Tattoo Subtexts

I take many opportunities to point out to my kids that getting a tattoo is usually a huge mistake. It is obvious to people who think critically that tattoos invariably send messages to people who see them, mostly negative. Steve Sailer provides a nice, short quip about tattoo subtexts, quoting the New Yorker first:

Commenter slumber_j points to this New Yorker cartoon about "The subtext of all tattoos:" "Ask me about my parents' divorce."

Then he adds his own wisdom:

A related subtext might be: "I come from a long line of rash decisionmakers." On women, tattoos often seem to imply: "Pay attention to me because I, obviously, make poor choices, so you might get lucky."

It was so sad for me to see a thin, attractive sixteen-year-old girl with otherwise beautiful skin who had basically ruined the first impression she made by getting tats all over her arms. This was in the Rocky River, OH Target. Does she not realize that she doesn't need to call attention to herself? The subtext which came to my mind at the time was "I want all the wrong guys to pay attention to me."

I have many other tattoo disaster stories with which I could bore readers involving people whom I've known. Most of them involve the same sort of screaming subtexts. There are all kinds of ad campaigns going on to persuade people to not discriminate against the "tattooed", as if this is some type of genetic condition. If I were a minority who had suffered from bigotry due to my skin color or appearance due to my race, these campaign would enrage me. The "tattooed" have no one to blame but themselves if they suffer discrimination. Maybe I'll start a campaign which promotes this message: "It's OK to admit that you regret getting your tattoos."