Stigmas?

[Dan S]

Getting stares because you're wearing something that has traditionally been jailhouse art, or other "outsider" type work is entirely on the wearer. To the people who have traditionally gotten things like spiderwebs, walls, teardrops, etc., they are specific indicators freighted with much significance.

I'm not saying don't get 'em, just to expect the stares and attitudes.

.02

[JeffK]

I live in Chicago, so as far as the general population goes, no one says anything negative to my face.

I work in a hospital that doesn't require me to hide my tattoos and that's where things get fun. Most of the time it's positive comments. Most of my patients are older too and they enjoy talking about them. I never get anything outright negative. If I do it's always subtle. "What does your mother think?" (which is fun since she has tattoos.) "I bet you regret that!" "Where you drunk?" "One day you'll regret it." Again, not a lot of that though.

The "meaning" is the worst though. All of a sudden I get a much different feel/look from the person when I don't have an answer for that. They can't BELIEVE I'd get something on my body forever without a long, boring meaning tagged on it.

The best was I had a patient and his friends talking about my tattoos when I was in the room, like I wasn't there. No big deal. Then one of them says "You know, I was at Walgreens and a young lady there had a tattoo right on her arm. I couldn't believe it!" Like Walgreens is some high class joint where employees click there heels. He made my day.

Oh, I'm also a fan of "what'll you do when you're 80?" Umm...be 80? Who cares, I'd be happy to be kicking!

[else]

I debated whether to put this under "feminism and tattoos" or "tattoos and the workplace" but finally settled here.

So... at work this morning I was showing off my new panther to the PTs and OTs when a (male) nurse walked in. He's pretty cool, one of my favorite nurses that works there.

At first he was totally complimentary "Look at you! That's ART!! That's AMAZING" and then he says "but you can't wear skirts anymore..."

and I must have looked at him like he was completely crazy because he stammered a bit and came out with "you can, but they'd have to be long right? you can't wear anything that would show those right?"

I can only imagine that my face was still saying "you are a complete and total idiot". The other therapists all had their eyebrows up to their hairlines behind his back...

Every time I saw him the rest of the day he was back to being super complimentary again... I have no idea where he got the idea that I would need to keep my legs hidden from view for the rest of my life.

(Oh! All 3 of the brothers that I can only tell apart by their sleeves were super stoked for me! I had to show each of them "one more time" all day long... none of them asked anything about future clothing choices - but one of them did ask "what are you planning to get next?")

[TrixieFaux]

At first he was totally complimentary "Look at you! That's ART!! That's AMAZING" and then he says "but you can't wear skirts anymore..."

and I must have looked at him like he was completely crazy because he stammered a bit and came out with "you can, but they'd have to be long right? you can't wear anything that would show those right?"

(Oh! All 3 of the brothers that I can only tell apart by their sleeves were super stoked for me! I had to show each of them "one more time" all day long... none of them asked anything about future clothing choices - but one of them did ask "what are you planning to get next?")

Do you think he just meant at work, thinking you might have a dress-code problem? But you said the dress code at your job is laid back, right? Hmmmm.... he's confused! :confused:

Tell him, "Quite the opposite! I'm going to have to go get some new shorter skirts and shorts to show this baby off!"

[else]

Do you think he just meant at work, thinking you might have a dress-code problem? But you said the dress code at your job is laid back, right? Hmmmm.... he's confused! :confused:

Tell him, "Quite the opposite! I'm going to have to go get some new shorter skirts and shorts to show this baby off!"

I wear scrubs at work - because I deal with people and their faces and sometimes "stuff" comes out...

That's pretty much what I did tell him! LOL! I told him I wanted to buy a whole bunch more skirts just so I could show them off!

[Dan S]

Tell him to wear his own damn long skirts.

[Caine22]

We have this stigma in our country that if you have a tattoo, they will consider you an excon or rather a low life who doesnt have any plans to get a life. This kind of thinking made me intimated with those people who have tattoos which are actually genuinely nice and professional people.

[David Flores]

We have this stigma in our country that if you have a tattoo, they will consider you an excon or rather a low life who doesnt have any plans to get a life. This kind of thinking made me intimated with those people who have tattoos which are actually genuinely nice and professional people.

What country do you live in?

[Michael Lounsbury]

I don't think it is nearly as bad as it used to be. Walk in any public place, professional or not, you can usually spot ink.

[HaydenRose]

Can I throw out there how much I hate this stigma:

"Look at the tattooed girl! She must be down for sex!!!"

^very literal translation BUT you get the idea. I get significantly more "cat calls" now that I have visible tattoos. I dread running errands in the summer (long sleeve shirts suck in NJ heat waves).

[Brock Varty]

Can I throw out there how much I hate this stigma:

"Look at the tattooed girl! She must be down for sex!!!"

^very literal translation BUT you get the idea. I get significantly more "cat calls" now that I have visible tattoos. I dread running errands in the summer (long sleeve shirts suck in NJ heat waves).

It is bullshit. Mostly just rude fucking people with no cuth.

[Delicious]

Yeah it is bullshit

[xmowglix]

There is an irony in people thinking you are a "broke low life" because of your tattoos, due to that fact that people with nice tattoos are usually spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to get tattooed, but this isn't understood by the general public.

