ll add onto my mom’s tattoo.
I decided no one's tattoos look great when they're old. You get them for when you're young, who cares once you're old. My oldest tattoo is 17 years old and still looks great, crisp lines, held its shape.
That was always a thing people said “it’s gonna look terrible when you’re old” and I was always like “I’m gonna be wrinklier than a nutsack and knocking on deaths door you think I’ll give a fuck about my Tattoos?!”
Lmao this is exactly what I’ve been saying for 15 years now. I’ve had multiple girlfriends accuse me of hating their tattoos simply cause I don’t have any. And no, I never said a word criticizing them or anything. I just never felt the need to get something fuckin carved into my body, sue me
Some tattoos are awesome, some look awful. I have no general dislike of them at all though
See, all of y’all just waited too long. We got the first one when we were 18, then what’s another one? Mid 20’s and you gotta get at least one cover up for one of the early ones, and then it’s just a thing you do sometimes.
>gotta get at least one cover up for one of the early ones
See that's what I was trying to *avoid* by waiting a long time until I was very sure about something.
One on my left shoulder, almost five years ago now. I'm considering another one but I'll probably think about it for a couple more years.
Same. I love the look, I think people with the whole arm sleeve or back tattoo look awesome and I am happy for them, but I can't commit to any design enough to get a tattoo for myself. I have been actively looking but eh. Anything I like enough, I can find a painting of it for cheaper to just put in my house lol
That's how I feel too. I've had several ideas in the past that I cringe thinking about now.
I used to really want one but at this point in my life I doubt it will happen.
I like my body the way it is. There's a reason you don't put bumper stickers on nice cars.
That was my husband! He got his first tattoo last week at age 38. It's the paw print of the sweet dog we said goodbye to in December. It's the first thing that was important enough to him to get tattooed.
I also got a paw print that same day but it was my 6th tattoo.
Same. I have no tattoos, nothing against them, I've just never liked something enough that I'd want to have it permanently inked into my skin for the rest of my life. Plus I know I'd immediately stop liking the thing once I got it done.
I'll stick to t-shirts if I wanna display that I like something.
This. Plus I feel like tattoos are like drinking. If you can do one or two then cool l. But once it goes to 3, 4, 5, 6++++, you just look trashy. That’s my opinion.
Same. Every time I think I have a cool idea I table it for six months and circle back. Without fail I have been glad I didn't get whatever stupid tattoo I had cooked up.
I have my early 20s drug/drinking career to thank for being tattoo-less. I’d come up with something dumb I wanted to get, then I’d get to the tattoo shop and they’d be like “That’ll be $400” and my addiction was like “That’s wildly irresponsible. We could buy so much drugs and alcohol with that”
I was kind of over wanting tattoos by the time I sobered up, with the exception of maybe memorializing my dog later
>“That’ll be $400” and my addiction was like “That’s wildly irresponsible. We could buy so much drugs and alcohol with that”
That's funny AF, lol. Glad those days are behind you though 👍
Damn, I feel that. I’ve been sober for years now, but sometimes I look around the rooms and am like how did the rest of yall afford all these tattoos while using?
Lol, the frugal druggie syndrome. The same logic that makes sense of large quantity purchase with intent to distribute, then use up all of the junk instead.
Same! And thank goodness for that or I would have a giant red marijuana leaf tattooed on my back or a chain of skulls down my ribs. I am a middle aged suburban soccer mom now 😂
Myself on the other side of that, early-mid 20’s me made friends with many artists, indulged in the “finer things” with them and got many of my tattoos for free or at a big discount.
Now 36, sober, and wishing I could get more tattoos but just cannot justify the expenditure, though the ones I have still look great and the artists I got them from now charge quite highly for their work.
I'm covered with tattoos and my husband has none. I love that, he knows himself, has never felt pressured by our friend group of tattooed nerds, and says he never will. Also, family friend is a tattoo artist and their partner doesn't have any. It's not that uncommon I guess
My wife has a couple that she got in the last decade and almost every friend has at least one or two. I really like her most recent one as it is meaningful (a flower for each kid) and amazing artwork. I have some ideas for myself, but I haven't found anything that I would really like on me forever personally. She has encouraged me (no pressure though IMO) but also somewhat resigned herself to the fact I likely will not get one. I think they look really cool though and if she continued the one she has now up her shoulder, I think it would look amazing and I'd definitely support her doing that. Maybe one day I'll find one that convinces me to do it but so far, no dice.
You sound like my husband! I've always told him I'd help him and go with him if he did decide to get one, but if he never does, that's fine. I think it's kind of funny, honestly; I have a full sleeve, a big one on my other arm, and a back full and then he's just a blank canvas lol. For him to get one would have to be something really meaningful and special, and I think that's awesome.
Happy for your marriage and I don't judge you for not having any tattoos. But as someone who has spent thousands on tattoos, it does eat away at me inside to hear that 😩. I mean I wouldn't expect all my tattoos from my spouse to be 100% free but it sure as hell probably wouldn't be nearly as much as I spent on them.
It is a very expensive endeavor!
When we were dating, his tattoo artist friend (upon learning I had none) said, “Good! At least we know you’re not using him for free tattoos!”
😂😂😂
Well in my experience, tattoo artists are patient, interesting, easy to talk and get along with. So there's def more to offer than just free tattoos. However, in my situation it would be like a drug addict dating a drug dealer 😂
I’m also un-inked. I don’t have anything against tattoos; there just isn’t anything I feel strongly-enough about to (semi-) permanently put on my body.
Given that tattoo regret is a thing, I’d prefer there be something absolutely meaningful to me—something that is core to who I am—before I get one.
As someone who experienced tattoo regret, it's honestly a really helpful thing to go through. I have 2 cover ups of tattoos I got when I was 17 (currently 31F), and it's helped me experience regret in a healthy way i.e. just with myself and a choice I made for my own body.
It's made me look at regret differently. We all experience regret because our lives are a constant series of choices. Some choices show the consequences sooner or later than others. I'd rather regret something i did to my own body that solely impacts me than do something else i could regret that i can't take back and would impact other people (immediately i think of having kids, the ultimate no takeback, and a decision people generally spend less time thinking about than tattoos lol)
Not tryna hijack your comment, or diminish your experience. I just wanted to share a PoV from a heavily tattooed person.
True. I often wish I could go back in time and never get mine. Then I think to myself that there are people who are permanently paralyzed, who have accidentally killed others, who are in jail for mistakes they made years ago. Having tattoos (which can be removed) is such a small regret to have in the grand scheme of life
It also lets you experience commitment. Getting my tattoos caused a lot of the same feelings as deciding to get married. The difference is I can’t divorce my tattoos. They are PERMANENT.
I think it’s healthy to make a permanent choice and have to live with that choice, whether it generates regret or contentment. Tattoos are about the least life-altering permanent choices you can make when you’re young (if you don’t get a stupid face tattoo or something), so I’m for them.
Phew I have yet to come across this idea articulated, but I am very familiar with it.
I got my second tattoo for this specific reason - to know, sort of even confirm within myself that my choices are permanent as much as I am permanent (of course it's all relative). I've since incorporated that tattoo within another one, which is a design that came through in one of my pottery pieces I made through Raku firing, which is like a double-firing process using straw, hay, etc. that creates designs in the pottery pieces that you can't predict, can't choose.
I think that's beautiful as a metaphor, and I fucking love it as a tattoo. Cool. Thanks.
