Tattooooooooos!!!

Okay, this is a topic I’ve wanted to address for quite a while, but I’ve not really known how to go there. Finally, I have a route, woohoo I hear you mentally shout...!

I’m now planning a tattoo, my third to be precise.

My first is across the small of my back and is based around my star sign (hold on before you shout tacky) and is a unique design that my brother drew for me. Not just the idea, I actually had the design traced straight off his artwork and that’s what now sits on my back. I love it because it’s his work, and it makes me think about him, and no one anywhere has the same design. So for me it’s absolutely perfect, plus because it’s on my back I don’t see it all the time so every time I catch a glimpse of it in the mirror it makes me smile!

Now I have issues when it comes to lower back tattoos, largely people’s perceptions of them. Tramp stamps, bulleye tattoos, California license plates, bitch tats, slut tags... The list of derogatory terms for these tattoos is ridiculously long, but the main one is tramp stamp. I massively object to this little term, and not just because I have a “tramp stamp” myself but largely because it is the most inherently wrong description. The idea of a tramp stamp is that women who have lower back tattoos are easy, or common, or generally slutty. If any of these descriptions were true why would the women in question put their tattoo in the place most of us have covered every single day...? I chose that location because I can cover it easily for work, really very simple! So let’s see if we can be a little sensible and wean this lack of logic out to the general populous wherever we are?

My second tattoo is also on my back, across the top sitting just below and in the middle of my shoulder blades. This one I designed myself, and it’s a Celtic tree of life with a quote from a Tim Minchin (loooove him) song placed round it. The whole point of this particular one was it was a statement that my life may not be perfect, may not suit everyone, but it is MY life and I love it. Funnily enough the upper back doesn’t elicit any slang terms, but ironically in my case is the one most often on display. It does get a lot of comments to be fair, and pretty much always complimentary.

So on to my third. I want a charm bracelet around my ankle for my mum, something fairly simple and small but I always choose designs that mean something to me or represent something. That said I would never get a tattoo for my hubby, as much as I love him, and in case you’re reading this dearest just imagine if I had an ex boyfriend’s name tattooed on me... Yeah, not so upset now are you? ;-P

So personally I love a bit of ink, to me mine are art and things of beauty, but this is one I’d really like other people’s opinions on. So what are your thoughts? Love them? Hate them? Indifferent? Let me know on the blog, Facebook or email me if you like! Look forward to some viewpoints!