I have two tattoos and three piercings in each ear and I don’t feel an ounce of guilt. I put a video on FB with a well known Catholic priest that I listen to often explaining why tattoos are actually ok even when we claim the Catholic faith and not too long after I posted it one of my TBM friends posted a video with a guy explaining why Christians should not have tattoos and I had to roll my eyes. I’ll take my tattoos and good heart any day over being someone who judges if someone is righteous or not by a little or even a lot of ink on their skin.

Tatoos in my view maybe ok if it is discrete. But there are alot of people getting them too young when they haven't thought it through well and get stuck with something they don't like later in life. It doesn't do well in the white collar world, CEOs and politicians don't sport tattoos, neither do elementary school teachers, or doctors, and other professionals who make money and have the public trust. But for people who plan on staying in the lower levels of employment in society like retail or construction and factories, mechanics, then it should be fine. It all depends on what a person wants in life.

You don't know who has tattoos if they're not visible.

For all you know, Mitt Romney could have a big "CTR" tattoo on his right butt cheek. "Ann, choose the right."

That’s where you’re wrong friend, I am a pre-primary teacher for a private Montessori school and have one near my shoulder (three sparrows flying away symbolic of my children and I escaping my abusive marriage) and one very small one on my wrist of the semicolon but a heart replacing the dot. Both are very easily covered with clothing but none the less I have worked at this school for four years straight without it being a problem. As long as the symbols are not crass who is anyone to judge?

keeping it minimal and meaningful for you personally. Other than the permanence of the tattoos, there's no difference between having such tattoos and wearing a ring or necklace every day that you love or that has some symbolic significance for you.

But that's the thing. People do judge, there are lots of folks especially older ones that aren't impressed. Maybe it's out of date thinking, but it happens. Such as here in Utah, Governor Herbert doesn't show off his tatooes, neither does Romney, or anyone I know who is in public position. And yes parents judge their kids teachers very rigorously, and self-righteously. The background check is very stringent as well. with finger prints having to be done every 2-3 years.

A number of the younger teachers in Maryland have tattoos now -- generally not anything like a full sleeve, but something small on the wrist, bosom, ankle, shoulder, etc. It's more socially acceptable now than it used to be.

I remember when my mom was horrified that I wanted to pierce my ears (a very conservative one piercing in each ear.) She was a member of "the greatest generation," and to her, nice girls did not pierce their ears. The funny thing is that she did get her own ears pierced many years later. I've retained her attitude about tattoos -- I personally am not interested in tattooing my own body, but I'm tolerant of those who do.

Anono-

That is absolute horseshit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2019 12:54PM by midwestanon.

I wish you didn't always beat around the bush, MWA!

It seems ridiculous to cast such things in morality terms. That said, I personally am not a big fan of the fad. It just doesn't make much sense to me.

Tattoos and piercings are an aesthetic. A style choice. The problem is that they are permanent decisions that leave scars.

Some people pull it off and it can be a cool (but irreversible) aesthetic. If someone is happy going through life projecting a pirate/rocker image, good for them. But many are just following a fad, doing what the models and celebrities are doing and conforming to peer pressure or expectations. I don't think they're really thinking about whether they're actually going to be loving those permanent tattoos 10 years down the road, or whether they'll really be sick of them by then and wishing they hadn't injected so much permanent ink into their skin.

Removable make-up or inks that can last for a month or so, but ultimately can be completely removed without damaging the skin would make more sense to me.

The standard joke is about some guy who gets a girlfriend's name tattooed prominently on his chest...and then she breaks up with him a month later. Fun times ahead trying to get into a new relationship or explaining the big scar on the chest.

I've seen people who become so addicted to it that they eventually are covered head to toe with tattoos and the tattoos unavoidably take over their life and identity because most people have a hard time (at least initially) focusing on anything about the person other than the fact that they are covered from head to toe with weird pictures and word graffiti.

Like I said, I don't see it as a right or wrong thing or moral thing. But it is a choice that has consequences, just like all choices.

One could say the same for cosmetic surgery....Botox, implants, nose jobs, puffy lips, butt lifts, etc.