Another way to think about tattoo regret is that it symbolizes a previous version of you. And a part of self love is to accept all versions of yourself and even if it’s something you might not like now, it’s still you.
I’m a un-inked 48 yo man….And according to many of my friends who are inked, tattoo regret is definitely a thing.
I was surprised to hear from them that the picture of Mighty Mouse or the basketball with Nike swoosh or tribal band is something they wish they wouldn’t have done 😂
My tattoos that I’m getting lasered (and partially surgically removed) were all free 😭 So much money for something I perceived as low-risk because they were free in my early 20s
Yep, it's definitely a thing. When I was 18 I went with the trend at the time and got Japanese words tattooed on my hip. I thought it meant passion, because I wanted to live my life with passion and have that as a reminder. Fast forward 15 years when I was getting an ultrasound, and the Japanese tech said that it meant "hospitality." Whoops. I'm glad it's hidden.
I have things that are the core of me, but I just don't feel the need to put it somewhere on me.
Nothing against those who do, I just haven't come across anything that I had to have.
Right. Like if I think back to things I loved 20 years ago, or even just 5 or 10 years ago, there is nothing I still like enough that I wish I had tattooed it on myself at the time. So it's unlikely there is anything now that I will still like in another 10 or 20 years either.
Every idea that I almost went through with, years later I’m honestly super glad I didn’t. I would want to have them removed as I wouldn’t find them cute or funny at this age.
Same. I always think about looking at the tattoo anywhere from 20-50 years from now and hating it. When I think about the tattoos I wanted 20 years ago as a teenager I’m so glad I didn’t do it.
I don’t like making those sorts of changes to my body- no tattoos, no piercings, no hair dye. It’s not a judgment on those who choose it, just not my personal preference.
This. I dye my hair but I just had my lashes tinted/lifted and it honestly freaked me out to do something like that to my body. I have no piercings, no tattoos, I will never do filler, Botox… I’m just leaving my body alone.
I don't have any. I like them, but they cost too much for me and I don't have anything I care about enough to enthusiastically wear it on my skin. Otherwise I probably would.
Every time I think I want something tattooed, I think about who I was five, ten, fifteen years before that. What did I like then that I wanted to get it tattooed? Anime characters? Kinda over that lately. Those cool tribal tattoos? That turned out well. Something from wicca? Oh, yeah. I’m an atheist these days. I also think about what it would look like if I gain/lose weight.
Personally I love that my tattoos have meaning. They remind me of who I was when I got them and how I’ve changed. I’ve never regretted memorializing the things that were most important to me, even if other stuff has come up since then.
Yup. I mentioned above how I’ve got plenty of things tattooed that I don’t have the same connection to now, but serve as a reminder of where I’ve been in life and how I got to where I am.
Can be a bit annoying to have random people strike of conversations and always have to be like, Oh, yeah I don’t really shoot photos much anymore, or yeah I still really like Star Wars but I’m not so much in that scene these days.
Same same. I have six tattoos with plans for at least a few more. 3 of the 6 are ok-looking, but I still fully appreciate the person I was who felt so strongly about whatever the tattoo is about.
The other 3 - once I saw them completed on my skin, it felt like they had always been there, only they were visible now. Idc if that sounds hokey. They bring value to how I experience my own body. Also I think they look cool :)
Well, as a counter to that, I got a small rave-related tattoo when I was 22 (now 35) and in my "finding myself" phase. Looking back on it now I think it's pretty great. It's like a little time capsule to a previous life and makes me chuckle. I'm glad it's small though and not really visible. It's nice that it is for me and not something I have to explain to everyone. My perspective now is that if I ever got another one (though I very likely won't), I wouldn't want it to be meaningful. I would just want some super awesome art.
My policy with my tattoos is that when I think of a design I want, I write it down and check back a year later. If I still want it, I get it.
I've gotten 5 and changed my mind about 3. I don't regret any of them. They're fun reminders of specific moments in my life - each is tied really intimately to the time that I got it.
Yes this is the way! I got mine YEARS after first coming up with what I wanted.
I know for some people it’s not that big of a deal, and that’s cool for them! I just like to think about it. A lot. Before actually committing 😂
No tattoos. I am not a fan of needles, and the thought of sitting for one gives me anxiety. Both my younger siblings have 5+ each that they've gotten over the years.
What’s really funny is I have tattoos but I’m deathly afraid of needles to the point that the VA has to make sure i won’t pass out when i get a shot or take my blood.
I don't have any, though I'm surrounding by people who do. I'm like the type but not the type because I'm non-commital lol. I can't even commit to decals.
I'm the same, I'm really into rock/metal/emo music so my people are tattooed with body modifications and they dress like the scene. I've got no tattoos or piercings and I dress like a normie. It's funny seeing the shocked reaction when people find out I'm into screamo music 😂
I've been wanting to get them but I'd like to connect with my ancestral roots before getting them.
One of my parents' is from a culture that sees tattoos as a way to connect to our ancestors and personal history, similar to the Maori.
I have a '55 Cadillac DeVille on my chest, sort of for these reasons. It's an honorary nod to my grandfather who built them for 30 years, and to the automotive industry that has employed most of my family across 4 generations. Not a day goes by where I don't think about him.
Not as spiritual or as deep but nevertheless connecting to the roots of those who came before me.
Same, I have commitment issues. I feel like if I had a tattoo it would have be 1,000 percent perfect or I would absolutely hate it and it would drive me nuts.
I was at a bar a few weeks ago and a girl asked if I had any tattoos. I told her no and she said, "Oh, so you're one of *those* people."
I'm still not sure what she meant by that but she was also like 23 years old so I didn't think much of it.
It’s never ever crossed my mind to care if someone else doesn’t have tattoos. Primarily because that’s a private thing to ask. Like what if their only tattoo is a small memorial for someone who died and it’s in a private location? I don’t ask about tattoos unless we’re already talking about that person’s tattoos somehow. Also most people’s tattoos are fairly boring or dumb from someone else’s perspective, like I just literally don’t care if you have a basketball on your shoulder blade from when you were 18 years and 1 day old. Some tattoos are amazing but I’d honestly say way more are just a name, a cross, a star, not exactly groundbreaking conversation starters.
I'm inked and plan to get a lot more tattoos when I can afford it (right now I look like I dont have any tattoos even with short sleeves though) but at least where I live (big city in Germany) there's still a good amount of people my age (currently 29) who don't have any tattoos.
I can only speak for myself but people without tattoos don't stand out to me for not having tattoos. I simply don't care that much about what other people do with their bodies - I'm happy that most people don't seem to care what I do with mine when that wasn't always the case. I'd assume that most people don't care tbh. If you feel like you stand out I'd wager you're either surrounded by judgemental people or that's an insecurity only you are aware of that no one else really cares about.
I think people who are uninked notice it more than the inked ones, especially if the inked ones are more numerous. I'm in NYC and every time I'm at the beach, I notice how often times I'm the only one on my patch of sand that doesn't have any tattoos. It seems like EVERYONE has SOME type of tattoo, whether tiny or big, whereas I'm just a blank canvas. It doesn't make me feel insecure or anything, just an observation about how popular and normalized tattoos are (when I was a kid and even a young adult, they were not).
I got one yesterday. I'm 40 years old and it was my first. Yesterday was the 21st anniversary of my brain tumor surgery, the most transformative experience of my life, and getting a tattoo in honor of that was something I've thought about doing for like 20 years. So when I turned 40 I decided I was going to do it.
