Lisa Khoury of the University at Buffalo’s student publication The Spectrum recently wrote an article entitled “Why Put a Bumper Sticker on a Ferrari?” She explains that when a woman gets a tattoo, she is “vandaliz[ing] the temple she has been blessed with as her body” and that getting one is the opposite of being “classy.” Instead, she suggests you do things like get your nails done and go to the gym.
My initial reaction to this was something along the lines of “WHAT THE HELL?” after I got over the fact that she said women get tattoos to attract men. And compared the feminine physique to a car. But I took a step back and tried to view it from this girl’s perspective. Tattoos are hugely popular these days with shows like LA Ink on television and women like Kat Von D becoming idols. They’re quickly becoming more socially accepted and, as a result, more and more people are choosing to get “ink’d.”
It’s starting to look trendy. And as with most trends, people could start to write off the motive for getting a tattoo as just following a fad. But for many, it is so much more than that. It is a means of expression that lasts forever. And yes, while it is permanent, that is often a crucial part behind wanting one.
When I decided to get a tattoo, it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. I wasn’t copying my friends, I didn’t see a TV show that made me think I had to have one to fit in. I carried the quote I wanted with me for years before I decided to have it etched on the back of my neck. Whether it is hidden or not, I always know that it’s there. I don’t care what anyone else thinks of it or whether or not they understand. The words give me daily comfort for what it means to me. And for that, permanence is quite appropriate.
I understand Khoury’s point that women are “naturally beautiful creatures.” But to say a female is ruining her beauty by putting something on her body that has meaning to her is an incredibly warped perspective. If you don’t like tattoos, that’s fine. Don’t get one.
Sure, I’ve seen some tattoos on people that I would never get. Some where my thought has been “what were you thinking?” But who am I to judge? Their body, their meaning, their drunken night, their mantra, whatever. It belongs to them.
“I don’t see how a colorful work of art on my skin is any different than a lady who gets her highlights, lowlights, and roots touched up on a monthly basis,” said sophomore marine biology major Leanne Ballering. “I don’t have a tattoo to be rebellious or cutting edge. I have it so that I can show off not only my God given, naturally beautiful, ‘temple’ of a body, but also my creativity and appreciation for art.”
But the biggest problem I have with this besides attacking tattoos in general is the fact that it is focused on just women—tattoos for men are not addresses in the slightest.
Lisa Khoury’s description of an elegant woman includes someone that “does not vandalize the temple she has been blessed with as her body. She appreciates it. She flaunts it. She’s not happy with it? She goes to the gym. She dresses it up in lavish, fun, trendy clothes, enjoying trips to the mall with her girlfriends. She accentuates her legs with high heels. She gets her nails done.”
But don’t worry; she goes on to contradict herself by saying “I’m not here to say a girl should walk around flaunting her body like it’s her job – that’s just degrading.”
I’m sorry, but didn’t you just tell me to flaunt my body along with my freshly manicured nails and trendy clothes? I’ll stop “degrading” my body when you stop degrading your own gender.
Maybe I don’t want to wear heels. Maybe going to the mall is not my idea of “fun.” Maybe I hate going to the gym because there are others ways to stay healthy. Does that make me an unrespectable woman? No, it makes me someone else’s idea of perfection.
If we can stop the stereotype of what the “perfect” woman is supposed to look and act like, it would be easy to see that the world is filled with amazing women that look and act nothing alike each other. Maybe one is covered with piercings and tattoos; maybe one is a soccer mom that drives a minivan; or maybe one is a soccer mom covered with piercings and tattoos. What makes any of these women better than the other?
Khoury’s description might be someone’s idea of a classy woman (like those who lived in the time when women were still the property of their husbands) but it’s far from my own. It’s a stereotype, an image.
A classy woman is one who is true to herself. And if that means getting a tattoo– whether it’s a deep meaningful quote or an owl because hell, she likes owls—then she should get one. If it’s not, then she shouldn’t. Getting a tattoo is a personal choice, not something anyone is forced into.
I understand that not all tattoos happen this way. Sometimes people consider them mistakes or something they should have thought about more before getting. But to say that a woman is degrading herself by making a personal and possibly deeply meaningful decision for what to do with her own body is sending her back to the dark ages. Even if we’re not talking about tattoos, we are all the masters of our own bodies. And anyone telling us otherwise is an insult to the individual we were born to become.
Hannah Webster can be reached at hannahkarine31@gmail.com.
Tattoos are trashy, whether you like it or not, next!
I’m in my 30s now, of all the people I know who got inked in their late teens and 20s over 50% regret their tattoos and would happily get them removed if they didn’t have to pay.
I wish I could tell that to every youngster who’s about to get a lower back tatt/japanese character/contrived verse of poetry/stars/stylized “tribal” stuff.
Seriously. You are like everyone else getting this shit. If you can’t afford to have the artist make a unique tattoo for you or better yet give them something yourself, don’t bother. You’ll be stuck wearing 2002’s air Jordans for the rest of your life.
we like tattoos
Tattoos have been, and always will be associated with low-class people.
The big money will be made on their removal in the next decade.
THE END