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Tattoo Idea... - Stuttering

Lukas913

By Lukas913,
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Lukas913

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I have a mild stutter and its been with me my entire life. I've been thinking of getting a tattoo that represents that, and i can't really get a hold of an idea. I want something cool that isn't blatant about what it represents if you know what i mean. At first i was thinking of someone covering it's mouth or something, I'm not sure. I need some ideas and opinions please.

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Pugilist

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If you are having trouble thinking of something, I would encourage you to think beyond literal imagery, and think about what could convey how living with your stutter has made you feel/what role it has in your life/or how you have coped with it. People around here can be very resistant to tattoos with big meanings behind them, not because tattoos should not be meaningful, but because when we go for very literal imagery to convey something it can look stilted and forced. So try to "think outside the box".

For example, this past year I defended my PhD, and wanted a tattoo to mark that for me. I ended up getting a torch, which is obviously not something that "obviously" represents the meaning I was going for, but it was perfect. To me the torch just felt like it captured that moment and how it felt for me perfectly. It evoked the medieval feel of the university where I studied, it made me think of something you'd carry through its underground books stacks, it was at once something dark (reminding me of how difficult my process was), and the fire of a torch also evoked light, and having survived the process! So totally non-literal, but really based on the image feeling like it could capture what I needed it to capture.

So think about what your stuttering tattoo is about. Is it about marking something that has affected your life negatively, or is it about your overcoming an obstacle? Is getting a tattoo about it your way of marking its role in your life, or giving yourself some strength in dealing with it, or marking that you've moved past it?

I realize that I sound like a big hippie here, but once you figure out what the tattoo's meaning is in a deeper way, it liberates you in terms of imagery a bit. If it's about overcoming an obstacle, then think about what tattoo imagery makes you feel like "fuck yeah! I am tough!" or whatever. Doesn't have to be something that literally signifies your stutter, but rather something that evokes its role in your life. That may end up being like, a dragon or a dagger or something.

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Lukas913 Initiated

Lukas913

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If you are having trouble thinking of something, I would encourage you to think beyond literal imagery, and think about what could convey how living with your stutter has made you feel/what role it has in your life/or how you have coped with it. People around here can be very resistant to tattoos with big meanings behind them, not because tattoos should not be meaningful, but because when we go for very literal imagery to convey something it can look stilted and forced. So try to "think outside the box".

For example, this past year I defended my PhD, and wanted a tattoo to mark that for me. I ended up getting a torch, which is obviously not something that "obviously" represents the meaning I was going for, but it was perfect. To me the torch just felt like it captured that moment and how it felt for me perfectly. It evoked the medieval feel of the university where I studied, it made me think of something you'd carry through its underground books stacks, it was at once something dark (reminding me of how difficult my process was), and the fire of a torch also evoked light, and having survived the process! So totally non-literal, but really based on the image feeling like it could capture what I needed it to capture.

So think about what your stuttering tattoo is about. Is it about marking something that has affected your life negatively, or is it about your overcoming an obstacle? Is getting a tattoo about it your way of marking its role in your life, or giving yourself some strength in dealing with it, or marking that you've moved past it?

I realize that I sound like a big hippie here, but once you figure out what the tattoo's meaning is in a deeper way, it liberates you in terms of imagery a bit. If it's about overcoming an obstacle, then think about what tattoo imagery makes you feel like "fuck yeah! I am tough!" or whatever. Doesn't have to be something that literally signifies your stutter, but rather something that evokes its role in your life. That may end up being like, a dragon or a dagger or something.

That's another way of looking at it, thank you. I was also thinking of something like motsimus said, but someone would be covering their mouth with their hand and between 2 fingers there would a word trying to come out. Something of that sort.

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else

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Hey @Lukas913 ! Welcome to LST :)

Your struggle is personal to me from a couple different angles. On the one hand, I'm a speech therapist and have seen face-to-face how difficult stuttering is for people. It can be absolutely disabling if you let it. And also, I have my own health challenges that I'm attacking head on, and using tattoos as a way to help me deal with them.

I don't think your idea about a person with a word trying to come out is a bad one, but I think Pugilist's advice about this is excellent and I would encourage you to take a less literal approach to it if you can.

(When I was reading your first post in this thread the first thing that came to my mind was "dragon" :) )

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Lukas913

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Hey @Lukas913 ! Welcome to LST :)

Your struggle is personal to me from a couple different angles. On the one hand, I'm a speech therapist and have seen face-to-face how difficult stuttering is for people. It can be absolutely disabling if you let it. And also, I have my own health challenges that I'm attacking head on, and using tattoos as a way to help me deal with them.

I don't think your idea about a person with a word trying to come out is a bad one, but I think Pugilist's advice about this is excellent and I would encourage you to take a less literal approach to it if you can.

(When I was reading your first post in this thread the first thing that came to my mind was "dragon" :) )

I have it easier then others but it is challenging at times. Surprisingly i always wanted a dragon tattoo haha. Thank you for the ideas.

- - - Updated - - -

I stutter sometimes, but more in languages other than English. It's gotten better over time.

Why not get a Porky Pig? :)

Lol, i don't think i want a pig on my skin haha.

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slayer9019 Autobot

slayer9019

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There are many routes you can take with this as mentioned above you can look into literal or symbolic tattoos. I personally get tattoos that are less literal and more symbolic.

I like the veiled cloth over a ladies face idea, seems like it would make a nice looking tattoo as well as be a bit more "to the point". Porky the big would be more direct as well and be a bit for fun too.

I got the idea for my dragon tattoo after certain life events as a sign of power. It makes a killer tattoo, as well as powerful imagery. You can also look into phoenix tattoos as they are about "rising from the ashes". They also make killer tattoos and have some strong symbolism behind them. If I can convince my friend I'll take a picture of his huge phoenix tattoo he got from Regino Gonzalez.

In college there was a kid I knew who was dyslexic that got a tattoo in reference to that of a word all misspelled on purpose to show his struggles. While I know he loved it I personally would go the more symbolic route.

Also where are you located so we can suggest good artists in your area.

Welcome to LST.

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Thanks a lot for all the opinions and ideas, but I'm probably going to go with a dragon haha. I always wanted a dragon anyways. Can anyone give me a rough estimate of how much it would cost to get a dragon tattoo that would start on the left side of the chest and kind of go over the shoulder and onto my arm. I guess it would be pretty big. I don't need an exact but just a estimate.

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