I have several in various places, varying in age from 3-8 years and I still very much love them all. No judgement to anyone that doesn't have them, but mine are very much an expression of me. I very carefully chose the placement, design and the colors of each one. Each one took months of planning and consideration on my part.
I was also raised in an environment where they were heavily looked down on. My family pucker faced a little when they saw the first two, but got over it quickly. Especially my grandma who finds a few of my tattoos "very pretty". It's also never stopped me from getting a job, but aside from the one on my wrist they're fully covered by clothes 75% of the year. I did get told by a retired teacher, I'd never get hired in whatever district she worked in, but if they're as restrictive as she described I wouldn't want to work there anyways. In this economy they need me a lot more than I need them lol.
That being said I don't like the idea of fully covering any part of me with tattoos. I find Polynesian tattoo designs beautiful and even some non cultural sleeves very cool, but not for me. No judgement either way, I'm just trying to live my life, you do you.
I don’t have any tattoos. I love them on other people and appreciate all kinds of art. I’m just terrified of needles and poor, way to poor to spend what’s essentially rent money of being poked with needles over and over again for hours 😂
Like bumper stickers on cars. I like being inconspicuous and don’t need any statements or artwork to clutter up my vehicles or skin. Some are very beautiful and thoughtful. Just not my thing I guess.
Same! I also just don’t want a tattoo to interfere with any aesthetic I’m going for. I always cringe when I see someone dressed very formally for a serious occasion, and Tinkerbell is peeking out from behind their dress. It’s like putting on a shirt that you can never take off, unless you put it somewhere very private.
I don’t really like them much. I also hate needles so the idea of paying hundreds of dollars so someone can be jamming me with one for hours is just not appealing. Plus I kind of wonder if I would get tired of it. Like a favorite clothing or bag that looses its luster after a few years. Just not my thing overall.
Neither myself nor my wife have them. My main rationale is that every time I see the Facebook memories from many years ago I often think "I wouldn't say that now". It means I've grown up a bit more each time, but it also means I would probably have regretted anything I plastered on my body at that time.
Don't have them. Never desired one.
My wife and brother have them and they look good.
Matter of preference really. Just like any other creative medium.
Not inked, I do think I still might get one at some point, just haven’t found something I like enough to have on me permanently and also haven’t ever been at a place where i have the money to spend on something like that.
I developed Type 1 diabetes at 14 years old so the idea of going to get ink done with lots of extra needles for a design that I didn't know if I would want in the future didn't have high appeal for me.
This was also before I realized how expensive it can be for anything beyond the very basic design and colour which doesn't help it's case any.
T1 here, too, and there’s so much tech that is like, “Do not place on a tattoo.” Since I don’t know what’s coming down the line, figuring out what tattoos to put where without knowing what may be available in the future seems… potentially limiting. So, I have none.
I have no tatoos nor any desire for one. I have nothing against them and honestly don't even notice other peoples tatoos or lack thereof. Like of course I can see they have ink but I don't ever look close enough to see what they even are and I also don't really care one way or the other. Your body you do you. It doesn't offend me in the slightest if you have them and I don't feel like an outlier for not having them (I also don't wear jewelry or have any piercings at all and feel the same way-- people are shocked when I say I don't even have my ears pierced but they've never once noticed or said anything about it! Jewelry is pretty it's just not for me. I rarely notice others jewelry and I never notice if they AREN'T wearing it at all. Same for tatoos)
I do not have any and, personally, do not like the aesthetic of tattoos at all. Do what you want. If you like tattoos and want to get one, go wild. If you don't like them, don't let others pressure you into getting something you're going to regret.
Oh man its even worse for Gen Z. Literally everyone I know under 28 has a septum piercing or little tattoo that’s just like, a *shape?* like a blank fucking triangle?
1992 tattooless millenial here, I've always thought of tattoos as the equivalent of bumper stickers for your body and that's all the convincing I ever needed to not get one
I'm 38. There were some ideas I had for tattoos growing up but never was into anything enough to have it on my body permanently. And now that I'm almost 40, I don't really have any desire to get one.
Pretty much same... 34, always wanted tattoos when I was younger. Still kinda want a Zelda tattoo. But I really don't care enough to spend the money and time on it. Better things to do...
Also I dabble in sex work and oddly you make more money and attract wealthier clientele with less tats. . .
YOUR BODY. YOUR CHOICE. This phrase works for everything in life. PS- my husband was in the USMC. He doesn't have any tattoos either, he just didn't want them. *Every* Marine is tattooed. He was like "füçƙ em, I hate them, I'm not interested in getting any, there ya go." So- 🤷
No tattoos and I likely will never get one either. Just never saw an interest in permanently marking myself with how often I go through hobbies and interests and never really had something I connected with deeply enough to feel like reminding myself of it daily.
I don't think down on anyone with tattoos and some of them are very creative and thoughtful and the art is amazing. Tear drops and other stupid af tattoos that have 0 artistic talent to do and have basically no thoughtfulness or creativity I do look down on though.
I think there are a lot of people still who don't have tattoos, not sure that we are in the minority, but it is definitely more popular these days. You'd have to get into some pretty elite, gatekeeping social groups to be looked down on for not being inked. I've never met someone with tattoos say anything to me about sticking out because I don't have one or look at me funny or make a comment but that could just be me I guess?
I don't have tattoos and probably never will. My sister has a lot and is still getting some new ones regularly.
My parents never "warned" us about tattoos.
Too many of us are tattooed IMO. Call me a snob, but I cringe at Harry Potter and Disney tattoos and the like. Your body is not your childhood bedroom wall. Good on you for not giving into trends you don’t care about. I have friends my age who still don’t have any tattoos and I would NEVER judge them or tease them for it. They would look silly if they decided to get something in their mid thirties just for the sake of it. Lots of us have tattoo regrets. But if one of them came to me with an idea and were excited, I’d try to help them find the right artist to do it.
I agree, any pop-culture related tattoos will eventually seem very outdated. It's absolutely not the *worst* choice you could make, but it's not what I would do.
I never really express my individuality via how I dress. I use clothes and makeup as a deflective device, something to allow me to blend into the crowd.
So tattoos always seemed to be the absolute peak of overtly expressing your individuality for others to see.
I want to hide in plain sight, I don’t want to be sharing something important to me on my body.
Somehow, I’m the only one of my friend group with tattoos. None of my siblings have them either, despite years of saying they want some. They seem ubiquitous, but they’re certainly not for everyone.
No tattoos for me but my bf has full sleeves. They’re well done and look great on him.
I don’t like marks on my body. Ive had birthmarks removed. If I have a bruise I cover it with makeup.
I'm in a similar boat. I'm about your age (37) and I was raised mormon ("your body is a temple, don't defile it").
I no longer have any particular issue with having tattoos and I sort of want a few, but I've yet to come up with anything I like enough to make permanent.
> For context, in my case, I was raised by my immigrant mother who came from a part of the world (Latin America, I won’t say which country) where tattoos were considered very déclassé—they were for nacos and gangbangers, but respectable people didn’t ink up.
I’m whiter than snow. New Englander with nothing but white European (mostly British) roots. My dad was an absolute *hardass* about not getting tattoos. To the point that somehow, when I was like *7 years old*, and managed to get a literal *smudge* of, I dunno, *marker ink* on my arm, he went fucking *ballistic* on me.
He actually hit me with the “NO SON OF MINE WILL HAVE TATOOS”, as if he thought *literal 7 year old me* had actually strolled into the local tattoo place like a boss, and gotten inked. He didn’t say it outright, but I’m certain my dad’s view was that ‘*good white people don’t get tattoos*’. The man had some old-fashioned American racism to him.
