Tattoos - What do they mean?

I am by far, the most tattooed girl out of the lot. Julia and Kirstie remain virgins of the ink and whilst Chiara has dabbled slightly in the art, she remains worlds behind me (don’t yah hun ;-))

It often surprises people when they find out about how many tattoos I really have. I mean, I’m basically the antithesis to anything stereotypically related to tattooing – I work in an office, I’m pretty freaking squeamish and well I don’t get around with my kit off like those fantasy inducing Suicide Girls.

  OMG I have tattoos! I’m so kitsch and quirky. Oh. You still don’t love me. How about if I take off my clothes? Disclaimer: that tattoo is pretty rad.

Okay I swore this wasn't going to turn into a feminist rant. So I digress.

Yes, we know that tattoos are becoming much more mainstream and acceptable in places like offices, churches, summer music festivals (where its basically mandatory to show your ink along with your ID) and your grandparents house. And I’m grateful and happy about that. But along with this new confidence in people with tattoos, comes more confidence in people without them to question our artwork.

Yeah, I control all of your media, finances and property. Blow me.

Above is my latest tattoo. Now if you were to prescribe to the notion that  a tattoo should “mean something” you would now believe that I am a member of the Illuminati and would send out fire and pitchforks to come and raze my home and all of my belongings whilst flaying me and throwing me into the depths of whatever hell you believe in, so that you might reclaim the world from my cold, dead hands. No. I simply liked the design. I think old school tattoos look amazing and I love the way that they have progressed aesthetically through the years.  And yet, when I got home from the session (done by the awesome Andy at Sin City Tattoos, cheers mate!) I found myself immediately looking to assign meaning to something that essentially, to me, didn’t have one. “The pen is mightier than the sword” I declared. “The universe sees all”, I proclaimed. For goodness sake, I could have said that my tattoo represented the  post modern existential failings we all have once we consume either literature or violence and people would have nodded their heads vigorously, satisfied that my tattoo was in fact, legitimate to them.

And it was this thought that got me pondering.  It is mostly people that don’t have tattoos that question the so called meaning behind them.  “well if you’re going to ruin your skin IT BETTER BE FOR A GOOD REASON!’. Is beauty and art simply not enough? Why do I have to justify what I do to my body to in order to appease you?  I don’t go up to people in the street and ask, “Why are you wearing that mini skirt? Is it because it represents your loose and free sexuality?” (again, there’s nothing wrong with having a loose and free sexuality, but like tattoos, I doubt it’s something you’re going to want to talk about with a complete stranger).  And that’s just the thing, even if a tattoo does have meaning, who says I want to discuss it with you?

Which is the myth that shows like Miami, LA and London (ad infinitum) Ink propagate. We are treated to episode after episode of sobbing inkees telling us how their best friends sister's uncle's brother's aunty's cat died and so they need this symbol of their star sign to ensure they never forget. 

Tattoo Artists: NOT registered psychologists

 I’m all for educating about tattoos and challenging the myth that tattooed people can’t do as good a job as non-tattooed people. I don’t particularly care if you have tattoos or not and I think that’s what my point boils down to. Individualism. If you want to have blue hair, do it, if you want to wear crazy ass raver pants to dinner, do it, if you want to wear giant fucking spikes as a necklace, please, be my guest.  And yes, all of those things, including tattoos send a message, but this is inherently different from meaning. 

But maybe we can't blame each other. There's a uniquely human phenomenon called Pareidolia. It's a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus(often an image or sound) being perceived as significant (THANKS WIKI!). So basically, it's like when we look at clouds and find shapes in them. Our brain wants to find meaning and pattern - it helped us to discern danger and opportunity back in the cavemen days.

For a guy without a body, he's pretty cute.

So, if you do get a tattoo, get it for your sake. Feel proud in the fact that you have chosen something beautiful to you, whether it means something or not. And hey, if someone does ask, it's a great opportunity to practise your creative skills. Tell 'em it commemorates the time your grandfather was eaten by a bear. 

Peace.