Ink
Anything I do with my body is for me.
I'm not interested in making my body a statement about anything or anyone, I don't wish to identify with a "tribe" or group or any political ideology. It's simply my body and I'll do with it want I want to.
I have several piercings, dating back to my teens -- that's a long time ago -- and they exist, or cease to, because I find them decorative. Tattoos, on the other hand, are different.
Having ink injected into your skin in various shapes and patterns isn't a new thing, but it's seen a renaissance over the past decade or so. I got my first bit of ink over 30 years ago, as a coming of age symbol. The second tattoo, which came a few decades later, was symbolic of the birth of my daughters. The third, a kanji on the back of my neck, is a deeply personal symbol that represents my ability to survive and thrive under incredibly difficult circumstances. My eldest daughter, now in her 28th year, has chosen to adopt the same symbol, because the two of us have overcome so much, and continue to thrive.
I've made this thread because I'm curious about choices that others have made about their physical adornment. It doesn't have to be a piercing or a tattoo, but I'd like to hear about choices people make when they decide to change some aspect of their physical appearance.
Any chance you work for CSIS, Rebecca?
I have two tattoos and no piercings. One on the inside of each forearm. The first is a small skull & crossbones, because I like pirates and I like reclaiming symbols of masculinity. The second is a typewriter, because I like typewriters. The second one is new. It also has my son's name on it. He was born last summer.
I have an idea for another brewing, but we shall see. What? More tattoos in your mid thirties? Are you mad?
Yay for more tattoos!
I designed Tommy Paine's sole tattoo for his birthday a few years ago. It features a candle burning with a scroll beneath it saying "the devil's harlot". Tommy's design -- Sagan's concept of science being a candle in the dark, and Martin Luther's quote that "knowledge is the devil's harlot". The guy who did the actual ink thought it was some kind of biker thing. An excellent tattoo artist, he still didn't get it when Tommy essplained it to him.
I have a small flower on my left shoulder, faded now because it's the oldest one, that represents a renewal I felt when I finally came of age. The second is "new school", a tribal design of no particular meaning except to myself. It represents the experience of the birth of my two daughters. It's on my lower back because both my girls, during labour, had their heads stuck in my lower back, and had I given birth to my first in the previous century I wouldn't have lived to give birth to my second. The third is a kanji that represents my survival in the face of adversity, loyalty, and perseverence.
The thing I love about kanji is that they are art (caligraphy), symbolism and the written word/concept all in one.
I don't have any tattoos, but I'm curious about getting one. For those who have them, how painful would you say it is? My sister has a few she said the pain was something like getting scratched and shocked at the same time, over and over again. Is that about right?
Hardly painful at all, but everyone has a different threshold. Got me one and only ink as a teen, and I can only recall a slight discomfort. Admittedly, the reason doesn't nearly stack up against the considerations Rebecca outlined here. I was enamored of Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance album at the time, and thought the album art would make for a nifty tattoo. I still have no regrets about it, as the music and the tattoo have both stood the test of time.
The only choice I make about my physical adornment is the question of facial hair. I have been growing it and my hair during Lent since I am reprising a role of Jesus in a dramatic reading on Good Friday. I'll be getting a haircut and a shave on Holy Saturday.
Why not put that off until Sunday's resurrection?
Ms. C. hates my beard. It's gone over the years from pepper to salt and pepper and now is almost exclusively salt. This despite my balding head still being pepper.
I got my first and only (so far) tatoo when I was 39.
It took about 50 minutes and felt like the zing of a cat's single claw, over and over. I was able to talk normally to my inker/torturer through most of it, and only had to say "One sec. Ow ow ow ow. Okay." a few times.
The worse part for me was resisting scratching it as it was healing, since it was itchy as hell.
My other body adornments are 6 piercings, all in my ears. I know, I'm so mundane.
Give us Barrabbas!
My b-i-l played Judas last year.
That line is almost verbatim in the script Unionist.
I won't tell you any more; I'd hate to spoil the ending.
Let's just say I get to hangout for awhile.
Don't forget your eclipse glasses.
I pray to Sepultura that this is not a joke.
You're in the wrong thread, Slumberjack. You're looking for "How to be a fan of problematic things."
Thanks, but no thanks Ripple. They keep closing those threads on us anyway.
And CF...I'd never joke about such grave matters.
The experience depends a great deal upon individual pain tolerance, the tattoo site and the size and complexity of the design. Parts of the body that have less flesh (ankles, feet, ribs, etc) or a lot of nerve bundles can be quite painful. If you're considering a large design you'll likely want to do it in stages, beginning with the outline, completing the colour and shading at a later date. The outline tends to be more painful than the fill. Two of mine are solid black, and they hurt more than my first one, which is mostly coloured fill and shading.
For me it feels like a sharp needle is being dragged through my skin. I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but have friends who've fainted during the process. For me, on a 1 to 10 pain scale, 10 being the worst pain ever experienced, being inked rates about 3.
This makes me think of an additional verse I wrote for Phil Ochs' "LOVE ME, I'M A LIBERAL"
"I grew my hair long in the Sixties,
I wore love beads and flowery clothes.
Had a peace symbol stitched on my Levis,
And a full beard right down to my toes.
But if you're inked, or your pierced, or just dreadlocked,
I WON'T hire people with those!
So Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, I'm a Liberal"
(My favorite response to this verse is whem some former Sixties type says "that's DIFFERENT, damn it!")
(For the record, I'm NOT inked at this point...but have considered having either a Celtic eternity symbol or the word "Saiorse!" applied to a bicep)
I've had a beard since 1994, but I keep it trimmed short. No tattoos or piercings.
Q: Does a gunshot wound count as a piercing?
Yeah...if you paid a guy to do it.
It only counts as a piercing if the bullet comes out the other side.
Good to know!
I wouldn't advise head piercings ... that squishy grey mass tends to get in the way, and some people actually need to use it.
Yeah, getting tatted was not the most painful thing I've endured. Having my appendix burst was the worst. After that, my first and only, um, waxing.
Sorry, tmi.
Most pain I can remember was passing a kidney stone. On two separate occasions. Oy vey.
I see that it was so painful that Boom Boom brought the Yiddish! Oy vey, indeed!
I see that it was so painful that Boom Boom brought the Yiddish! Oy vey, indeed!
Alright-alright, I had ink done when I was 19. Peer pressure. It totally means nothing to me now at this stage of the game, and so I buy cheap watches to cover it.
Giving birth is my 10 on the pain scale. There's something about pushing a football-sized human out of a rectal-sized tunnel that is ... unusually painful. Can't wax poetic on the experience because I don't possess the knowledge of profanity required, but suffice it to say that it is an experience best left unexplained.
How much do tattoos tend to cost?
I think my forearm tattoo cost around a hundred at the time.
As far as pain goes, I guess it varies according to the site. A friend at work who has tatoos in the same spot I have mine told me to be ready for some significant pain. It never materialized. I had mine done all in one sitting. When he came back to fill in near outline work that was done 10 or more minutes previous, that got a little stingy, but just enough to make my eyebrows furrow a bit.
Comparasson? I'd put it somewhere below getting freezing at the dentist. If you are cool with that, tattoos hold no fear for you.
The neat thing I found with the process is that because of the duration, I guess, I guess it is enough sensation to have your body fire off natural pain killers, like endocanabinoids or endorphines or whatever. I left feeling quite nicely buzzed. I even remember slapping the new tattoo a bit, to see if I could get the high back when it wore off a bit later.
I can see how people get "addicted" to tattoos, like runners looking for the runner's high.