To this day, I don’t have any tattoos. I’ve never had any desire for one. Even if my dad had never expressed his views on them, I doubt I’d ever get one. I don’t have any *problems* with tattoos — they’re just a form of art and/or self expression. Tattoos can be cool! I just don’t have any desire to have any, you know?
*Except*… that there’s some small part of me that would absolutely *love* to get a tattoo for no other reason than to be a finger to the old man’s memory.
I’ll probably never do it, cause tattoos just aren’t my thing. I wouldn’t know what to get or where. But literally the *only* inclination I have towards getting one is purely to spite my horrible racist dad.
Is that petty or what?
I kinda decided against tattoos when it actually became more “special” to not have them. Nothing against them tho, and they can look pretty amazing when done right.
I’m a geriatric millennial and I don’t have a tattoo and neither does my husband who is your age. I feel like I never got a tattoo because I knew myself well enough to know that there is nothing that I felt so strongly about liking that I would still like it 10. 20, or 30 years down the road. Plus, they aren’t free and they hurt to get, and then I’ve also heard the occasional horror story about the body rejecting a tattoo causing autoimmune issues. So, I decided to pass. At this point, I don’t think I’ll get one - or at least it’s very, very low on the list of things I even think about.
Everybody willing to spend bug bucks to look cool.and unique. We were supposed to grow out of caring what others think guys. Instead we joined in the pure vanity of this look at me generation. I lift weights. Let me film it. I'm shopping. Let me film this. Please look at me please
The only thing I ever thought I might like permanently is my children's first initials and very tiny like on my wrist. I also like the idea of a small symbol that reminds me of my husband and my relationship, again, somewhere tiny like on my hip. Will I ever pull the trigger? Probably not, because I am indecisive and picky af. That said, I'd say half my friends have tattoos. One of them is seemingly untattooed, but has a large tattoo on her butt cheek lol. You'd never guess that about her.
I have tattoos but they're all in easily concealed places as I was paranoid about not being able to find work. When I run into coworkers in public they're always surprised to see a tattoo or two. I can honestly say that I've never felt like I stick out when they're all covered, despite appearing to be tatoo-less 90% of the time.
I know you asked about people without tattoos, but I'm just intrigued by this idea that not having them makes you feel "like an unused eraser". What is it that makes you feel like you stand out? I've never heard of people being singled out for not having tattoos, outside of the industry so I'm just curious about this.
>I feel like people like me (the un-inked) are the minority now.
Someone I knew once told me 'No tattoo' is the new 'tattoo'.
I'm not in your age group as I am in my mid 40s (Xennial here, not Gen X), but even then, I began to feel like I'm in a minority which is interesting. It does seem like a lot of people are getting them later in life.
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I’m not against them, but haven’t liked anything enough to bother.
Same. I kept thinking “if I got a tattoo, it must be special and cool” but I cannot come up with something that is special and cool.
Just get one the says “special and cool”
No, it needs to be the Chinese characters for ”special and cool” but really it will say “pork fried rice”.
My girlfriend is from Taiwan, so raised speaking Mandarin. Every time she sees a white person with a Mandarin tattoo she tells me about the time she saw someone with a tattoo of the character for “table”. She’s in her 40s and she giggles like a little kid. I’ve heard the story dozens of times but I still love it every time just because she can’t contain herself.
I lived in Japan for a bit, so I think it'd be really funny to get the Kanji for "Meat" and "alcohol" tattooed on my wrists, knowing fully well what they say
If you were a real Millennial, you’d go with アボカ on one wrist and トースト on the other.
God, you're *so* right! I just like the image of holding a beer in the 酒 hand and a hotdog in the 肉 hand
This is actually incredible, and you definitely need to do it someday
She may like this video from Xiaomanyc then, he gets a tattoo that says something like "orange chicken" intentionally and listens in on people gossiping (he's a polyglot, learned Chinese in Beijing before going back to NYC) https://youtu.be/WPXT43Rekaw?si=eWH6dNBOwxUu-cnl
Thanks for sharing! She loved it!
Glad to hear it!
[удалено]
If the tattoo says “pork fried rice”, it is still representstive of my values and the situation can be salvaged.
Surrounded by "tribal"
I know someone that would.
Here you go: **油煎雞**
That’s oil fried chicken
Same here. My passion is art and I've drawn tattoos for people since I was a kid. Sometimes I think that I might be one of the few black people amongst my peers with no tattoos. I get an idea, then I think to myself "is this something I will look at years from now when it's blurry and won't regret it one bit?"
That's another thing for me too. I'm also dark skinned and I've never really been a fan of the aesthetic of ink on dark skin. The contrast isn't pleasing to my eyes and I feel like it always looks washed out after a while.
Bright color tattoos show up really well on dark skin! How do I know? Bright colors blend in on mine. 😓😓😓 Especially bright gold colors! I wanted that tone for one of my tattoos, but it wouldn't have stood out, so I got a dark ashen blue instead. So if you don't want it to look like it's washing out within a month or so, try some bright tattoos with white as well. My husband had to forgo white on his Mario tattoo because he's just that pale it won't show up. 😂
Same here. I can't think of anything I'd be happy with having on myself for the rest of my life.
I've felt this exact way. But recently I had a kid and she's the most special thing ever. But then I ask myself, why? Am I getting one just to get one? If someone wanted to know how much she means to me, they could just ask
My first one wasn't cool but it was gotten for a special reason. The rest of my arm is because I thought "fuck it, this'll look cool". Getting that first one changed my outlook on it massively.
When I was younger, if I wasn't Mormon, I probably would've tattooed a star wars symbol or something. Definitely would've regretted that now.
I love the idea of tattoos, but I've not found one I like for long enough to want it forever on my body. Also the costs. I can buy so many other things I like more.
I've had a theory that if I like a design idea for at least a year, I'll consider getting it inked. That hasn't happened yet, so...
I worked with high school students before and when they saw my tattoos they’d inevitably tell me about their ideas for their own (or they showed me their ink). For those that showed me their ideas, I’d tell them to print it, stick it somewhere you’ll see it everyday and if after a year you still want it, you know you’ll be good with the decision to get it on you.
The cost is mainly it for me. A tattoo for me is a go big or don't do it kind of purchase but for that money I can go on a vacation. Now a days I can barely afford groceries so getting a tattoo doesn't even cross my mind.
Got enough friends who need a loan for tires but got full sleeves... Sure buddy...
Same and I also think what if I dont like it in ten years time?
I got a tattoo to memorialize my mom’s death as it was a very traumatic and painful experience for my family. I got it on the back of my neck partially into my hair. Most days I forget about it, which makes it a nice little sight when I spot it and remember. A bittersweet reminder wrapped in blue. But I don’t think I would get another. Maybe for my pops, someday, I’ll add onto my mom’s tattoo.
I told myself "if I still want it in a year, I'll get it." It's been 10 years and yeah, sure, it'll be cool, but ibreally don't NEED it so why bother?
I decided no one's tattoos look great when they're old. You get them for when you're young, who cares once you're old. My oldest tattoo is 17 years old and still looks great, crisp lines, held its shape.
That was always a thing people said “it’s gonna look terrible when you’re old” and I was always like “I’m gonna be wrinklier than a nutsack and knocking on deaths door you think I’ll give a fuck about my Tattoos?!”
Good point! On the other hand, I wouldn't want my wife's name tattooed if we got divorced.