Why do tattoos and piercings get a negative light, but cosmetic surgery doesn't so much?

I personally have about the same reaction to obtrusive cosmetic surgery and botox--especially when it makes the person look worse than they would have looked without it.

Don't get me started on the idiocy of botox. Not only are big botox lips unattractive, the fact that people are willing to inject poison into their tissue to get that look is something that still boggles my mind. It seems like another groupthink type of situation.

No one puts Botox in their lips. You’re thinking of collagen. If you’re going to be a judgmental jerk at least get your substance right.

https://www.healthline.com/health/botox-lips

If you're going to be an ignoramus with reading comprehension problems, please do it elsewhere.

As for calling me a "judgmental jerk" I simply said that I don't find those artificially swollen lips attractive. Why did that trigger YOU?

Am I required to like artificially swollen lips in order to make YOU feel good about YOU?

Please feel free to inject whatever you want into you lips. All day, everyday. I don't care. It won't make you a bad or evil person in my mind (as I made clear in my post). But I have to be honest, it boggles my mind that you would want to do that and I don't find it to be a good look aesthetically.

I suppose if I told Van Gogh that I didn't like the earless look, he probably would have called me a "judgmental jerk" too. So what.

You were pretty quick to be a "judgmental jerk" yourself, TBH.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/5729419/lip-fillers-people-using-botox-to-fake-a-plumper-pout/

Your response does remind of the holier-than-thou attitude that SOME tattoo, piercing people put on. There's this pretense that they're somehow purer, nobler, braver and righteously rebellious than someone who doesn't go in for it. It's this "love my tats or admit that you're a judgmental jerk" attitude. Fortunately, most are not like that. Unfortunately, there are enough like that to make it a real thing.

I'm noticing a trend for younger influencers and celebrities -- women in their 20s -- to get extensive "work" done. These are young women that are already pretty or beautiful to begin with. They tweak their appearance seeking some cultural or fashionable ideal of the perfect cheekbones, lips, lifted eyebrows, etc. to the point that they no longer look like themselves.

I honestly don't understand that mentality (short of having major flaws in your appearance.) I've seen young women who have had so much work done that their skin takes on a hard appearance. They sometimes look like they are in their early 40s. They lose their natural, youthful good looks. They change that which is distinctive about themselves in order to meet some artificial ideal.

Whatever will they do when age strikes? When they turn 50 or 60 and could benefit from some freshening? You can only do so many procedures before it looks like you are wearing a mask, IMO.

in east Asia (particularly Japan and Korea). One pattern that you can't miss if you ever do that is the extent of completely unnecessary, often self-defeating cosmetic surgery that the celebrities do. It's so routine that I often suspect that there is some kind of arrangement between national plastic surgeons' associations and top managers in the entertainment business to use celebrities this way. The goal seems to be to make plastic surgery procedures seem to be as casual and routine as getting a new handbag or pair of shoes.

The saddest thing is that a number of the celebrities actually ruined their careers with excessive plastic surgery. They would debut, the public would fall in love with them for their image, their unique and natural look...then they would disappear for a year and come back looking so different that nobody could even recognize them. People would jokingly talk about the "PS catalog number" for particular nose styles.

One really popular young actress (with a wholesome, cute, girl-next-door look) came back from a "plastic surgery hiatus" with a nose that was so sharp and pointy that everyone was wondering if she actually had asked the plastic surgeon to give her a bird beak. She went from being an A-list celebrity to being a z-list/no-list celebrity in no time at all...and it was all due to pointless (or in this case, excessively pointed) plastic surgery.

I am just really grateful none of the things I thought were so cool when I was a teenager were permanent!

I had a bracelet which I hardly ever took off for like, 5 years, it was a hand-made artsy 1970's thing. I found it the other day, and ick.

Thank goodness it was removable. I feel sorry for people with big tats who 20 years from now will be stuck with them or worse big holes in their bodies, all very expensive to change or fix later.

There's a lot of members with those Don't call me Mormon ones.

