Fat people with tattoos: Your thoughts

[Delicious]

So as some of you may know I am new here. I have one tattoo and plan on getting more. The only thing is, I am very fat. Like really big. And I never see big women be able to pull off tattoos... I even worry that my one tattoo on my shoulder may not look so good because I am a fat person.

Which leads me to my question:

what do you think about heavy people (like 250+) getting tattooed? Or rather, how do you think it looks on them? Is it different for fat men than fat women? If you are a tattooer, how do you feel about working with obese clients?

I have done alot of thinking and searching to see what people think, or feel and havent found much.

And I know tattoos are for the individual, not for others, but at the same time we all have a sense of aesthetics and what looks good on a person and what doesn't. We all judge by quality of the work done on a person but on a deeper level we also judge how it suits the person, or if the person looks ridiculous with a certain tattoo.

also before I forget, what about tattoo placement on an obese body? Im thinking you'd only be able to work with a few spots. The outer upper arm, the whole lower arm, shoulders, top of the chest, and legs below the knee. No full back, or stomach, or thigh tattoos, or inner arm. (I would love a thigh tattoo however)

[gougetheeyes]

You will look no more "ridiculous" with tattoos than anyone else! Get tattooed, get what you want, fuck the world. I don't tattoo so I can't answer your questions about working with skin and placement but I can't imagine it's that much of an obstacle.

@Shawn Porter posted a video a while back on his OV blog, an awesome awesome Dave Lum video, where his shop helper -- a woman -- was talking about how she hated her legs and her butt. How she was self conscious and never thought she'd get tattooed there, but once she did get some coverage on those areas, she loved them. Maybe the only big folks you're seeing with a significant amount of work have some not-so-great tattoos.. or maybe you're just freaking out cause you've only got one so far. But if you've got the itch, you've gotta scratch it, and everyone else can go to hell. Truly.

Apologies if this was too strongly worded.. I had the night off, some beers were consumed. The only people I don't like with a lot of tattoos are dickheads regardless of their tattoos.

[Delicious]

have you googled fat people with tattoos? they are are scratchtastic, and they dont look good. idk i wish i could see a good version of it.

[Amok]

I agree with @gougetheeyes.

[Delicious]

maybe i see it differently as i have lived a life of being over weight, and gougetheeyes is right when the only tattoos i have ever seen on people of my size have been terrible, and look weird on the especially big parts. maybe its just the scale on which the tattoos are done compared to the size of the area, but i have always been told never to get my arms or legs tattooed because i am too fat

[MadeIndelible]

If I am not mistaken, a lot of the fat ladies in circuses and ten-in-one shows at the turn of the century were also tattooed ladies. And, I would bet a lot of money that everyone here would agree with gougetheeyes.

[gougetheeyes]

If I am not mistaken, a lot of the fat ladies in circuses and ten-in-one shows at the turn of the century were also tattooed ladies.

Was gonna mention Millie Hull but on a quick perusal she doesn't look too big.. Fun project: everyone check your libraries tomorrow to see what we can find!

[MadeIndelible]

Quick Tumblr search:

[Chelsea Shoneck]

Most of the bigger tattooed ladies I have seen (or tattooed) had something tiny done on them. I am personally not a fan of teeny tiny tattoos on anybody (especially if they're of the super girly variety or consist of microscopic text) because I believe that bigger is better... and I believe the same for larger ladies too. When I see a big woman with a tiny butterfly on her ankle I think to myself how cool it would be if she had a giant tiger or panther or dagger/skull or something. I love the look of people with great tattoos no matter how many extra pounds they might be packing. And I have no doubt that when I have more extensive work on myself, I'll feel a little more comfortable in my own skin.

[Just Alex]

When I first started getting tattooed somebody suggested that it was odd that someone so skinny should get tattooed (I'm 5'10" and 140lb soaking wet). Go figure... I say your body size and shape shouldn't matter whatsoever in your decision as to whether or not to adorn your body with art.

At the end of the day there are fat trashy people with trashy tattoos, just as there are skinny trashy people with trashy tattoos. The subject matter, artist, choice of placement and how you present yourself are ultimately what matter, not how much you weigh.

[jade1955]

I can speak from personal experience on this subject. Over the years my weight ballooned to 17stone (238 lb.). I'm around 5ft 6". Didn't stop me getting tattooed in fact it made me feel different about my body. I was transformed from a fat bastard with a couple of tattoos to a fat bastard with a lot of nice tattoos. Great. However due to my size I did feel that getting a nice tattoo on my ribs was out of the question.