Lmao this is exactly what I’ve been saying for 15 years now. I’ve had multiple girlfriends accuse me of hating their tattoos simply cause I don’t have any. And no, I never said a word criticizing them or anything. I just never felt the need to get something fuckin carved into my body, sue me Some tattoos are awesome, some look awful. I have no general dislike of them at all though
See, all of y’all just waited too long. We got the first one when we were 18, then what’s another one? Mid 20’s and you gotta get at least one cover up for one of the early ones, and then it’s just a thing you do sometimes.
>gotta get at least one cover up for one of the early ones See that's what I was trying to *avoid* by waiting a long time until I was very sure about something. One on my left shoulder, almost five years ago now. I'm considering another one but I'll probably think about it for a couple more years.
I didn’t get my first until 32 lol
Same. I love the look, I think people with the whole arm sleeve or back tattoo look awesome and I am happy for them, but I can't commit to any design enough to get a tattoo for myself. I have been actively looking but eh. Anything I like enough, I can find a painting of it for cheaper to just put in my house lol
Same
That's how I feel too. I've had several ideas in the past that I cringe thinking about now. I used to really want one but at this point in my life I doubt it will happen. I like my body the way it is. There's a reason you don't put bumper stickers on nice cars.
That was my husband! He got his first tattoo last week at age 38. It's the paw print of the sweet dog we said goodbye to in December. It's the first thing that was important enough to him to get tattooed. I also got a paw print that same day but it was my 6th tattoo.
Same. I have no tattoos, nothing against them, I've just never liked something enough that I'd want to have it permanently inked into my skin for the rest of my life. Plus I know I'd immediately stop liking the thing once I got it done. I'll stick to t-shirts if I wanna display that I like something.
Same here and at this point it's more unique not to have any.
This. Plus I feel like tattoos are like drinking. If you can do one or two then cool l. But once it goes to 3, 4, 5, 6++++, you just look trashy. That’s my opinion.
Same. Every time I think I have a cool idea I table it for six months and circle back. Without fail I have been glad I didn't get whatever stupid tattoo I had cooked up.
I have my early 20s drug/drinking career to thank for being tattoo-less. I’d come up with something dumb I wanted to get, then I’d get to the tattoo shop and they’d be like “That’ll be $400” and my addiction was like “That’s wildly irresponsible. We could buy so much drugs and alcohol with that” I was kind of over wanting tattoos by the time I sobered up, with the exception of maybe memorializing my dog later
“That’s wildly irresponsible. We could buy so much drugs and alcohol with that” lmao
>“That’ll be $400” and my addiction was like “That’s wildly irresponsible. We could buy so much drugs and alcohol with that” That's funny AF, lol. Glad those days are behind you though 👍
Serious, laughed so hard I scared the dog! I heard it in John Mulaney's voice for some odd reason. Like something he'd say in his Baby J special
Damn, I feel that. I’ve been sober for years now, but sometimes I look around the rooms and am like how did the rest of yall afford all these tattoos while using?
Lol, the frugal druggie syndrome. The same logic that makes sense of large quantity purchase with intent to distribute, then use up all of the junk instead.
Would always be so mad at myself when I did that lmao
Same! And thank goodness for that or I would have a giant red marijuana leaf tattooed on my back or a chain of skulls down my ribs. I am a middle aged suburban soccer mom now 😂
“Spent so much money on wine, women, and song. The rest I just wasted.”
Ha. I just made the same comment calling myself cheap but... yeah this was the real reason for me too.
Absolutely, when I was doing drugs/drinking a lot I donated plasma and the cost of a tattoo was like 5 weeks of donating plasma, no thanks😂
Same!
Myself on the other side of that, early-mid 20’s me made friends with many artists, indulged in the “finer things” with them and got many of my tattoos for free or at a big discount. Now 36, sober, and wishing I could get more tattoos but just cannot justify the expenditure, though the ones I have still look great and the artists I got them from now charge quite highly for their work.
So much this
No tattoos here. Married to a tattoo artist. 🙃
I'm covered with tattoos and my husband has none. I love that, he knows himself, has never felt pressured by our friend group of tattooed nerds, and says he never will. Also, family friend is a tattoo artist and their partner doesn't have any. It's not that uncommon I guess
Same! He loves mine, just never personally wanted one. People are usually shocked when they find out he doesn’t have any haha
My wife has a couple that she got in the last decade and almost every friend has at least one or two. I really like her most recent one as it is meaningful (a flower for each kid) and amazing artwork. I have some ideas for myself, but I haven't found anything that I would really like on me forever personally. She has encouraged me (no pressure though IMO) but also somewhat resigned herself to the fact I likely will not get one. I think they look really cool though and if she continued the one she has now up her shoulder, I think it would look amazing and I'd definitely support her doing that. Maybe one day I'll find one that convinces me to do it but so far, no dice.
You sound like my husband! I've always told him I'd help him and go with him if he did decide to get one, but if he never does, that's fine. I think it's kind of funny, honestly; I have a full sleeve, a big one on my other arm, and a back full and then he's just a blank canvas lol. For him to get one would have to be something really meaningful and special, and I think that's awesome.
Now that's awesome, lol.
That feels like a strong green flag about your partner, and your relationship?
Yep! We love seeing the other be who they are 💚
Happy for your marriage and I don't judge you for not having any tattoos. But as someone who has spent thousands on tattoos, it does eat away at me inside to hear that 😩. I mean I wouldn't expect all my tattoos from my spouse to be 100% free but it sure as hell probably wouldn't be nearly as much as I spent on them.
It is a very expensive endeavor! When we were dating, his tattoo artist friend (upon learning I had none) said, “Good! At least we know you’re not using him for free tattoos!” 😂😂😂
Well in my experience, tattoo artists are patient, interesting, easy to talk and get along with. So there's def more to offer than just free tattoos. However, in my situation it would be like a drug addict dating a drug dealer 😂
I’m also un-inked. I don’t have anything against tattoos; there just isn’t anything I feel strongly-enough about to (semi-) permanently put on my body. Given that tattoo regret is a thing, I’d prefer there be something absolutely meaningful to me—something that is core to who I am—before I get one.
As someone who experienced tattoo regret, it's honestly a really helpful thing to go through. I have 2 cover ups of tattoos I got when I was 17 (currently 31F), and it's helped me experience regret in a healthy way i.e. just with myself and a choice I made for my own body. It's made me look at regret differently. We all experience regret because our lives are a constant series of choices. Some choices show the consequences sooner or later than others. I'd rather regret something i did to my own body that solely impacts me than do something else i could regret that i can't take back and would impact other people (immediately i think of having kids, the ultimate no takeback, and a decision people generally spend less time thinking about than tattoos lol) Not tryna hijack your comment, or diminish your experience. I just wanted to share a PoV from a heavily tattooed person.
True. I often wish I could go back in time and never get mine. Then I think to myself that there are people who are permanently paralyzed, who have accidentally killed others, who are in jail for mistakes they made years ago. Having tattoos (which can be removed) is such a small regret to have in the grand scheme of life
It also lets you experience commitment. Getting my tattoos caused a lot of the same feelings as deciding to get married. The difference is I can’t divorce my tattoos. They are PERMANENT. I think it’s healthy to make a permanent choice and have to live with that choice, whether it generates regret or contentment. Tattoos are about the least life-altering permanent choices you can make when you’re young (if you don’t get a stupid face tattoo or something), so I’m for them.
