Do you think people with many tattoos can be beautiful?

Listen... I know what you're talking about, I really do. I get it too sometimes, where I'm confronted by my own involuntary reactions to something "other", something unfamiliar, something a little scary I suppose it's fair to say, yeah? Like for instance groups of young blokes with hoodies walking together, but also people wearing burkas yeah? Seems threatening somehow. I get ya. My reaction when I'm a little scared or weirded out is to try to get the know the person better if the situation is generally cut out that way, you know? Like a colleague wearing hijab. Get to know her. See she's got more in common than different and has a mean sense of humour. I got tattoos. Too many to count at this point. I love em all and don't regret any one of them. They're my body. They're what I chose to have on my body as opposed to what I was gifted/cursed with DNA lottery wise. They are just me, simple. Just like the colleague with the hijab is no longer scary to me and I feel really silly I felt that way now, I'm sure getting to know people with tattoos will help you feel different.

As for whether you think they're beautiful, well, that's totally up to you, mate. I don't care if you don't like mine 'cause they ain't there to please you. :)

Ouch.

Well, I have eight tattoos at the moment, my boyfriend has many, many more than I have, and I already have plans for more as well. Basically, I love good art on my skin. That skin is what I chose for myself, not what was allotted to me. Comments like these are why people in the tattoo world stick derogatory words like "plainskin" on people without ink, as a joke because they are fed up with being labeled a certain way. Now I am by no means heavily tattooed yet but I can already feel the weirdness through your words.

Believe me I couldn't care less of the way you think I look.

Sorry, I mean no offense, but I do not like tattoos at all. In this day and age, everyone seems to have at least one and what started off as a statement to tell the world that you were oh so unique ended up being drowned in a sea of other people trying to be equally unique. It is more rebellious, more special, not to have tattoos now. Now of course, if I met a really nice guy who just happened to have some tattoos, I would not let that stand in the way of a good thing. I would not be ecstatic about it either though, I have to be honest there. And nasty, ugly tattoos of things I hate? Those would have to be deal breakers. No face tattoos for sure, no hand tattoos either. I am just not attracted to that at all.

My personal opinion is that not everyone can carry many tattoos, strange hair styles, eccentric clothes, or unusual makeup well. You have to be the type for that kind of thing. I have certainly seen people with many tattoos and thought, "those really don't go with your overall look", and then also those where the tattoos look like they should rightfully have been born with them :). There's no hard and fast rules there. I mean, I've seen men in suits with tattoos poking out their collars and they look great.

Of course it does depend on the tattoos themselves as well, whether they are well done, what they are of.

Yeah well, you know?? I've actually had people telling me that I don't "look" like a tattooed person. What is that actually supposed to mean? Surely if they can see my ink then I look like a tattooed person, LOL? Now I do like to dress up a bit, which is apparently what these people are referring to (can't think of nothing else?). Hey guess what? Tattoos can be "carried" by anyone who loves them! There's old ladies getting tattoos now and all of that is because they are more acceptable now. Which also refutes the whole "you are more special without them now" nonsense which I've also heard a fair bit. We don't get ink to look like we're special to you, we do it for us. I know you know that Pink, not trying to insult you here, but it does get boring. At the end of the day who cares whether other people think I can look beautiful with many tattoos when all that matters is whether I like them. They're not just about beauty either. Not at all. I love mine. I don't have them to gain on sex appeal or nothing.

Well, I got a new tattoo today! It's a watercolour style tattoo of English garden weeds, in honour of my late grandmother who was a keen gardener and yet always found space to leave those weeds alone. Basically they remind me of my childhood and the lovely, warm feeling my nana gave me. I'm thrilled, beyond thrilled, and if anyone wants to hate on the flowers I got to honour my grandma, that's pretty sick in my mind... I mean you don't have to like them or get the same (please no, tattoo thievery ain't cool) but it's not like they are depicting a horror story, kwim? Anyways the more inked I get the more weird the bare skin looks to me. I love my tattoos. They're just me. They all tell stories, whether it's getting that first tat by a scratcher at 16 (fond memories actually) or this one for grandma.

Congrats on your new ink.

I really meant no offense and you have given me some things to think about as well. There are clothing styles I don't like either, yet don't judge others for when they have them, and tattoos are probably quite similar though also very different. The bottom line is that this is your skin and you get to decide what to do with it. But also: we live in a world where visuals are very important, which I personally like and find fascinating because the way we express ourselves really does tell a story as you say and there are so many interesting stories out there.

I certainly don't judge you for your tattoos. They sound nice. There are things that scare me though, like tattoos that look like they are gang related or violent in some way.

Aaaawww... thanks for saying that. Stuff like this is interesting because tattoos historically have what people see as a bad reputation, like something cheap people got, but that isn't even true. I mean I read that several past British monarchs had ink and of course it makes sense that rich people got them because they are a bit expensive, LOL. So I'm not sure entirely where the reputation comes from, but it's about choosing stuff for your own body that you want on your body and though judgement is par for the course it honestly does bother me when people make thoughtless comments.

Hmmm... interesting question, that, and not something I had ever considered before to be honest. If I have to give my knee jerk opinion though, I would have to say that I like some tattoos and think some tattoos can be cool, but people covered in them? That is something I honestly don't prefer to see. I also prefer more feminine tattoos on women, something that complements their natural look rather than alter their look altogether, if that makes sense. Of course what other people do with their bodies is not any of my business but well, you did ask...

Yeah well, I think people with many tattoos can be beautiful but who would you be getting a tattoo for? For yourself or someone else? If it is for you, all that matters is that you think you can be beautiful with many tattoos, unless of course your purpose is not to to look beautiful but something else, like scaring people off!!! If you do want to remember a loved one you can even get tattoos where the ink is made of the ashes of your deceased love one. I don't know what to think about that but all kinds of things are possible these days.

Although I wouldn't get ant tattoos myself I think it can look lovely on other people. My question is though what will it look like when these people are old men and old ladies?

I feel a lot of tattoos detract from a persons natural beauty. I think of Daniel on The Pickers, she is a beautiful girl and the one she has across her chest is pretty but I think she would be much prettier without it. Her skin is beautiful and I feel those tats just mess it up. The same for the two daughters on Pit Bulls and Parolees. I think they would look better without them.