Fat people with tattoos: Your thoughts

[growltiger]

Thanks @beez and @SeeSea, you are both totally right. I've hit that age where youth is no longer on my side, plus having a baby, even though I came out of it relatively unscathed, has been a bit of a shock. I'm the same size as I was before, just everything is rearranged. I need reupholstering ;) It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.

I've seen someone on here say something along the lines of "Everything looks better with tattoos". I like that mantra :D

@beez: I hadn't realised it goes right up your back too. What are you doing to me?!!

[Colored Guy]

I know one bigger lady from the beach, she has a mastectomy done and plastic surgery to get her back to somewhat normal. She had the area tattooed and it looks great on her, really hard to see the scarring that they do a nice job covering up.

[Matthew Thomas]

I'm a bigger guy, standing at 6 ft 2 and weighing in a few hairs under 3 bills. I honestly have never given a thought to what a fat person looks like tattooed, because it makes no nevermind to me. Never thought for a second about placement or visibility vs body type or any other dumb shit. I personally don't believe that tattoos and body shape should have anything to do with each other, one way or the other. Just my personal opinion.

[beez]

Thanks @beez and @SeeSea, you are both totally right. I've hit that age where youth is no longer on my side, plus having a baby, even though I came out of it relatively unscathed, has been a bit of a shock. I'm the same size as I was before, just everything is rearranged. I need reupholstering ;) It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.

I've seen someone on here say something along the lines of "Everything looks better with tattoos". I like that mantra :D

@beez: I hadn't realised it goes right up your back too. What are you doing to me?!!

#1) Everything REALLY DOES look better with GOOD tattoos. (Even douchebags wearing Ed Hardy shirts...:rolleyes:). Whatever you're self conscious about ain't no thang when you've got a bad ass tattoo. Why would it be? You're too busy being stoked about the awesome tattoo. IMHO.

#2) Keep watching, @growltiger, because it's not anywhere near finished yet! :) And if you wanna talk backpiece stuff feel free to PM me for anything!

#3)

It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.

It really is. Like I said, I've spent a lot of time (years) changing scripts in my head and weeding out the shaming stuff - btw totally get rid of anything that has advertising and/or commercials in it...anyway - I visited a friend who I had not seen for 3 years recently, and some of the first words out of her mouth were about how heavy she was and her weight - in response to a question that had nothing to do with anything at all about her or her weight!

Because I don't have that particular shame-script running through my head any longer I was sort of shocked and surprised - and then really sad, because it sucks to have that awful, shameful, guilty, not-good-enough feeling running through your entire being at all times, and a lot of PEOPLE (all of us, regardless of gender) have that subconsciously ruling our lives. Just behind all of our other thoughts. And I felt sad for my incredibly talented and awesome friend who after three years, it was the one of the first things she wanted to communicate to me :(.

FWIW, when I was younger, I realized that when I saw a woman who was clearly confident and also fat or somehow unattractive, my thoughts went along the lines of "who does she think she is? she's fat! she can't do/wear/say that!". I became afraid to go into public for awhile, because if *I* was thinking that then what were people thinking about ME? Literally would not go in public unless I had to for work or groceries. I began to wonder why I had such a sharp reaction, and such a negative one, at that? And what kind of asshole thinks that!! So I actively reversed my initial instinct and began admiring confidence in all who had it. (Why am I writing all of this? This is embarrassing/painful to admit, geez )

I think that there was something in me that was jealous of them for having confidence when I couldn't - if that makes sense? Like how could you be confident if I am not? (How dare you!) I think society gets mad when people go off script.

I didn't like the way those thoughts made me feel, the way that negativity would sort of take over and poison me.

A quick aside:

Can I be honest, in the middle of this writing, and say that I am feeling a little bit of shame at ever having had such poisonous feelings...and feeling very grateful that I was able to literally change my mind....but wow, how petty and shortsighted and young. Life is a work in progress, always.