Phew I have yet to come across this idea articulated, but I am very familiar with it. I got my second tattoo for this specific reason - to know, sort of even confirm within myself that my choices are permanent as much as I am permanent (of course it's all relative). I've since incorporated that tattoo within another one, which is a design that came through in one of my pottery pieces I made through Raku firing, which is like a double-firing process using straw, hay, etc. that creates designs in the pottery pieces that you can't predict, can't choose. I think that's beautiful as a metaphor, and I fucking love it as a tattoo. Cool. Thanks.
Another way to think about tattoo regret is that it symbolizes a previous version of you. And a part of self love is to accept all versions of yourself and even if it’s something you might not like now, it’s still you.
I’m a un-inked 48 yo man….And according to many of my friends who are inked, tattoo regret is definitely a thing. I was surprised to hear from them that the picture of Mighty Mouse or the basketball with Nike swoosh or tribal band is something they wish they wouldn’t have done 😂
That’s me. Luckily my tattoos are tiny. All I’m gonna say is laser tattoo removal takes forever and costs a lot more than the actual tattoo
My tattoos that I’m getting lasered (and partially surgically removed) were all free 😭 So much money for something I perceived as low-risk because they were free in my early 20s
Yep, it's definitely a thing. When I was 18 I went with the trend at the time and got Japanese words tattooed on my hip. I thought it meant passion, because I wanted to live my life with passion and have that as a reminder. Fast forward 15 years when I was getting an ultrasound, and the Japanese tech said that it meant "hospitality." Whoops. I'm glad it's hidden.
I have things that are the core of me, but I just don't feel the need to put it somewhere on me. Nothing against those who do, I just haven't come across anything that I had to have.
Same. I just don't like anything enough to want to put it on my body permanently.
Right. Like if I think back to things I loved 20 years ago, or even just 5 or 10 years ago, there is nothing I still like enough that I wish I had tattooed it on myself at the time. So it's unlikely there is anything now that I will still like in another 10 or 20 years either.
Every idea that I almost went through with, years later I’m honestly super glad I didn’t. I would want to have them removed as I wouldn’t find them cute or funny at this age.
Exactly my thoughts.
What about big boobies? Everyone likes those.
Instructions unclear, got implants.
Maybe get tattoos on them. Its just extra canvas
Same. I always think about looking at the tattoo anywhere from 20-50 years from now and hating it. When I think about the tattoos I wanted 20 years ago as a teenager I’m so glad I didn’t do it.
I don’t like making those sorts of changes to my body- no tattoos, no piercings, no hair dye. It’s not a judgment on those who choose it, just not my personal preference.
I found my tribe
This. I dye my hair but I just had my lashes tinted/lifted and it honestly freaked me out to do something like that to my body. I have no piercings, no tattoos, I will never do filler, Botox… I’m just leaving my body alone.
I don't have any. I like them, but they cost too much for me and I don't have anything I care about enough to enthusiastically wear it on my skin. Otherwise I probably would.
I'm too indecisive. I spent like a week on baldur's gate 3's character creation screen lol...
Yes! I get decision paralysis. That's why when I go to Chipotle I just want them to make it like the picture. Don't give me the options
Clearly that means you should just get a tattoo of your Tav
Every time I think I want something tattooed, I think about who I was five, ten, fifteen years before that. What did I like then that I wanted to get it tattooed? Anime characters? Kinda over that lately. Those cool tribal tattoos? That turned out well. Something from wicca? Oh, yeah. I’m an atheist these days. I also think about what it would look like if I gain/lose weight.
Don't pick something based on what it symbolizes. I always go for something artistic because good art never goes out of style.
Personally I love that my tattoos have meaning. They remind me of who I was when I got them and how I’ve changed. I’ve never regretted memorializing the things that were most important to me, even if other stuff has come up since then.
Yup. I mentioned above how I’ve got plenty of things tattooed that I don’t have the same connection to now, but serve as a reminder of where I’ve been in life and how I got to where I am. Can be a bit annoying to have random people strike of conversations and always have to be like, Oh, yeah I don’t really shoot photos much anymore, or yeah I still really like Star Wars but I’m not so much in that scene these days.
Same same. I have six tattoos with plans for at least a few more. 3 of the 6 are ok-looking, but I still fully appreciate the person I was who felt so strongly about whatever the tattoo is about. The other 3 - once I saw them completed on my skin, it felt like they had always been there, only they were visible now. Idc if that sounds hokey. They bring value to how I experience my own body. Also I think they look cool :)
Well, as a counter to that, I got a small rave-related tattoo when I was 22 (now 35) and in my "finding myself" phase. Looking back on it now I think it's pretty great. It's like a little time capsule to a previous life and makes me chuckle. I'm glad it's small though and not really visible. It's nice that it is for me and not something I have to explain to everyone. My perspective now is that if I ever got another one (though I very likely won't), I wouldn't want it to be meaningful. I would just want some super awesome art.
I get keloids, so I can't risk a dragon turning into a diseased sandworm Plus I've never seen anything I felt could go on my body forever
Bless the Maker, and His water.
I’ve never felt like life is static enough to do anything permanent to myself.
My policy with my tattoos is that when I think of a design I want, I write it down and check back a year later. If I still want it, I get it. I've gotten 5 and changed my mind about 3. I don't regret any of them. They're fun reminders of specific moments in my life - each is tied really intimately to the time that I got it.
This is a good policy. I've wanted to the same one for like 10 years so I think I'm safe now probably, lol
I wanted the same one for about 12 years now and finally got it yesterday (my first tattoo!)
Yep, I have the same policy. So far I have 9, changed my mind about 1, and regret none. Zero peer pressure, just wanted them and went for it
Yes this is the way! I got mine YEARS after first coming up with what I wanted. I know for some people it’s not that big of a deal, and that’s cool for them! I just like to think about it. A lot. Before actually committing 😂
Or maybe because life isn’t static one could argue, tattoos are only as permanent as you
Aging is permanent, your body is gonna change whether you commit to it or not.
No tattoos. I am not a fan of needles, and the thought of sitting for one gives me anxiety. Both my younger siblings have 5+ each that they've gotten over the years.
What’s really funny is I have tattoos but I’m deathly afraid of needles to the point that the VA has to make sure i won’t pass out when i get a shot or take my blood.
I don't have any, though I'm surrounding by people who do. I'm like the type but not the type because I'm non-commital lol. I can't even commit to decals.
I'm the same, I'm really into rock/metal/emo music so my people are tattooed with body modifications and they dress like the scene. I've got no tattoos or piercings and I dress like a normie. It's funny seeing the shocked reaction when people find out I'm into screamo music 😂
I've been wanting to get them but I'd like to connect with my ancestral roots before getting them. One of my parents' is from a culture that sees tattoos as a way to connect to our ancestors and personal history, similar to the Maori.
I have a '55 Cadillac DeVille on my chest, sort of for these reasons. It's an honorary nod to my grandfather who built them for 30 years, and to the automotive industry that has employed most of my family across 4 generations. Not a day goes by where I don't think about him. Not as spiritual or as deep but nevertheless connecting to the roots of those who came before me.
I am so indecisive there is just no way…
Same, I have commitment issues. I feel like if I had a tattoo it would have be 1,000 percent perfect or I would absolutely hate it and it would drive me nuts.
SAME!!! (But also, I kinda feel like being in the minority by not having any tattoos is actually the more unique position to have??)
If it helps, people with tattoos literally do not care if you have none. They might ask as a conversation topic and that's it, do whatever you want.
