Relationships and tattoos

[sbhikes]

This may be a weird thread but what the hell. I've always been interested in people who are tattooed who are in a relationship with someone who is not tattooed at all. Unlikeyourown's feminism and tattoos thread got me thinking about this.

So a.) are you in one and have you been in one? b.) Have you thought about this or noticed a change in preference since you've gotten older..? and c.) do you feel like there would be any kind of disconnect there? It seems like such a personal thing as opposed to say, an interest in old typewriters, I wonder if it would make any difference at all. I'm guessing not, since I know people in these relationships.

When I was younger (and only had a few tattoos) I used to not be into girls with tattoos at all. Now I think I'd only be into tattooed ladies.. as evidenced by my tattooed future wife.

Does it ever make a difference? Anyone??

I am in a relationship with someone who has no tattoos. I only have 3 tattoos though. I'm 48 years old and he is 62. I think it would seem odd to me if he got a tattoo. It doesn't quite suit his personality. I consider myself more of a free spirit so it makes more sense to me to have tattoos. In any case, I don't think either of us needs to consult the other about it.

When I got my first tattoo I was about 27 or so. The tattooist said they were addicting and that I would get more. I did go get one more but it was such a horrible experience that I didn't get another one for decades. They guy totally botched the job and I actually hid my leg in shame for a year until I got it fixed. I still don't really like the tattoo very much but at least it's not totally embarrassing.

Recently I got a larger tattoo that is pretty good and it is so different to have a large, good tattoo. Now I understand why they are addicting. But I still don't seem myself as a "tattooed person". I feel out of place in tattoo shops. I'm not cool. I'm just an ordinary middle-class square type person. Boring. Maybe I'll change that when I'm old.

[a1steaks]

I'm lucky in that my wife loves tattoos, and is heavily tattooed herself. I always joke with her that if we get divorced I'm shit outta luck finding anyone else. Though I guess these days there are many more relationships where one partner is heavily tattooed and the other isn't. That being said tattooed women are way hotter!

[hollyjoybee]

This is quite an interesting topic for me. I've recently (well about 7 months) come out of a ten year relationship. During this time i had a few small tattoos. Rubbish ones that i got when i was 14 and doing it to be cool. My ex doesnt have tattoos and when he's seen my recent coverage he is disgusted by them. Which only serves to make me certain this is exactly what i want! I find tattooed and heavily tattooed guys attractive. I really love their choice to express themselves in this way and generally (not always) they have far more interesting stories to tell. So for me right now in my life i couldn't see myself with a person with no tatttoos...or someone with really bad tattoos.

[Just Alex]

My missus isn't tattooed, but I was when we met and I have had two fairly large pieces since. I am also planning my third and she has offered to buy my fourth (since we met) on our honeymoon (just so happens an artist I LOVE now works in a city SHE loves!). I don't think she will ever get tattooed, and as attractive as I find it I could never push her to make that decision either. We like what we like and part of what makes our relationship work as smoothly as it does is that we accept everything about each other. Happiness reigns! haha..

[Pugilist]

I'm lucky in that my wife loves tattoos, and is heavily tattooed herself. I always joke with her that if we get divorced I'm shit outta luck finding anyone else. Though I guess these days there are many more relationships where one partner is heavily tattooed and the other isn't. That being said tattooed women are way hotter!

We make this joke a lot too. :) I married a dude with no tattoos, but then, well, y'all know the end of that story. All that to say that "plainskins" aren't necessarily plainskins forever!

[David Flores]

This is quite an interesting topic for me. I've recently (well about 7 months) come out of a ten year relationship. During this time i had a few small tattoos. Rubbish ones that i got when i was 14 and doing it to be cool. My ex doesnt have tattoos and when he's seen my recent coverage he is disgusted by them. Which only serves to make me certain this is exactly what i want! I find tattooed and heavily tattooed guys attractive. I really love their choice to express themselves in this way and generally (not always) they have far more interesting stories to tell. So for me right now in my life i couldn't see myself with a person with no tatttoos...or someone with really bad tattoos.

