Relationships and tattoos

[Jack]

Being a single dude, more tattoos have done nothing but help me find ladies who are also into cool stuff. Funny how that works, eh?

[TrixieFaux]

When I met my husband 10 years ago I only had 1 small tattoo and he had none. I started getting a couple more here and there. Last summer I got 2 tattoos pretty close together. He and one of his friends came with me for one of them and we all ended up getting one. He was 41 when he got that first one. After getting that one, he got the bug. I booked my Kim Saigh appointment for Feb and when he saw my beautiful roses, he decided to book with her. Now I have 6 tattoos and he has 2, but his second one is a half sleeve --his 3rd session w/her is tomorrow. So he went from having none and not even seeming that interested to kind of surpassing me. He is already talking about what he's going to get for his other arm. I'm psyched. I've influenced him and his arm looks rad. I'm really happy that now we share this interest.

[heathenist]

My girlfriend has pretty much no interests in tattoos but is pretty supportive of me getting them, but when I mention in a very distant hypothetical future getting my back and torso done she doesn't seem to be super fond of the idea. I don't even really think that I want to do those things at this point, and wouldn't be financially stable enough for a long while, so it's not an issue really.

However, she isn't crazy about eagles, no matter how many I show her, and I think they are one of the best tattoo images there is. I don't think she'd go as far to tell me not to do it, but I'd hate knowing she doesn't like any of my tattoos (yeah, yeah, I know they are supposed to be for me, but still).

[Bunny Switchblade]

I am pretty heavily and visibly covered....and the hubby is visibly covered....I would say we both have quality work on us!

So personally when I date a woman or have a girlfriend....I do like her to have quality work even if she only has one or two tattoos! The hubby thinks non-tattooed women aren't as appealing.....in that they just look plain! Your average Playboy model would do absolutely nothing for him and he would just turn the page! lmao

I have always said.....a bad tattoo can fuck up the nicest set of tits!

:)

So....yes it makes a difference now more than it did years ago to me and definitely with the hubby as well! And the quality even plays into it as well!

[Colored Guy]

I've got a new tactic now, when it comes to booking a tattoo appointment and having to tell my other half. I start leaving tattoo magazines or books laying around the house where I know he will see them lol that way he knows something is coming at some point and it's not such a suprise when I eventually do tell him! I might start putting it on the calendar too like Coloured Guy too :D

I also have my tattoo books out, various images I like off the web printed out, my french curve set.. pencils about. All a good sign I have the dreaded "ink fever".

CG

[Scott R]

My girlfriend has pretty much no interests in tattoos but is pretty supportive of me getting them, but when I mention in a very distant hypothetical future getting my back and torso done she doesn't seem to be super fond of the idea. I don't even really think that I want to do those things at this point, and wouldn't be financially stable enough for a long while, so it's not an issue really.

However, she isn't crazy about eagles, no matter how many I show her, and I think they are one of the best tattoo images there is. I don't think she'd go as far to tell me not to do it, but I'd hate knowing she doesn't like any of my tattoos (yeah, yeah, I know they are supposed to be for me, but still).

you did say girlfriend right?

get the eagle she can learn to deal

[heathenist]

you did say girlfriend right?

get the eagle she can learn to deal

I mean yeah she would be fine with it, it's not like she would be mad at me. It's just I'd like to think she likes all of my tattoos and she wouldn't if I got an eagle. But I'm thinking I'll be getting one in the nearish future.

[appleadam]

personally for me finding girls attractive tattoos don't even really come into it, but I think that whoever youre with should be able to overlook any tattoo you want to get, unless they're just advising you not to get a poorly executed one!

[stormface]

Neither my wife nor I are tattooed, but I'm planning one. It helps that she is involved with picking out the design. Also, she has always just kind of liked them, so that helps too. I'll go first, she has a design picked out and will go next.

[AlannaCA]

i'm back! its been a while since ive had any free time to myself to be able to come back to LST, but now that im up at the cottage for the week ill have plenty of time to catch up on the stuff that ive missed!

another thing i find funny is that i almost have perfect recollection of some of the threads going on here and where i want to write each of my new stories! (side note: if you knew me you'd know sometimes i cant remember my own birthday!! lol)

now to write something that actually applies to this thread.

i was seeing this guy a while back and i was over at this house one night. i mentioned to him that i was going to Chicago for a short trip and i said that i was also going to get tattooed. he said "what, its not enough that you could get Hepatitis here you have to go to Chicago to try and get it?" i cant even tell you how fast i left his apartment. lol! you win some and you lose some!