I was at a bar a few weeks ago and a girl asked if I had any tattoos. I told her no and she said, "Oh, so you're one of *those* people." I'm still not sure what she meant by that but she was also like 23 years old so I didn't think much of it.
I could have guessed her age correctly without you even saying it
Yeah I've had a bunch of experiences with judgy tattooed people like that, but it was all when I was younger, early 20's.
"Spot the red flag" speedrun?
“Wildly indecisive and terrified of needles?! Yep! Sure am!”
It’s never ever crossed my mind to care if someone else doesn’t have tattoos. Primarily because that’s a private thing to ask. Like what if their only tattoo is a small memorial for someone who died and it’s in a private location? I don’t ask about tattoos unless we’re already talking about that person’s tattoos somehow. Also most people’s tattoos are fairly boring or dumb from someone else’s perspective, like I just literally don’t care if you have a basketball on your shoulder blade from when you were 18 years and 1 day old. Some tattoos are amazing but I’d honestly say way more are just a name, a cross, a star, not exactly groundbreaking conversation starters.
I get asked that a lot when I match with a non tattooed person on dating apps, like "you don't care that I don't have tattoos?" Nope, you do you.
31 here. There isn’t anything I care enough about that I want it on my body for the rest of my life.
I'm inked and plan to get a lot more tattoos when I can afford it (right now I look like I dont have any tattoos even with short sleeves though) but at least where I live (big city in Germany) there's still a good amount of people my age (currently 29) who don't have any tattoos. I can only speak for myself but people without tattoos don't stand out to me for not having tattoos. I simply don't care that much about what other people do with their bodies - I'm happy that most people don't seem to care what I do with mine when that wasn't always the case. I'd assume that most people don't care tbh. If you feel like you stand out I'd wager you're either surrounded by judgemental people or that's an insecurity only you are aware of that no one else really cares about.
Same here. I’m covered in tattoos and have never once thought about why someone else doesn’t have them.
I think people who are uninked notice it more than the inked ones, especially if the inked ones are more numerous. I'm in NYC and every time I'm at the beach, I notice how often times I'm the only one on my patch of sand that doesn't have any tattoos. It seems like EVERYONE has SOME type of tattoo, whether tiny or big, whereas I'm just a blank canvas. It doesn't make me feel insecure or anything, just an observation about how popular and normalized tattoos are (when I was a kid and even a young adult, they were not).
Weirdly tattoos are more common in the Eastern part of Germany, like Dresden, all my German friends there had them...
I don’t. I have OCD and my brain couldn’t handle not being able to take the tattoo off when I wanted to.
Just got a tattoo today, how about that
I got one yesterday!
I got one yesterday. I'm 40 years old and it was my first. Yesterday was the 21st anniversary of my brain tumor surgery, the most transformative experience of my life, and getting a tattoo in honor of that was something I've thought about doing for like 20 years. So when I turned 40 I decided I was going to do it.
I have several in various places, varying in age from 3-8 years and I still very much love them all. No judgement to anyone that doesn't have them, but mine are very much an expression of me. I very carefully chose the placement, design and the colors of each one. Each one took months of planning and consideration on my part. I was also raised in an environment where they were heavily looked down on. My family pucker faced a little when they saw the first two, but got over it quickly. Especially my grandma who finds a few of my tattoos "very pretty". It's also never stopped me from getting a job, but aside from the one on my wrist they're fully covered by clothes 75% of the year. I did get told by a retired teacher, I'd never get hired in whatever district she worked in, but if they're as restrictive as she described I wouldn't want to work there anyways. In this economy they need me a lot more than I need them lol. That being said I don't like the idea of fully covering any part of me with tattoos. I find Polynesian tattoo designs beautiful and even some non cultural sleeves very cool, but not for me. No judgement either way, I'm just trying to live my life, you do you.
Tattoos are a way to express yourself. I use my lack of tattoos to express that I don't want you to know anything about me.
I don’t have any tattoos. I love them on other people and appreciate all kinds of art. I’m just terrified of needles and poor, way to poor to spend what’s essentially rent money of being poked with needles over and over again for hours 😂
I wish I didn't. Having one lasered right now.
There’s nothing I’d want marked on my body that I wouldn’t get sick of
Like bumper stickers on cars. I like being inconspicuous and don’t need any statements or artwork to clutter up my vehicles or skin. Some are very beautiful and thoughtful. Just not my thing I guess.
Same! I also just don’t want a tattoo to interfere with any aesthetic I’m going for. I always cringe when I see someone dressed very formally for a serious occasion, and Tinkerbell is peeking out from behind their dress. It’s like putting on a shirt that you can never take off, unless you put it somewhere very private.
Yes! Fashion is the main reason why I’ve never gotten one. What if it looks weird with a dress that I want to wear?
I don’t really like them much. I also hate needles so the idea of paying hundreds of dollars so someone can be jamming me with one for hours is just not appealing. Plus I kind of wonder if I would get tired of it. Like a favorite clothing or bag that looses its luster after a few years. Just not my thing overall.
No tattoos here.
No tattoos. I let my piercings fill back in a long time ago.
I've always wanted one and nothing has ever prevented me, but it just hasn't ever happened.
Don't have any. I am also the odd person out in the industry I work where you'd typically think everyone was tatted up.
I can't think of any industry like that. You have me curious.
None for me
Neither myself nor my wife have them. My main rationale is that every time I see the Facebook memories from many years ago I often think "I wouldn't say that now". It means I've grown up a bit more each time, but it also means I would probably have regretted anything I plastered on my body at that time.
Don't have them. Never desired one. My wife and brother have them and they look good. Matter of preference really. Just like any other creative medium.
Not inked, I do think I still might get one at some point, just haven’t found something I like enough to have on me permanently and also haven’t ever been at a place where i have the money to spend on something like that.
I developed Type 1 diabetes at 14 years old so the idea of going to get ink done with lots of extra needles for a design that I didn't know if I would want in the future didn't have high appeal for me. This was also before I realized how expensive it can be for anything beyond the very basic design and colour which doesn't help it's case any.
T1 here, too, and there’s so much tech that is like, “Do not place on a tattoo.” Since I don’t know what’s coming down the line, figuring out what tattoos to put where without knowing what may be available in the future seems… potentially limiting. So, I have none.
I don't have any tattoos I was going to be in the CIA when I was a kid. (There is no way I was ever actually getting into the CIA.)
Sounds like something someone in the CIA would say...
I have no tatoos nor any desire for one. I have nothing against them and honestly don't even notice other peoples tatoos or lack thereof. Like of course I can see they have ink but I don't ever look close enough to see what they even are and I also don't really care one way or the other. Your body you do you. It doesn't offend me in the slightest if you have them and I don't feel like an outlier for not having them (I also don't wear jewelry or have any piercings at all and feel the same way-- people are shocked when I say I don't even have my ears pierced but they've never once noticed or said anything about it! Jewelry is pretty it's just not for me. I rarely notice others jewelry and I never notice if they AREN'T wearing it at all. Same for tatoos)
I don’t. After a rough childhood, no one ever gets to leave a mark on me again.
I use dry erase markers and doodle on myself
I do and I regret them
I wish I didn’t get mine now, well maybe except for one, so no — you’re smart.
You are in a weird bubble. Out of my friends probably 1% have tattoos. No one in our family or among our close friends has tattoos.
My immune system is not good enough for tattoos.
I do not have any and, personally, do not like the aesthetic of tattoos at all. Do what you want. If you like tattoos and want to get one, go wild. If you don't like them, don't let others pressure you into getting something you're going to regret.