In terms of the majority of my friends and people I know with tattoos they live a life where they work hard and have the means to pay bills, provide for a family, put food on the table, then are able to afford the luxury of getting tattooed.

Obviously there are exceptions to this view point, but it is especially true in the case of the people on this site that are paying top dollar to travel and get work done by world class tattooers. This is something that a good amount of people who are judging you wouldn't be able to afford, but people are ignorant and refuse to take the time to educate themselves.

[KegRN]

Can I throw out there how much I hate this stigma:

"Look at the tattooed girl! She must be down for sex!!!"

^very literal translation BUT you get the idea. I get significantly more "cat calls" now that I have visible tattoos. I dread running errands in the summer (long sleeve shirts suck in NJ heat waves).

I don't think that is just the women. I have a friend who's husband is constantly being hit on, right in front of her. As if this guy couldn't possibly be the faithful type. One waitress practically pulled out her boob to show him her tattoo. He put up his hand to block the view and said, "That's nice, now get my wife her pie."

[Recyclebjnx]

i trust in me... i do what i want

[Jack]

What the fuck are you talking about?

[tattslave]

At a takeout place that sold really good donairs near my home, I was a pretty much a regular and got great service. That all changed when I showed up in a shorts and a short sleeved shirt. It was no longer first come first served and how are you doing? it became you get served behind any else who comes in.

called them on it and they got all apologetic, but after the second time, I do not do any business there, and neither do my friends

[Gloomy Inks]

South Carolina, where I was at for an extremely short while, was the second to last state to lift the ban on tattooing, preceding Oklahoma by two years in 2005. When I was done with my apprenticeship I got "Drop Dead" on my knuckles, done by a great artist friend of mine. They didn't heal so well, so I've had them retouched and may add some color.

To spite what that might sound like a negative, I really didn't mean it that way. It's because I'm so "gorgeous", which if ya see me is even more funny since I look kinda like the bottom of some dude's foot who hasn't worn shoes in 25 years and works slopping hogs. I also got a very cool Rosy piece, and yes I bought the book from Hardy-Marks rather then doing an internet yoink, of his "black dog" which covers most of the left, tattooing, hand and goes up on my wrist covering part of a scar.

For those who don't don't know the lore of sea, if one sets his eyes on black dog, and tells another sailor, the sailor told will die within a year.

I think that's the reason Billy Bones keeled over in Treasure Island when young Jim Hawkins spoke to him of the pirate Black Dog. It's a harbinger, and I sorta like wearing the black hat. But I digress, back to South Carolina...

When I got up there it seemed that every 3rd person I met was an artist, or wanted to be. And that's how it roles when you can't legally get one. I saw some crazy stuff, like whole pieces done with a 8 shader that looked hashy and blown out to the max... but who am I to judge?

So I'm staying in this town out by I-95 in a hotel and waiting for these morons from the health dept, and DHEC, and the fire marshall, and the building inspector and whatnot to come out and check the place out, so I'm spending money I don't have on food, laundry, more food (I like to eat, what can I say?), smokes, gas and driving all over creation doing all this.

This town, being right on the side of the interstate is a wild place, not that I'm all that wild any more myself. I'd have a few cocktails at night and stay in, more content to draw or write then go crazy. You get one DUI and it makes you take pause, you know?

The cops in this county knew there was a shop opening (us, about 15 miles away) and as well there was another place opening too in the town I was staying in. The cops were tough here too, because of the lawless gang culture that was prevalent, as well the transient nature of the town itself. I'm from a tourist town, and although I'm very anti-authority, I understand it.

What I didn't think about was when I ashed my smoke out the car window, mind you I don't litter with the butts, but I'm not going to tap ashes all over the massive amount of change I seem to end up with in the ashtray either, my (gasp) TATTOOED HAND was out for all to see.

I see lights. No ticket, but I got questioned.

Then I got pulled over again. Same deal. "Where were you incarcerated when you got those?"

OK, did this guy miss a class, a memo, or is he too dumb to even turn off football and read a damned book? I mean really, they have "Lock Up" on MSNBC for near 72 hours on the weekends. I can understand trying to get away from work, but if I need to work on piece for a client and I can't sit at the shop, I have homework.

Obviously continuing education is NOT part of the job.

"They don't have colored ink in prison you know..." Said I.

Eight times this happened to me, and once there was a guy, in broad daylight, selling crack right across the road.

"You maybe wanna bust the guy slinging rock over there?" I asked.

"How do you know he's selling crack?" In a the super Joe Friday voice.

And these guys are no one to mess with, para military to the max, but down home Southern cops too. I'm not a rude guy, I say "Yes, Sir," I say, "No, Sir", even, "Thank you" to these guys. I call people Sir I've known for years. It's just how I was raised.

I blinked like a new born goat, "I don't know. Maybe because cars are stopping and he's leaning in windows?"

Back here in Florida where I was born and raised? Not a thing. I mean here if you have one tattoo people look at you like you had a full body suit in the '20s. I maybe get a nice little old lady asking me a question or two, but never, "How many bodies in your trunk Henry Lee Lucas?"

Bob Shaw said he regretted getting his hands done because he got looked at like he was a convict on the bus. I thought in this day and age we were past that, but I guess in some places, and nothing against the SC, or anywhere in the South at all, that stigma still holds up.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Gloomy Inks
I type faster than I think if I'm thinking at all.