[Colored Guy]

....i was seeing this guy a while back and i was over at this house one night. i mentioned to him that i was going to Chicago for a short trip and i said that i was also going to get tattooed. he said "what, its not enough that you could get Hepatitis here you have to go to Chicago to try and get it?" i cant even tell you how fast i left his apartment. lol! you win some and you lose some!

That was a "run, Forest, run" moment.

CG

[Pugilist]

Dudes, sometimes I feel like it would be nice to date someone who wasn't into tattoos, because as it is, my partner and I feed off of each other in the worst ways possible. He only started getting tattooed recently, but caught the bug hard, and initially I thought that watching him get tattooed constantly would take the edge off for me, as I'd be living vicariously through him. As it turns out, it doesn't work that way--each time one of us gets work, it leaves the other jonesing for more--such that I think we're both acquiring tattoos at a much quicker rate than we would if we were not in relationships with total enablers. We brainstorm ideas together a lot, so in that sense we do "approve" of each other's tattoos, but it's not really so much about asking for permission, but rather that we trust each other's opinions and rely on each other to work through ideas together.

And of course I am totally joking in "complaining" about this--it's actually pretty fucking awesome.

[TrixieFaux]

Dudes, sometimes I feel like it would be nice to date someone who wasn't into tattoos, because as it is, my partner and I feed off of each other in the worst ways possible. He only started getting tattooed recently, but caught the bug hard, and initially I thought that watching him get tattooed constantly would take the edge off for me, as I'd be living vicariously through him. As it turns out, it doesn't work that way--each time one of us gets work, it leaves the other jonesing for more--such that I think we're both acquiring tattoos at a much quicker rate than we would if we were not in relationships with total enablers. We brainstorm ideas together a lot, so in that sense we do "approve" of each other's tattoos, but it's not really so much about asking for permission, but rather that we trust each other's opinions and rely on each other to work through ideas together.

And of course I am totally joking in "complaining" about this--it's actually pretty fucking awesome.

Ha, I hear you. It's getting like that w/me and @DJDeepFried, too. At first, I was the one with tattoos. Then he got 1. Then he got a huge one for his 2nd, bigger than mine put together. I was a little jealous. So now I'm getting a huge one. I had wanted a tiger and mentioned it a long time ago. Then he mentioned something about the possibility of him getting a tiger. Then I was like, well, I better get my tiger right now before he does. Haha. Then, he can still go ahead and get one, it's a free country, we can be twins if he wants, but at least it'll be him copying me and not the other way around hahaha. I'm getting mine Aug 13th. :-P

I especially agree with your last sentence, it's pretty fun.

[David Flores]

Check this out, my wife is going to a bachelorette type party for one of her co workers, but only four girls total including bride. They decided that part of the party will be for all of them to get tattooed. My wife and her friend Nicole have a handful of tattoos each, the other girl shayla has a couple poorly done tattoos from vegas and the bride has no tattoos. At first my wife and Nicole suggested our shop, because I work there and they have both been tattooed there many times and I wasn't crazy about the idea because trying to get them all tattooed in one afternoon could be a task, seeing as the one girl hasn;t been tattooed before and the other girl fancy's herself a bit of an artist and they all want different things and trying to get them all to stop in for a consult. But ultimately I agreed to make it happen, after all I had almost a month to get their ideas together and get organized.

Fast forward a week, they decide they want it to be a true girls night out, and want to find a shop with some ladies that can tattoo them. Now my first thought is that I dodged that bullet, but after I thought for a minute there is only a few really good female tattooers in town and finding a shop for them that has two good female tattooers available on somewhat short notice is more of a task then just doing the tattoos. Making one tattooer do four custom basically walk in tattoos would not only take twice as long, and it's still going to be a tattoo shop not a day spa just because a women is tattooing you.

At first my wife didn't believe me and told me I have issues against women, so I had to show her what I was talking about. I went through about 20 shops web sites and showed her some of the stuff people are passing off as tattoos, then pulled up some of the portfolios of good women tattooers in town and some other examples of good tattoos in general. Also I told her that some of these women are in high demand and might not be available or interested in doing something like this on semi short notice, so they should keep their options open if they couldn't book with the women I suggested. I also told her that I wouldn't be too happy if she got a substandard tattoo just because she had to get tattooed by a woman, mostly because I just don't want to give hacks our money, especially when I know so many good tattooers. Her response to me was, "well you go to businesses run by Mexicans to support Mexicans and Latinos.", my response "We are not talking about Carne Asada here."