Also, there's those bishops and stake presidents with a rendering of a dried up prune saying "Stay in the Boat" and "Doubt your doubts"

Tats aren't good when profits no longer admit to knowing so.

I'm actually thinking of getting a single dermal piercing near the lower corner of my eye for a small crystal. I just turned 55 and work for a state agency. They have no problem with it. If one day I want to remove it, it just leaves a little scar.

You go guuuurrrrrllll.

No tats.
2 piercings in ears.

Same for me, no tattoos, but after my divorce was final from the TBM ex-husband and I had resigned, I got a second set of piercings in my ears. The only reason I don't have any tattoos is that I haven't found anything I like enough to get permanently on my body.

I know a top of the line heart surgeon with tattoos. Several lawyers, and other "white collar" well-to-do people with tattoos that aren't punks or drug addicts. The taboo of the tattoo of the 60's thru 90's has been tossed out. Tattoos are almost as acceptable as blue hair or nose rings.

Yup to tattoos, perhaps not as much to nose rings!

The thing is so many people are assuming that people will regret their tattoos ten years from now but that isn’t always the case. I didn’t get either of mine until I was in my thirties and I used to be one of those people who couldn’t stand tattoos. I wasn’t opposed to people getting one, I pretty much had the mentality of live and let live but I never thought I’d get one and yet here I am. I am modest though in how I dress so mine are hardly ever seen. I cover my shoulders. Not everyone with a tattoo is out looking like a pirate. My piercings are on my actual lobe none on the cartilage. What I went through in life changed me and I really have no regrets of who I am today. A tattoo may be permanent but that is something on the physical body. A ugly heart is so much more unappealing. There was a guy in the tattoo shop all tatted up, piercings everywhere, not my cup of tea, but he was a good guy and that speaks volumes more than his physical appearance. Many of the teachers at the school I work at also have tattoos, none of them crass, us Montessori teachers are just a different fold I guess.

But there can be no denying that a huge percentage of people who get tattoos do ultimately end up regretting it to some degree.

I think it's just a matter of making the decision wisely. If a person makes the decision after giving it careful thought and it makes them happy in the long term, what other people think won't matter so much (as it will already have been considered when the decision was made).

And of course the relevance and impact will vary depending on how extensively a person gets into tattooing and piercing themselves.

A person who gets a couple of small tattoos in areas that are usually covered obviously isn't going to be confused with someone going for a pirate image. But someone who gets the entirety of both arms and legs done is, frankly, going to come across to most people as some kind of walking freak show. (In fact in the 19th century traveling freak shows actually often included people with full body tattoos among the exhibits.)

The good news is that a lot of celebrities, movie characters, etc., have been putting it out there as a normal thing to do and have normalized it to an extent that fewer and fewer people attach any kind of moral stigma to it. The bad news is that a lot of celebrities, movie characters, etc., have been putting it out there as a cool, hip thing to do and a lot of people are doing it without putting much thought into it because it seems cool, hip and fashionable at the moment.

I got my first (and only) tattoo after I was retired.

It's in UCLA blue and runs down the inner side of my left forearm. It says "cantano per la gioia," which means "they sing for joy."

An elderly Italian gentleman said this to me when church bells in every direction began pealing at noon in Venice. There are so many churches in Italy anyway, and when they all tune up at the same time, it is jaw-dropping.

Nobody has ever said anything negative to me about it. (Maybe I have a "don't mess with me" vibe, or else I mostly hang out with nice people.)

No piercings, but I have a rope tattoo on my left wrist (sailor tattoo that marks a current or former deckhand). Why would I be embarrassed about a tattoo that serves as a reminder of what I used to be?

Anyone who thinks just having ink makes someone a bad person or untrustworthy is judgmental and not worth my time.

On Davinia Catarina, tattoo'ed exmo girl:

https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1383262,1383262


(Her Facebook page has since been deleted.)

I stepped on a board with a nail in it. the nail went through the sole of my shoe, and then it went clear through my foot, so that it was sticking out the top of my foot. It was difficult to pull the nail back out. That was enough body piercing to last me for several lifetimes. However, I did manage to poke holes in my body again, later, several more times. But, it was never intentional. Then there are the intentional times which are limited medical purposes, NOT expressionist / artistic purposes. SO, as things are, I am way way stocked up on body piercing experiences.