He would probably be pissed about anything you chose to do at this point. I have talked about it earlier, but my first wife hated tattoos when we were dating, then as soon as we had a falling out, she went and got tattooed. As I started to get more tattoos, she would get more tattoos, even showing up in shops i frequented. I think she legitimately got the itch, but at that same time was passively aggressively stalking me, man that was a shit show of a relationship. But I guess that would be like the anthesis of what is happening to you.

Fast forward a decade and so much has changed, new wife child, and a shit ton more tattoos.

I forgot about jacked up tattoos. My wife has a tiny rose on her ankle that was done is someones garage when she was 15. The same dude did what was supposed to be sunflower on her chest, but he didn't know what a sunflower looked like, so she did a quick doodle. Well he used that as a stencil, it looked more like a table and chairs than a sunflower. I encouraged her to come in and get that tattoo fixed, one time when I was getting tattooed and now it looks like a legit sunflower. The rose isn't as bad, but if it were me I would just get a bigger rose over it, but it's her body. Oh I forgot she got some jacked up cherries right before we started dating, and she ended up getting those fixed when I was getting tattooed at Taylor Street in Chicago, turned them into Sailor Jerry Cherry Hearts.

She should be thanking me, she has gotten way better tattoos since I have been around, in both quality and design.

[Eskimette]

I am very tattooed..I always felt like the "bad girl you wouldnt want to take home to your mom" if i dated someone without a tonne of tattoos..incidentally I paid for my husband's first tattoo and now he has full sleeves and a start on a half sock by me.lol..fixed THAT LOL

[Graeme]

The best thing about being in a relationship with somebody who is into tattoos is getting psyched about the tattoos they're getting.

[Kahlan]

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe

Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.

It would just be a bonus. :)

[TheLance]

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe

Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.

It would just be a bonus. :)

Talk to him about some ideas you think he'd be stoked about, planting the "tattoo seed". Any favorite moments in both of your lives or his that stand out that can be translatable. Not sure otherwise, it's difficult to get somebody who's against it to turn. If he wants to though, just immerse him in it.

[TrixieFaux]

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe

Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.

It would just be a bonus. :)

Well, I didn't think my hubby was ever going to get any and now he is as into it as I am! I got him to come with me on my 3rd tattoo. Then, he and his old college buddy came with me for my 4th. Our friend and I booked back to back appointments. We were both encouraging @DJDeepFried to get one that day, too. He considered it and brought a reference pic "just in case". He ended up getting his first tattoo that day. It's a small one on his upper right arm. His next tattoo after that was a 1/2 sleeve on his other arm by Kim Saigh. He has plans for more... Yeah! If there is a shred of interest, I think being around it and seeing you get them could rub off on him. My mom says I was a bad influence on dh. I think I was an outstanding influence on him. :D

[Kahlan]

Talk to him about some ideas you think he'd be stoked about, planting the "tattoo seed". Any favorite moments in both of your lives or his that stand out that can be translatable. Not sure otherwise, it's difficult to get somebody who's against it to turn. If he wants to though, just immerse him in it.

That's a wonderful idea actually. He does want one day, it's just not a priority like it is for me. hehe

I'm dragging him to the convention with a bunch of friends on Sunday. Let's hope he'll be inspired.

He has the perfect skin for tattooing, it's a shame if he never gets anything ;)

[Eskimette]

on a side note, tattooing your spouse or partner can be finickity... lol.

[a1steaks]

Just don't let him get your name, a.k.a. the kiss of death.

[jitterbug]

Maybe some of you can give me some pointers on getting some ink on my man then. hehe

Not that I mind at all. If anything it's really fun when people meet him expecting some punk rocker that's covered, and they get a normal balanced individual.