By the end of the conversation I think everyone got what I was saying and understood that I just want them to get good tattoos but it was quite exhausting in the process.

[rozone]

I find this thread super interesting.

To be honest, I'm kind of shocked at how some significant others take such strong offense to their partners getting tattooed. I've always thought of it as such a personal thing that I've never really considered how others would react from a relationship standpoint, which I guess shows my naivety. To be fair, I'm currently a single guy, but I've been getting visible tattoos for about 5 years now and I've never noticed a difference in the way that women react to me or in the type that are drawn to me.

The way I see it is that a person's tattoos are kind of representative of their personality and the type of person they are. If they're an awesome person, their tattoos are probably awesome. If they're a shitty person, their tattoos probably reflect that. That's not to say that all awesome people have tattoos, but in my experience most awesome people who choose to get tattooed are pretty switched on and tend to know what makes a for a good tattoo and do the proper legwork beforehand. Regardless, whether or not someone has tattoos or not has never crossed my mind at all when it comes to judging people or finding potential mates.

My opinion is that everyone who wants to get tattooed should, but not everyone should be tattooed.

Just my .02 based on my virtually nonexistent experience on this topic. :)

[hogg]

"We are not talking about Carne Asada here."

Hahahaha. Best response possible.

[Tight-Lines]

That was as witty of a comeback as I have ever heard.

[hogg]

More like carne marcada, am i right?

[Tight-Lines]

More like carne marcada, am i right?

[Kev]

David Flores post got me thinking. I know we're talking relationships in regards to SOs, but my family relationships around tattoos have always been more conflicted. Both of my younger sisters were tattooed before I was and none of their tattoos (save for the sugar skull the oldest got here in town from Ezra Haidet at Triple Crown through me) were done in great shops. The cherry on top though was when I opened Facebook one day and saw pics of my sister and brother in law getting tattooed in my Mom's KITCHEN by some "tattooer" friend of the older sister. My brother in law was about to ship out to Afghanistan and wanted something before he left, so my sister arranged this 'tatt party' at my Mom's. The fact that my parents who have given me so much shit about my choices allowed this to go down in their house reinforced my opinion that they just don't like me very much as a person. Familia es familia, but I got to say, it's pretty frustrating when the stuff I say about tattoo quality and sterility falls on deaf ears.

Luckily, my son's being patient and he'll get his first real tattoo in a real shop in November

[CultExciter]

Family relationships. Sigh. I have an incredible mother and father who I do not see nearly enough. But when I do, it is almost always the same thing: "What is that?," "When did you get that?," and more importantly, "Will you please stop getting tattoos?"

I'm 30 years old. I put myself through college. But when it comes to tattoos, my folks treat me like I'm 16-years-old.

Sigh.

[kdhenry2010]

I'm sure its a fairly common thing (Family disapproving of tats). My entire family has always looked down upon people with tattoos so I have to take extra precautions to cover mine up every time I see them. It sucks, but at least if I ever have children I will be accepting so they do not have to go through what I do.

[asradin]

Family relationships. Sigh. I have an incredible mother and father who I do not see nearly enough. But when I do, it is almost always the same thing: "What is that?," "When did you get that?," and more importantly, "Will you please stop getting tattoos?"

I'm 30 years old. I put myself through college. But when it comes to tattoos, my folks treat me like I'm 16-years-old.

Sigh.

I know what you mean. My parents were very anti tattoo but once they saw that getting them hasn't affected my academic or work life in any way, they seem to be less against them. They still don't like me getting them but they don't treat me like a child about them anymore :) Although they onyl found out about my torso and back being completely covered 6 months ago. That was an interesting day....

[Hogrider]

I'm 30 years old. I put myself through college. But when it comes to tattoos, my folks treat me like I'm 16-years-old.

Bad news - I'm 54 and they still treat me like that. I love my mother and sister but when it comes to my tattoos then can A) like them or B) shut the fuck up about it. Unfortunately, they pick option C, which is to NOT like them and NOT shut the fuck up about it. :-)

[tattooedjuliet]

I feel like I could not be with someone who was not tattooed. The reason being, I want to be with someone who shares my passion for getting, and being tattooed. I would not know what to do if we didn't share that interest. Luckily my husband loves my tattoos, and is getting more tattooed all the time. He is really starting an amazing collection.