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Home > Blogs > Women's Life > Archives > 2011 > March > 11 > Entry
Are tattoos unfeminine?
When I was in high school, I swore up and down that I wanted a little red dragon tattoo, and that I would get one as soon as I turned 18. Of course, my mom opposed the idea, because that’s a mom’s job: to protect her daughter from doing something potentially regrettable that can’t be undone (at least, inexpensively and painlessly).
Her standard warning was, “You may think it looks cool now, but what are you going to think of it when you’re 80 and it’s faded and wrinkly?” She’d also warn me about looking professional, to which I retorted with the intent to get a tattoo in an area that could be easily concealed when necessary. “Why get one at all if you’re just going to cover it up most of the time?” Ok, Mom. Touché.
In the end, her words of warning did come into play. I still got a tattoo, but not a dragon. It’s an infinity symbol (∞) and it’s about an inch long on my upper back, between my spine and my left shoulder blade. I chose it because I believe the universe is infinite, with no boundaries, beginning or end. It’s not a design I think I’ll regret. I’m not even sure I’ll care about it when I’m 80; even today, I sometimes forget I have it or which side it’s on. It’s modest, it’s out of the way, and yet it still means something to me.
But back to my main question: Are tattoos unfeminine? What do you think when you see a woman with a tattoo, or multiple tattoos? Do you have any yourself, and if so, do you regret getting it/them?
A close friend has some art on her lower back: a French horn with a musical staff wafting through it, depicting notes from one of her favorite compositions. Although it’s quite a bit larger than mine, I consider it very tastefully done. She is an excellent horn player and is well on her way to becoming a professional musician. It totally suits her.
Of course, for as many tasteful and unique tattoos I’ve seen on women, there have been others that made me cringe. Call me old-fashioned, but it’s my belief that anything you get permanently etched onto your body should be a well thought-out decision. I’m proud to say my choice of the infinity symbol was deliberate, not impulsive, and I have an idea for a second tattoo that I’ve been mulling over for years. (Sorry, Mom.)
If you go to the water park area of Kings Island in the summer, it’s like a museum of the good, the bad and the ugly of body art. I personally find it fascinating. A man in front of me in line for a locker had a piece covering his entire back showing a very disturbing-looking tree with dollar bills for leaves and “the root of all evil” written at the tree’s roots. I had to give him props for originality, even though body art of that size meets my criteria for “excessive.”
A young woman assembling my lunch at a local fast-food restaurant had “sleeves” - that is, tattoos all the way down her arms ending at her wrists. I didn’t get a really close look at the full designs, but I did spot a pink high-heeled shoe and a tube of lipstick on one arm. In the end, it’s her body and her choice what she puts on it, but I couldn’t help wondering what her thought process was when she decided on those designs.
Or what she’ll think of them when she’s 80.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: body image
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By Not for me
March 11, 2011 11:51 PM | Link to this
I find tattoos very unattractive on men and on women. I realize that some people feel that they are expressing themselves through their tattoos, but they are very unfeminine. They are not professional, either. I think that tats and piercings have just gotton too extreme. You no longer see the person, just all of the ink they are covered with. Not meaning to sound cruel, I think being covered with tats is trashy looking. And, when you are 80, it will look even worse than it does now, when your grandkids are asking what all that smeery, sagging looking colors all over your body are!
By Cynthia
March 12, 2011 12:07 AM | Link to this
Yes, they can be, depending on where you put them, and be happy with one. A tiny heart in a secret place can be sexy.
By MAC
March 12, 2011 2:18 AM | Link to this
Good answer Not for Me; Dittos on what U said!
By WhatAreYouOnAboutAgain?
March 12, 2011 8:03 AM | Link to this
“You no longer see the person, just all of the ink they are covered with.” Really? You’re not able to see personality based on their choices to get a tattoo and what the significance of the tatoo is? Even if it means the person is impulsive, you can tell a lot about a person based on their ink. You can also tell a lot about a person’s personality from their posts on the internet as well o_O
By Rosebud
March 12, 2011 9:43 AM | Link to this
A tattoo is not a good look on on woman that walks with a cane.