Anyway - I traced a lot of my anxiety, guilt, fear, shame, and poisonous negativity to some of those thoughts I was describing (and of course many other thoughts and patterns in my life) - and I realized that I didn't have to accept my part of the deal. Just because society or some jerk or my mom or WHOEVER offered me this deal (i.e. be 'fat'! = feel shame, you're worthless!) didn't mean I had to participate.

My thoughts are kind of falling apart here, but I think I'm trying to say - remove yourself from the equation. It takes some time to shed what we've been fed our entire lives, and you have to actively identify what is making you feel bad and then actively change it. Listen to your body. Do you feel bad? Knots in your stomach? Headaches? Active guilt/shame? Identify what triggers those feelings...dig deep if you have to...and then remove yourself from the thoughts/people/environments that are causing it.

Ugh, word vomit, in the end just go get a big, awesome tattoo. I think that encapsulates what I'm trying to say...

[Dusk]

I hated my chubby, pale legs until I started getting them tattooed. Like, always wearing pants even though I lived in Texas, hated. Life is better now with my tattoos.

[beez]

I hated my chubby, pale legs until I started getting them tattooed. Like, always wearing pants even though I lived in Texas, hated. Life is better now with my tattoos.

@Dusk I grew up in Dallas and OKC - would never wear shorts growing up, and instead dealt with being hot and sticky and fucking miserable all the time.

Now I see we both live in Seattle...coincidence? Hahaha - welcome to the forum and the cool pacific northwest!

[cltattooing]

Miss @beez, you are an inspiration!!

[beez]

<blushes> Aww shucks...

@cltattooing Even though I know and have confirmed multiple times that it's an owl, this is what I see every time your avatar pops up ahahahaha

[cltattooing]

@beez haha! well technically it's a black-shouldered kite so I guess + = ???

[beez]

@beez haha! well technically it's a black-shouldered kite so I guess + = ???

LOL! Learn something new every day...like that is not, in fact, an owl OR a stormtrooper hehehe ahaha

[cltattooing]

:p :cool:

[49531]

i'm a fat lady with a fair amount of tattoos. i know alot of people say you should go bigger with the pieces, but the way i see/saw it was that it meant i could get more work done, so i'm enjoying having a big amount of work on my arms and still having a bunch of space left. as for how it helped with my body acceptance, i couldnt really say. as i started getting tattooed at age 18 (nearly 24 now) i could say that having tattoos has made me feel more comfortable, if not proud to show off my skin, but i would also kind of hope that thats also down to me aging, maturing, knowing what i see as beauty in myself and in others. the only time where i have found being fat and getting tattooed an issue is when i am thinking of getting my stomach done. i know i dont plan on getting pregnant ever, but thats the one time when part of me is always saying "i'll wait until ive lost some weight" (knowing full well that i probably never will)

that is one thing i would like to see more photos of, ive seen plenty of mens beer guts with stomach rockers, but i'd love to see some chubby girls belly tattoos, maybe then i'll finally get round to starting my own!

[Dusk]

@Dusk I grew up in Dallas and OKC - would never wear shorts growing up, and instead dealt with being hot and sticky and fucking miserable all the time.

Now I see we both live in Seattle...coincidence? Hahaha - welcome to the forum and the cool pacific northwest!

Great minds think alike!

[growltiger]

That's a great post @beez. Very honest and open. What a great way to turn something negative around into being something very positive. I think taking ownership over our thoughts and bodies is a very important step to being happy in life. Thank you for your wise words :)

And I like your conclusion. Hear hear.

[Matthew Thomas]

Here is how I have found peace and happiness in my life. As a non-conformist, I believe very strongly in my right to feel, think, say and do what I choose for myself, not what others choose for me. With the right to this choice comes the responsibility to choose what is best for myself and the people I choose to be responsible for. I am literally responsible for my own happiness. No one and nothing else can make me unhappy unless I allow it to. I freed myself from the chains of conformity and stripped society of its right to judge me. Though they will still try, their judgments have absolutely no authority over my life or my being. You will never be happy trying to conform, because you'll never be "good enough" for anyone but yourself.