The change in my attitude towards my body has made me think more about the obvious health issues and after spending so much time under the needle I thought it would be a bit of a pisser to bow out early. So I lost around 56lbs and I got my rib tattoo. I've still got a little way to go and carrying all that excess weight has left me with a bad back, knees, type 2 diabetes and stretch marks (those areas I wouldn't get tattooed although I do know a tattooer who enjoys whip-shading stretch marks as he has a sticker by his work station stating so).

My only advise would be to choose a good tattooer, take advantage what you've got and get something a decent size. As for what other people think, fuck em.

[Delicious]

tattooing stretch marks hurts like a mofo. but i have them everywhere unfortunately so i will have to bite that bullet.

- - - Updated - - -

speaking of which if you have seen my tattoo you know what i mean, there are tons of raised stretch marks throughout it when it was first done

[RoryQ]

I think good tattoos are still going to look good on someone who is very overweight, while bad tattoos are still going to look bad.

If you've got great work it's going to speak for itself. I know a couple of pretty heavy guys (tattooers, incidentally) who are pretty much covered, and as with anyone else when you look at their tattoo it's the quality of the tattoo you see, not the diameter of the limb it's on, IMO.

As mentioned above a pet peeve is really tiny tattoos scattered around. No pun intended, but 'go big, or go home'.

Just to add, Jade1955's post is great: I find it fantastic that someone's love of collecting tattoos could be the driver in taking the steps needed to lose weight ... To get more tattoos, but (arguably more importantly) probably significantly increase their chances of living a longer, more active life.

[ThaliaCamille]

5'10", 89kg/196lb

As a fat woman: fuck body hate, get tattooed.

To elaborate: being both fat and disabled, I've had issues with my body for a long time. The act of getting tattooed (facing a chronic pain and sensitivity problem) and the act of BEING visibly tattooed is, for me, extremely empowering. I'm not the typical "hot tattooed chick", and it is glorious. It's a way to take back this vessel I've been cursed/blessed with, and to feel more comfortable going through life in it.

Plus, tattoos are awesome.

[Hogrider]

Your fat. Don't wear makeup, don't dress nicely, don't have fun, don't leave the house ... period. Just stand in a corner and perform self flagellation.

Or, you can just live your life.

[Kev]

Getting bigger tattoos is great advice; I don't know how many big guys I see at the gym with these tiny tribal bands or whatever that just look silly.

The only thing I would consider is whether you plan on staying your current size or if you plan on losing. If you plan on losing, I'd wait to tattoo areas that could see lots of stretch marks like belly/lower back/thighs until after you reach a target size. Either way, we're built to fall apart ;)

[JAllen]

tattoos make everything look better.

[irezumi]

I know plenty of overweight people with awesome tattoos. Fuck what people think. You only get one life. Live it.

[Joe Shit]

I'm 5'11'' about 320lbs and i'm still sexy.But i do have those stretch marks on my stomach,and love handles on the sides.I probably won't get tattooed on that area until i drop 40-50lbs.The last tattoo i got was on the inside of my upper arm where i have the meat hooks,and i had to get the tattoo in closer where the skin doesn't hang so much.

I did see a big girl on the boardwalk yesterday,and she had pink hair,and some tattoos,and it enhanced her sexiness.

[Mr. Smith]

tattoos make everything look better.

SECONDED.

[Delicious]

Ok so to be honest I am like 5'2 but the same weight, maybe 10 pounds lighter... so its so hard to plan out the next tattoos when you immeadiately have to remove alot of areas that you cant tattoo due to being short and very fat. But I do see your guys' points and will consider them. Thanks for the input!

[Dan S]

Tattoos and Candy Coloured Hair: Sending a Message to Young People « Fat Heffalump

No matter what shape you're in, it's always better with ink.

[davebrady]

Just some biology if you take a cross section of the skin and supporting structure you will see that it will be harder for an artist to stretch the skin. One additional note the cellular structure is also larger in most cases meaning the pores of the skin are larger so I would recommend working with a bigger design. Remenber it is your life and a tattoo can never be taken from you not even in death.

[bongsau]

Once my non-tattooed friend observed and commented that "tattoos only look bad ass on skinny dudes or fat dudes". I thought it was hilarious.

"Go big or go home" - Vince Lombardi

[TrixieFaux]

One of my Facebook friends posted this video by a girl about body image...she is addressing discrimination against overweight people:

'I Am Fat' YouTube Video: Meghan Tonjes Responds To Fat Haters