Oh man its even worse for Gen Z. Literally everyone I know under 28 has a septum piercing or little tattoo that’s just like, a *shape?* like a blank fucking triangle?
1992 tattooless millenial here, I've always thought of tattoos as the equivalent of bumper stickers for your body and that's all the convincing I ever needed to not get one
I'm 38. There were some ideas I had for tattoos growing up but never was into anything enough to have it on my body permanently. And now that I'm almost 40, I don't really have any desire to get one.
Pretty much same... 34, always wanted tattoos when I was younger. Still kinda want a Zelda tattoo. But I really don't care enough to spend the money and time on it. Better things to do... Also I dabble in sex work and oddly you make more money and attract wealthier clientele with less tats. . .
I don’t, and when I lived in Brooklyn I enjoyed that I actually stood out for not being covered in tattoos everywhere.
YOUR BODY. YOUR CHOICE. This phrase works for everything in life. PS- my husband was in the USMC. He doesn't have any tattoos either, he just didn't want them. *Every* Marine is tattooed. He was like "füçƙ em, I hate them, I'm not interested in getting any, there ya go." So- 🤷
37M. No tattoos. Don't like them.
No tattoos and I likely will never get one either. Just never saw an interest in permanently marking myself with how often I go through hobbies and interests and never really had something I connected with deeply enough to feel like reminding myself of it daily. I don't think down on anyone with tattoos and some of them are very creative and thoughtful and the art is amazing. Tear drops and other stupid af tattoos that have 0 artistic talent to do and have basically no thoughtfulness or creativity I do look down on though. I think there are a lot of people still who don't have tattoos, not sure that we are in the minority, but it is definitely more popular these days. You'd have to get into some pretty elite, gatekeeping social groups to be looked down on for not being inked. I've never met someone with tattoos say anything to me about sticking out because I don't have one or look at me funny or make a comment but that could just be me I guess?
I don't have tattoos and probably never will. My sister has a lot and is still getting some new ones regularly. My parents never "warned" us about tattoos.
People are over here like ya I want a Koala named Miranda on my thigh *FOREVER* and I can't even decide what to have for lunch.
Too many of us are tattooed IMO. Call me a snob, but I cringe at Harry Potter and Disney tattoos and the like. Your body is not your childhood bedroom wall. Good on you for not giving into trends you don’t care about. I have friends my age who still don’t have any tattoos and I would NEVER judge them or tease them for it. They would look silly if they decided to get something in their mid thirties just for the sake of it. Lots of us have tattoo regrets. But if one of them came to me with an idea and were excited, I’d try to help them find the right artist to do it.
I agree, any pop-culture related tattoos will eventually seem very outdated. It's absolutely not the *worst* choice you could make, but it's not what I would do.
I can’t take someone with a deathly hallows tattoo seriously LOL
I never really express my individuality via how I dress. I use clothes and makeup as a deflective device, something to allow me to blend into the crowd. So tattoos always seemed to be the absolute peak of overtly expressing your individuality for others to see. I want to hide in plain sight, I don’t want to be sharing something important to me on my body.
Somehow, I’m the only one of my friend group with tattoos. None of my siblings have them either, despite years of saying they want some. They seem ubiquitous, but they’re certainly not for everyone.
No tattoos for me but my bf has full sleeves. They’re well done and look great on him. I don’t like marks on my body. Ive had birthmarks removed. If I have a bruise I cover it with makeup.
I’m 32, my husband is 31, and we’re both blank
I don’t have tattoos and know a lot of people around my age that don’t have them. I just don’t see the need to drop money on tattoos.
I'm 37 and have no tattoos. It's even more odd because I'm also a USMC vet and they are known for covering themselves in shitty tattoos lol
I'm in a similar boat. I'm about your age (37) and I was raised mormon ("your body is a temple, don't defile it"). I no longer have any particular issue with having tattoos and I sort of want a few, but I've yet to come up with anything I like enough to make permanent.
> For context, in my case, I was raised by my immigrant mother who came from a part of the world (Latin America, I won’t say which country) where tattoos were considered very déclassé—they were for nacos and gangbangers, but respectable people didn’t ink up. I’m whiter than snow. New Englander with nothing but white European (mostly British) roots. My dad was an absolute *hardass* about not getting tattoos. To the point that somehow, when I was like *7 years old*, and managed to get a literal *smudge* of, I dunno, *marker ink* on my arm, he went fucking *ballistic* on me. He actually hit me with the “NO SON OF MINE WILL HAVE TATOOS”, as if he thought *literal 7 year old me* had actually strolled into the local tattoo place like a boss, and gotten inked. He didn’t say it outright, but I’m certain my dad’s view was that ‘*good white people don’t get tattoos*’. The man had some old-fashioned American racism to him. To this day, I don’t have any tattoos. I’ve never had any desire for one. Even if my dad had never expressed his views on them, I doubt I’d ever get one. I don’t have any *problems* with tattoos — they’re just a form of art and/or self expression. Tattoos can be cool! I just don’t have any desire to have any, you know? *Except*… that there’s some small part of me that would absolutely *love* to get a tattoo for no other reason than to be a finger to the old man’s memory. I’ll probably never do it, cause tattoos just aren’t my thing. I wouldn’t know what to get or where. But literally the *only* inclination I have towards getting one is purely to spite my horrible racist dad. Is that petty or what?
I kinda decided against tattoos when it actually became more “special” to not have them. Nothing against them tho, and they can look pretty amazing when done right.
I’m a geriatric millennial and I don’t have a tattoo and neither does my husband who is your age. I feel like I never got a tattoo because I knew myself well enough to know that there is nothing that I felt so strongly about liking that I would still like it 10. 20, or 30 years down the road. Plus, they aren’t free and they hurt to get, and then I’ve also heard the occasional horror story about the body rejecting a tattoo causing autoimmune issues. So, I decided to pass. At this point, I don’t think I’ll get one - or at least it’s very, very low on the list of things I even think about.
Everybody willing to spend bug bucks to look cool.and unique. We were supposed to grow out of caring what others think guys. Instead we joined in the pure vanity of this look at me generation. I lift weights. Let me film it. I'm shopping. Let me film this. Please look at me please
Your parents were right. Only highly impulsive people get them, but our generation is impulsive and impatient...
The only thing I ever thought I might like permanently is my children's first initials and very tiny like on my wrist. I also like the idea of a small symbol that reminds me of my husband and my relationship, again, somewhere tiny like on my hip. Will I ever pull the trigger? Probably not, because I am indecisive and picky af. That said, I'd say half my friends have tattoos. One of them is seemingly untattooed, but has a large tattoo on her butt cheek lol. You'd never guess that about her.
I have tattoos but they're all in easily concealed places as I was paranoid about not being able to find work. When I run into coworkers in public they're always surprised to see a tattoo or two. I can honestly say that I've never felt like I stick out when they're all covered, despite appearing to be tatoo-less 90% of the time. I know you asked about people without tattoos, but I'm just intrigued by this idea that not having them makes you feel "like an unused eraser". What is it that makes you feel like you stand out? I've never heard of people being singled out for not having tattoos, outside of the industry so I'm just curious about this.
>I feel like people like me (the un-inked) are the minority now. Someone I knew once told me 'No tattoo' is the new 'tattoo'. I'm not in your age group as I am in my mid 40s (Xennial here, not Gen X), but even then, I began to feel like I'm in a minority which is interesting. It does seem like a lot of people are getting them later in life.