When I started getting tattoos, the consequences of being sexualized never crossed my mind. Some would say I didn't think my decision through if I neglected those previous factors, but that is the moment when the issue starts. Why should the thought have even crossed my mind that, as a tattooed woman, I would have to worry about being over-sexualized?

I get tattoos because I enjoy them, and as a current college student, so many people are thinking about sex anyway. However, when you have a significantly large tattoo or a significant amount of tattoos, you enter a whole different ball game. We know, of course, the obvious stereotypes that we have to deal with: being pieces of trash, being unintelligent, and being hardcore bitches. (Because those all makes sense, clearly.)

But there are also weirder, more vulgar stereotypes that come along with being visibly tattooed.

For example, catcalling obviously needs to stop, and most girls go through it at some point in their lifetime. When I started to get visible tattoos, I noticed a shift in the way I was being catcalled. Sometime guys will not only just say something, they may even grab my arm "to look" at my tattoos, giving them an excuse to touch me.

I have also heard the idea that we have, what a lot of people call "daddy issues" or some other reason for getting tattoos. The perception is not immediately sexual, but it usually turns into a sexual conversation. I am not quite sure what happened to other motivation for tattoos, such as appreciating art, or getting them because I wanted to. When the reasons are heard, the usual result is someone talking down to me because they think I am calling out for help or attention.

The most uncomfortable boundary that is crossed is sex. Many people are under the impression that since you have ink, you are completely open to talk about sex all the time.

My guess towards the notion is that it stems from the media correlating tattoos with sexual desires. If you look at the covers of tattoo magazines, they look a lot like playboy. People ask if we are kinky because we "obviously like pain since we like getting tattoos." People will totally objectify you and ask if you have tattoos in "naughty places." The best is when they ask if they can see them, but "not right now, we'll have to wait until we're in private." I swear, we are treated like a walking fetish.

Ultimately, it should not be scary or uncomfortable to have tattoos. Everyone is the same. Tattooed women and men are normal people, and we should be treated as such. No one should ever be subjected to this kind of judgment, and the sexualization, catcalling, and mistreatment towards people with tattoos needs to end.