Tattoo FAQ 2

I am here with yet another frequently asked question piece about tattoos. Unlike my last tattoo FAQ, this piece will be covering statements and actions as well as other questions that I get a lot. So I want to give my forever answers and responses to these.

1. “What’s the meaning?”

What gets me about this questions isn’t the question itself; rather, it’s the expectations behind it. At face value, I actually like this questions, and it can lead to nice conversations and possibly a friendship. However, there are some people who ask me this questions with the expectation that there’s some super deep meaning behind all of my tattoos. Many of my tattoos I got just because I like the show, band, podcast, or whatever else it references. The ones who have the expectation that there has to be a deep meaning tend to look at least little disappointed. So just be ready for the fact that there may not be a big meaning behind the ink.

2. “But your body is a temple.”

To an extent, I can agree with this statement. Your body IS a temple and as such, you need to look after and respect it. But people who say this seem to mean that tattoos somehow destroy the body. My answer usually comes down to my want to decorate my temple and make it look appealing.

3. “What if you regret it?”

I can’t answer this question, if I’m honest. Mostly because I can’t tell the future. But the thing is, regret is always a possibility. However there is laser treatment and ways to cover tattoos in case that does happen. Of course I can’t speak on behalf of all tattooed people, but on my part I try to think through what will go on my body forever, so hopefully there won’t be any regrets.

4. Judgmental staring.

Now that I have a good handful of tattoos, this doesn’t bother me as much. I only bring it up because for those who give tattooed people those judgmental stares, we notice. Just because we may not be bothered by it or react to it doesn’t mean we don’t see it. It’s something that I now just roll my eyes and occasionally laugh at. It’s just something that I’ve never understood. All it does is make me wonder what’s going on in that person’s life that they have to judge that hard.

5. “Are you kinky?”

Okay, so I don’t get this as often as other questions or statements, but it comes up enough where I have to talk about it. At first, I was a little bothered, because why does anyone need to know that? Pretty much all of the time, they’re not planning on sleeping with me. But now it just makes me laugh for the same reason why it made me uncomfortable. It’s also such a ridiculous question to ask a stranger.

6. “What do your parents think?”

I don’t like answering this question because I don’t like putting words in other people’s mouths. I just know that one of my parents knows that, at the end of the day, it is my body and I’ll do what I want.

7. “Do you date?” or “Of course you’re single.”

Or really, anything similar. Once again, I never understood this. So my go-to response has always been, “What does that have to do with tattoos?” And the person who asked gets flustered, not able to answer my question.

8. “I don’t think I’ll ever get one.”

My problem with this statement is mostly that I don’t know how to respond, so I usually just nod and not even continue the conversation about the topic.