By mrs. combs
March 12, 2011 11:26 AM | Link to this
i am a 24 year old female who has a tattoo of a butterfly on my upper left arm. it is about 4 inches wide and i have no regrets in getting it done. am also going to get a memorial tattoo for my miscarry that happened last year. i feel if they have meaning and are tasteful then there is no problem with them. and for those of you who do that is your opinion
By george
March 12, 2011 2:18 PM | Link to this
Tattoos look like graffiti you see on bathroom walls, railroad cars, etc. They deface the human body just like graffiti defaces buildings, etc.
By no thanks
March 12, 2011 4:26 PM | Link to this
Must agree with george and Not for me. I think tattoos look trashy on both males and females, no matter how small or what they look like. A male friend of mine feels the same way and he often points out women he thought looked very attractive until he noticed some tattoo on her body, which he feels makes her very unappealing.
By Not for me
March 12, 2011 11:13 PM | Link to this
@Mrs. Combs - I can understand wanting to do something to have a tribute to the child that you lost. I have lost 3 children in miscarriages, and I wanted to do something, too. I have 3 angel figurines, and each angel is holding a small child. I have the date that I lost each one written on the bottoms of them. Another friend of mine bought a ring with the birthstone of her lost one that she wears. Those trinkets are something that you can pass down to your other children someday so they can remember their brother or sister. I am so sorry for your loss, I know how awful it is.
By other side
March 13, 2011 12:38 AM | Link to this
If the person had a good artist, and placed them somewhere tasteful on their body (not on their face or neck), they can be great. I can’t stand the prison scratch and gang wannabes. As for femininity, I have 11 and if you’re as hung up on my ink as you were on my clothes and hair in high school, I know to avoid you now like I did 20 years ago.
By American Graffiti
March 14, 2011 9:13 AM | Link to this
If women think that it makes them look better or attractive to men, then go for it. My advice is don’t do it because it is a turn off to a majority of men. Tattoos on men are not great either.
By I have tats
March 14, 2011 10:31 AM | Link to this
“Tats will look horrible and wrinkly when you are 80” Ok, when you are 80, or even 70…I suspect your tat is the last thing you will care about. When you are 80, you are most likely worried about not breaking a hip or staying out of the retirement home and keeping your freedom. What your tat will look like at 80 has to be one of the most ridiculous excuses for not getting a tat….ever. Sure the tat will look like crap, but so will the rest of your body. It’s what happens when you get that old. “Tattoos look like graffiti you see on bathroom walls, railroad cars, etc. They deface the human body just like graffiti defaces buildings, etc.” So, if a tat defaces the outer body, what defaces the inside? I wonder if the person who wrote this never drinks alcohol, smokes, or shoves a 2000 calorie fatburger down their neck? What about 2/3 of our country who waddle around with a gut or close to obesity…have they not defaced themselves as well? The bottom line is, when you start making decisions for yourself based on what OTHER people think, you have already lost. If you think my tats are trashy, good for you. I’m sure I could definitely find something about you that I think is flawed (easily). Go ahead and shake your head at the person with tats, or think in some manner that you are better than they are…if that is what helps you feel better about yourself. :)
By Trenton Shorty
March 18, 2011 9:27 AM | Link to this
@ WhatAreYouOnAboutAgain? First Impressions are very important some times. I think at some level we all form a perception about someone when we first meet them. We are often wrong, but in a busy World, people don’t always get a second chance.
By ????
March 18, 2011 9:49 AM | Link to this
Let me ask this, “what is feminine”? In the name of equality, our society has done all that it can, to make women into men. I don’t say this in a mean spirited fashion at all, it actually saddens me. Why would a any woman want to be like us guys in any way! There used to be grand distinction between the sexes, but those lines are being blurred more everyday, tattoos only being one example. A trip to the dictionary might help answer the title question, and the one that I have asked.