All my life, one of my biggest fears has been of being ordinary. I so desperately did not want to be 'average', but I'm not really out of the ordinary. When I got my first tattoo at age 35, that opened up a whole new world for me. I was not the 'sort of person' who got tattooed, and I got a little thrill having gone and done something which, for me, was a bit daring. From the humble beginnings of a tiny blue flower on my right shoulder, I'm now fully sleeved -- right down to the wrists -- and have extensive work on both leg, as well as some work on my chest and back of my neck. It has involved some adjustment, and planning on my part. Here are some thoughts on how tattooing has influenced my life -- and how it hasn't.
At A Glance Author Mrs. Penguin Contact Mrs. [email protected] IAM Mrs. Penguin When N/A Many people talk about how tattoos are commonplace, widely accepted, everyone's doing it, etc. While it's true that there are more tattooed people now than when I was growing up, an awful lot of them have one or two small tattoos -- the girl with the ankle butterfly, the guy with the tribal armband. Heavily tattooed people, on the other hand, are STILL not everywhere you go. In everyday life, i.e. outside of a tattoo convention, I have seen exactly 3 women with one or both arms fully sleeved -- and I work in NYC, where yould would expect to see more modded people. And the majority of heavily tattooed people that I see, at least, are males; there is still a bit of a prejudice amongst a lot of the general public against heavily tattooed women.
Since I have become more and more heavily tattooed, I have seen a direct correlation in the amount of attention I get in public. This is true both here in New York, and in other parts of the country. Earlier this year, my husband (who has NO mods) and I were visiting his parents in Florida, and we went to a local mall where I was walking around in shorts and tank top. I swear, I almost caused half of the geriatric cases there to burn out the batteries on their pace makers! I overheard 'stage-whispered' comments as I passed -- most of the reactions were horified shock. One elderly lady asked, innocently, if I'd gotten 'painted up' for a special occasion -- biting my lips to keep from braying laughter, I explained that they were tattoos and she was shocked.
The vast majority of the attention I get is actually pretty positive. And even the dumb questions don't really bother me -- I figure it's their problem, not mine. But this is definitely something to consider -- when you get tattooed, and you get large, very visible work, you WILL attract attention. Even if you're not in the mood. Keep this in mind and be ready to deal with it. If you know now that you are NOT going to be up for a LIFETIME of questions, staring, and attention, you may want to get your ink in an easily-concealed place -- or not at all.
Now on to the work angle. I work as an administrative assistant (fancy-ass word for secretary) in a large international bank; I'm in the Asian Equity sales area on the trading floor. Although it's a large corporate entity, I'm fortunate in that it IS on the trading floor -- and thus, a bit more flexible and less tight-ass than a job in, say, a law firm. Yes, all the people in my department know about my tattoos and have seen them. No, I do NOT wear short sleeves to work. I keep my arms covered by long sleeves, or a blazer/suit jacket over my arms. I wear opaque black tights instead of ordinary panty hose (unless I wear pants) I am willing to make this sacrifice in order to 'have my cake and eat it too' -- I have full sleeves AND a very well paying job which enables me to have both medical benefits (comes in handy with a husband who has diabetes) and a very decent salary, which comes in handy when paying for my tattoos, among other fun stuff like rent, food, etc. It's nice to say you wouldn't compromise yourself for a job, but unfortunately it's a job which pays for all the stuff you need and the stuff you want.
Before I went below the elbow with my ink, I did a lot of long, hard, careful thinking about what it would mean in terms of how I'd have to dress at work FOREVER. I decided that I was willing to alter my dress forever in order to have something I really wanted. I also realize that any future jobs I have may not be as tolerant about my occasionally taking off my jacket when the a/c at work isn't working too good.....and if you work in an environment where it's hot in the summer and it's not air conditioned, you will have to decide if you'll be able to work with long sleeves through the hot weather. Even if the job you have when you get your mods is tolerant, you don't know what the future holds. So even though I'd dearly love to get a small hand tattoo, I'll give that up in order to remain employable by the corporate world -- it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
I love my tattoos; they make me feel different and special. Getting tattooed for the first time was such a freeing experience; I'd never dared to do anything like that before. Contrary to being put off by the permanent aspect of it, I embraced it. It's a way of altering and decorating my body forever, and letting the world know that I'm NOT average. They are well worth the adjustments in my life that I've had to make -- I'd do it again without any hesitation.