Tattoos? I have a hard time deciding what I want to eat for breakfast. picking out a permanent doodle for display on my body is way beyond my capability.

.....IF I could take a pill that would change my skin color to a bright attractive hue for few hours with out any other consequences, I might try that.

Smirk,

".....IF I could take a pill that would change my skin color to a bright attractive hue for few hours...."

Yes, I would like that too!

I am with you on piercings and am glad you lived through your experiences.

One of my life goals has been the avoidance of unnecessary pain and I'm with you on, not wanting it myself.

But others, probably much younger than me, welcome to knock yourself out, I won't judge you!

If I want to display art on my body, I put it on a T shirt.

I don't like pain. Tattoos hurt.

Not sure who came up with the tattoo idea, but apparently you can get people to do painful things to follow the crowd. Kind of like Mormonism.

Free Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If I want to display art on my body, I put on a
> T-shirt. > Who likes pain? Tattoos hurt.

Early in the Bible, we are taught to honor our parents so their days may be long on the Earth.

Later on, in Leviticus, we read the marking and piercing of our flesh caveat.

I was reminded of how easily our folks can be dishonored in a drive down Caroline Street in Virginia.

You come to an ink-&-sticking parlor called "SORRY MOM".

The kids crowd the place to buy their sorry gifts to Mom.

My daughter has two large and one small tattoos. If you have the fortunate pleasure to be in her care, she will use her brilliant mind and her kind heart to care for you no matter how small minded and judgmental you are.

People can personally not be a fan of tattooing and still not be judgmental toward people who have tattoos. It's really not that complicated.

I personally generally don't like the look 90% of the time. And I don't think it's a great idea due to the permanence of it and the fact that it's entirely optional. That said, I wouldn't hold any particularly negative opinion about a person based solely on their having a tattoo any more than I would based on the type of car they drive or whether they have hair coming out of their ears. I'm perfectly aware that there are people who have tattoos who are fantastic people and people who don't have tattoos who are horrible people.


People are complex and multi-faceted. Only an idiot would make a snap judgment about someone's character based solely on whether they have tattoos. Similarly, only an idiot would make a snap judgment about someone's character based solely on whether or not they like tattoos.

I got eight piercings and a tattoo in the past year, and I'm getting another tattoo next month. My TBM parents aren't thrilled but they're surprisingly respectful about it.

Not sure who you’re speaking to but I never said anyone was judgemental for not liking tattoos but that I would rather have my tattoos and not judge others than be tattoo free and judging others simply for having them. There is a difference between simply not liking them and judging others and I was just making a statement on the mentality that often gets wrapped around the issue not saying that everyone who dislikes tattoos is judgemental. I used to not even like tattoos myself and ended up with two but I didn’t spend my time judging others who have them while I didn’t, so if that statement was toward me take your self-projection somewhere else.

If you look at the thread (and the fact that my comment was indented under a different comment and not a general reply to the OP) you can see that it was not directed at you. It was directed to someone who called me a "judgmental jerk" even though I had clearly stated in my comments that although I don't care for tattoos particularly and do not like the botox look, I don't think that such things are moral issues and I don't judge people as being good or bad based on such superficial things.

Yeah, I’m not sure how this board works half the dang time, still getting used to it. My apologies however.

My guess is, the more Mormons in a state, the more people are judgmental about tattoos and piercings. Luckily, I don't live in a heavily Mormon state.

My brother's sisters in law took my 18 month old niece to get her ears pierced when one of them was babysitting her, without my brother's or his wife's permission. I thought that was pretty messed up!

With regard to Botox, my ex got “full-face” Botox at his opthamologist’s office and was dead within a week.

To augment the catastrophe, his bishop explained to us that my exmo ex died—not because of Botox—but because “God was sick of messing with him.”

What a charming man, that bishop was.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2019 06:35PM by Lot's Wife.