[ClintonStitch]

I'm actually envious of bigger people who get tattooed whether "fat" or "built", trying being a skinny short arse and getting tattooed, not enough real estate for Tattoo's! In all seriousness fuck what people think, enjoy getting tattooed and proudly showing them no matter what body shape you are. Tattoo's are not just an accessory for Gym Bro's showing their guns.

[Zillah]

Today at my appointment I asked the artists if they had reservations tattooing larger folks, as I had read on another tattoo forum that some artists have a problem with it. They seemed genuinely surprised that it was even a thing. I mentioned I'd heard about the difficulty getting a good stretch thing and they were like "no... we're professionals, it's fine..."

[Scott R]

Bigger people can get more cool tattoos. If your pale then thats just icing on the cake.

[Zillah]

Bigger people can get more cool tattoos. If your pale then thats just icing on the cake.

How about pale and freckly? :p

[jetwash]

Bahaha this thread is great. Wish I was carrying a little extra, could get so much more work, and some padding really wouldn't hurt in the delicate spots!

[Rightonkaleyross]

Don't ever feel like you shouldn't get a tattoo based on your weight! Everybody should decorate their bodies however they see fit!

[cameroncrazie80]

Everyone could get bigger. For some people it just comes with eating a little un-healthy, and for those people who can eat McDonalds 3 meals a day, everyday, just get in the gym and lift a lot of heavy weights!!

I am kind of in the middle. I'm 6'4 250 and have always been a bigger person. I developed a "gut" when I was about 16 or 17, and I haven't been able to lose it. I'm in the military, and even with my gut I could easily run 8-10 miles and keep up with guys half my size.

I say do what makes you happy. I'm a little self-conscious about my gut, and because of that, I am not sure I could ever get chest or back tattoos because I'd have to take my shirt off to show them, but I haven't ruled out getting them done.

[Tesseracts]

I've been overweight most of my life. It's one of the reasons I've avoided getting tattoos until now. For years I was self conscious about anything that could draw eyes to me. I'm less insecure about that now. Although I'm still going to avoid getting tattoos on the larger areas until I lose weight. If I wasn't planning to lose weight I wouldn't worry about it, but I don't want skin shrinking to wreck things.

Despite being American, there aren't a lot of fat people around where I live. There aren't a lot of people with visible tattoos either. I went to Disney World for the first time in my life recently, and it made me feel less weird. I saw plenty of overweight people with tattoos, and some of them were actually good. In line for a bus I saw a couple composed of a fat girl and a skinny guy. Both of them had tattoos, and the skinny guy had overweight pin up girls tattooed on his legs.

I haven't had a tattoo for very long but I think I'm experiencing the same thing I've seen others describe in this thread, I care more about my health now that I have one. It's weird, it's like by putting something I value on my leg, my leg matters more. I never really understood why I wanted a tattoo until I actually got one, now I think I know why. When you put something in your skin forever, it's not only something that looks cool, it's a part of yourself.

Do you know what I think the internet needs more of? Pictures of large people with tattoos. Here is a picture I took of myself to see what my tattoo looks like from a distance. It's not a good photo and the tattoo isn't healed yet, but I think it proves the world isn't going to fall apart if a large leg has a large tattoo on it. And here is me actually getting the tattoo, picture was taken by Fala.

[gougetheeyes]

Everyone could get bigger. For some people it just comes with eating a little un-healthy, and for those people who can eat McDonalds 3 meals a day, everyday, just get in the gym and lift a lot of heavy weights!!

I am kind of in the middle. I'm 6'4 250 and have always been a bigger person. I developed a "gut" when I was about 16 or 17, and I haven't been able to lose it. I'm in the military, and even with my gut I could easily run 8-10 miles and keep up with guys half my size.

I say do what makes you happy. I'm a little self-conscious about my gut, and because of that, I am not sure I could ever get chest or back tattoos because I'd have to take my shirt off to show them, but I haven't ruled out getting them done.

There's no rule that you have to show off your tattoos -- however, I bet if you got a chest or backpiece you were proud of, you'd have that shirt off in seconds!

[cameroncrazie80]

Yeah you're probably right.