Parents who don't like tattoos

[Spandoria]

Hi, so I've been getting tattoos since I was 18. My parents have always not really liked them so I always kept them hidden. I only had them on my arms so I can easily hide them whenever I need to. At this point it's been a number of years and I've got both of my arms, my chest, stomach, and back. I want to eventually get more revealing tattoos like my hands and neck, but can't really hide those from my parents now can I? I'm kinda just wondering if anyone else has parents who aren't happy with their tattoos but still have a good relationship with them. I have a pretty good relationship with mine and I really don't want something like this to ruin it but at the same time I'm pretty addicted to tattoos and want to be completely covered in them in the future. 

[oboogie]

I have a fantastic relationship with both of my parents, and neither of them like my tattoos (My Mom thinks they are beautiful and really well done, but she doesn't really like tattoos.).

Edited July 7, 2021 by oboogie

[Ebm239]

My dad always told me if I got a tattoo he would kick me out of the house.   So on my 18th bday guess what I got myself.  Problem is I got it out of spite just to test my father, I walked in and just picked a random one out of a book. Now 15 years later I hate that tattoo.  Completely meaningless to me I don’t even like the design and I have no idea why I picked the one I did.  But in the end I did call my fathers bluff and stayed there another year.    But long story short.   Both of my parents hate tats as well.  

[Moreismore]

My parent hate my tattoos. They're both 70, and they still think that only sailors or gang members have tattoos. They have literally said that to me. I have one of a skeleton, and that did not go over well at all. 🤷‍♀️

We've had a couple of fights about them, but we know there's no turning back at this point. I actually had a talk with my mom recently and told her that her "funny jokes" (also known as her thinly veiled dislike) about my tattoos were hurtful and not nice. Too soon to say if anything will actually change based on that, but the point is, none of us want my tattoos to ruin our relationship so we don't let them. Yes, they have caused issues at times, but we do still have a generally good relationship.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Moreismore

[Hogrider]

8 hours ago, Moreismore said:

My parent hate my tattoos. They're both 70, and they still think that only sailors or gang members have tattoos. They have literally said that to me. I have one of a skeleton, and that did not go over well at all. 🤷‍♀️

We've had a couple of fights about them, but we know there's no turning back at this point. I actually had a talk with my mom recently and told her that her "funny jokes" (also known as her thinly veiled dislike) about my tattoos were hurtful and not nice. Too soon to say if anything will actually change based on that, but the point is, none of us want my tattoos to ruin our relationship so we don't let them. Yes, they have caused issues at times, but we do still have a generally good relationship.

Reminds me of a time when my brother, his daughter and my father were in the living room and my brother said, "Show my daughter your back." I said I didn't think she wanted to see it, but she did so I whipped off my shirt and showed her my back piece (in my avatar). My father looked like a deer in headlight, like "this does not compute." He never said a word. I may have fried his brain.

[SStu]

Yeah, my Dad has never commented on my ink, but I've no doubt it disturbs him. My Baptist raised Mom cried back in 1974 when I got my first small one. She died before I really started getting covered. 

@Moreismore Do your parents get out much? They must think there's a whole helluva lot of sailors and gangsters out there . . .

[Moreismore]

On 7/23/2021 at 8:48 AM, SStu said:

@Moreismore Do your parents get out much? They must think there's a whole helluva lot of sailors and gangsters out there . . .

Yeah, I seriously think they're stuck in a movie from the 1950s. It's like Pleasantville. 😂  No clue where all these sailors and gangsters are hiding! 

[Hawkeye]

My grandmother hated tattoos. I got one on my leg when I was in my early 20s. She saw it while it was healing and we got into a fight over it, but it was there and it wasn't like it was going anywhere, so she got over it eventually. At first she wanted it covered whenever we went out together, but eventually she stopped asking me to do that.

 

If you're close to your parents, I don't think a tattoo will ruin your relationship. If they get upset too about a more visible tattoo, you can always off to cover it if you go out with them once it's healed. There's makeup out there specifically made to cover tattoos that works great, and the compromise might help them be more accepting of highly visible tattoos until they get used to the idea of them.