Tufts Blogs

I grew up as a child with a strong dislike of tattoos. Like most children, I was told from an early age that tattoos were trashy, unprofessional and judgment-provoking. My parents, like any parents just looking out for their child, engrained in my mind a strong aversion to tattoos. This distaste provoked, upon seeing someone covered in them, my jaw to drop and immediately negative thoughts to flood my mind.

I hate this. I hate that I ever thought this way. I hate that I ever let the decoration on someone’s skin dictate how I felt about them and who they were as a person. I can partially blame this thought on society and how even the most disgusting of cultural norms creep their way into your head. But I also have to take responsibility. I am in control of my thoughts. I am in control of how I view others, regardless of the societal norms and stigmas bombarding my thought processes every minute of every day. As I grew up my hatred for tattoos dissipated to a dislike, from there to neutrality and now to a strong appreciation.

So now my perplexed and rather frustrated self poses the question: why in the hell are tattoos so horrible? 

We are told we won’t be hired in a work place? Because clearly an embellishment on my arm will effect the work I do for the company! 

We are told, mostly as females but as males too, that we will look like a floozy? Because something I deem meaningful enough to put on my body for a lifetime classifies me as easy!

We are told when we grow older we will regret them? Because when I look back at something I was so passionate about as a young, hopeful, happy girl, I will regret commemorating that amazing time in life!

We are told so many reasons we should not get tattoos and to be totally honest they seem like a load of crap. I absolutely love the concept of tattoos. They’re beautiful works of art,  passionate lines of poetry, commemorations for times savored and reminders of loved mottos. Tattoos are an amazing commitment and show of dedication, not to mention a seriously amazing pain tolerance.

I hate that I live in a world where my self expression could hinder my ability to get a job or the way I am perceived. But to say I will easily reject the societal constraints placed on me would be ignorant. I do want to get an amazing job and I don’t want my appearance to negatively affect me, or when I have a family, my children. But at the same time, I want to express myself and show my commitment to a loved piece of literature or a hand of Fatima in memory of a life changing trip to Morocco.

I hate that I live in a world where my anxiety of not being able to get a job due to my self expression runs parallel to my anxiety provoked by having to pick a career path at 18.