Everyone has their own opinion on tattoos. Some of us love them; others can’t stand the thought of permanently marking our bodies. I personally adore tattoos and already have three. I got my first, a twenty one pilots inspired tattoo, five months after I turned 18, and I got my second, an Irish knot, four months after that, and I got my newest one just yesterday, a matching elephant with my best friend. Growing up, I was constantly told that tattoos were ugly and permanent and people always regret getting them, so I never thought I would become one of those “hoodlums” with ink etched into my skin. But as I grew up and started to develop my own opinions I drastically changed my view on tattoos. I no longer look at them as markings of the devil or unprofessional. Instead, I see them as a form of art that can be expressed directly on your own skin.
(My first tattoo, a quote from twenty one pilots.)
For decades, men in the military have gotten their units tattooed as a symbol of devotion. We respect these men for sacrificing their lives to protect our countries, and don’t scoff at the permanent reminder of their military days. So why is it that when a girl gets a tattoo she is suddenly seen as a tramp? I read in my Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies textbook, Women’s Voices Feminist Visions, that women with tattoos are seen as “masculine” (Shaw/Lee, 188) or the ink makes the girl seem “rebellious” (Shaw/Lee, 188), but in reality there is no proven correlation between tattoos and rebellious or manly personalities. I have a friend named Emily who recently posted on Facebook that when people discover she has tattoos they are often appalled because she’s “so sweet and nice-looking,” to which she very intelligently replied that her tattoos modify her body, not her personality. She is an extremely sweet, beautiful person, and her tattoos are simply an expression of things that have personal meaning for her.
So, it’s time to face the fact that girls with tattoos are hot. There is absolutely no reason why a young lady should instantly be labeled as ugly just because she chose to get a tattoo. I have received numerous comments from adults saying that I used to have such a pretty body before getting my tattoos. Used to? Excuse me, but I added beauty to my body. The people who think that my tats are gross don’t understand that I have a reason for them; they’re reminders that I want to have with me constantly. Girls with ink are beautiful. When I meet a new girl and she mentions my tattoos, or I mention hers, it’s an instant conversation starter. We immediately have something in common. I’ve gone with two of my best friends to get tatted, and it was an amazing moment I got to share with them. I watched people I love add art to their bodies.
(My second tattoo, an Irish trinity knot.)
There’s a Switchfoot lyric from the song “Where I Belong” that I find fits my tattoo opinion in an ironic way. The singer says “I’m not sentimental; this skin and bones is a rental.” Now I know he’s not even remotely speaking about tattoos, but I’ve twisted the lyrics in my own way to apply to ink. The way I see it, none of us are immortal, fact of life, so why shouldn’t we decorate ourselves while we can? We may be renting our skin and bones for the time being, but where is it written that we can’t make it look the way we want? With that lyric as inspiration, I decided my tattoos aren’t ugly, they’re beautiful and I shouldn’t be ashamed to have them. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again 100 times: girls with tattoos are great. Long live #teamtatted.
(My third tattoo: a geometric elephant matching with my best friend Keanna.)