It would just be a bonus. :)

Haha I'm in the same boat with my husband he's slowly coming around to the idea....

[Eskimette]

Just don't let him get your name, a.k.a. the kiss of death.

lol my husband has my first and middle name in big custom swirly script letters on his Neck with a bigass diamond...

people keep asking wht will happen if we split

we've been through some crap with him being in the military..if you can make it through that u can make it through almost anything...but if it ever comes to that i will happy help him remove it with a cheese grater

lol

i have his name too

it's not something i'd recommend to most people ? but there are some I dont think it's strange and or wrong at all

eg- bikers. you are not going to stop bikers from getting old lady name tattoos. lol not gonna happen. just go with it.lol. culture thing.

[bulldog]

i'm once again single, the amount of relationship's i seem to go through i might as well have the girls name's as a backpiece...!

[tattooedgirl]

Does not make any difference to me if my man is tattooed or not. Right now my current boyfriend has a few tattoos, which I think is really cool. But if I were attracted to someone without tattoos, I would not let that stop me from dating them.

[Eskimette]

i guess on a side note building on the last comment by tattooedgirl, in the past, dating the un-tattooed was a problem.

a 2 year relationship of mine ended over me wanting a very large ribcage tattoo.... he did not want this to happen.. i left.lol. sounds fickle but it was my body - and i could see clearly that it was going to be an issue...

I warned my husband when we started dating that if he didnt like tattoos he probbabbblyyy would be unimpressed with seeing me in the nude...lol... (mine are usually fairly covered but there are A LOT of them) . Luckily- he loves tattoos..

i think it throws a lot of men off when a woman does not apppearrrr to have tattoos... Im a kind of barbie-ish blonde girl with a love of pink and high high heals LOL... i get flack in the shop by men coming in thinking i dont work there...and or my lack of looking overly alternative somehow discredits me on some level?? kind of sad..

anyway where i'm going with that is that at some point, i think if you are heavily tattooed, or in the process, and your partner is not, and is never going down that road - it can cause HUGE problems...

Also, if you are a woman an heavily tattooed, and the man does not realize it, that can be a shocker and an issue.lol.

AND THEN my final statement: The kinds of partners that are often attracted to heavily tattooed people simply for that "look" are often headcases.... not our fault!!! but its a screening procress!!!! It sounds like many of us here are really lucky to have found good matches, but eeeeeesh I'm sure you've all seen it happen.!

[sbhikes]

My boyfriend (who has no tattoos) was away for 2 weeks. I did not tell him while he was gone that I had started the coverup on my ankle. I wanted to see how long it would take for him to notice.

I went to go pick him up from the bus station. He was across the street from me waiting for the crosswalk to change. He noticed before he was halfway across! Wow, he's more observant than I thought. I have no idea if my tattoos bother him or not. He's not really the controlling type. I know they make him pretty squeamish when they are new so he doesn't really want to give it a good look yet.

[CultExciter]

My boyfriend (who has no tattoos)

oh, you mean a plainskin? :P

[sbhikes]

Well, yes, but you can almost call me that, too.

[cltattooing]

I'm not sure if anyone has discussed this so far, but I have a question I'd like to throw by some of the other tattooers in this thread. What are your 'rules' (if you will) regarding tattooing people that you are dating? I don't mean long term relationship kind of stuff, but people that you've been with for less than a year.

[donbcivil]

AND THEN my final statement: The kinds of partners that are often attracted to heavily tattooed people simply for that "look" are often headcases.... not our fault!!! but its a screening procress!!!! It sounds like many of us here are really lucky to have found good matches, but eeeeeesh I'm sure you've all seen it happen.!

I lucked out because my wife hasn't had any real problems with me getting into tattoos.

Though I guess I'm lucky not to put it to the test by wanting something that really

puts her off. :)

[CultExciter]

Well, yes, but you can almost call me that, too.

sorry kiddo, but you're in la familia.