Tattoos: Aspies Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

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I sort of want to get a tattoo, and I sort of don't....I particularly want a tattoo of Susie the Coupe (especially after seeing someone else with a Susie tattoo on dA) on me somewhere and I also saw someone's tattoo of Sterling Holloway on Flickr, which I also thought would be cool to have. However, all the comments about the painful nature of the process and risk of infection (not to mention that my dad would have a heart attack) have dissuaded me thus far.

I don't know if it would hurt more than I can stand. The ones I did myself didn't hurt but that's different.

I am too scared of the pain to get any piercings.

I have two; plus my wedding band tattoo. It's painful, especially the wedding band on the finger, and the outline of Texas on my chest. That one got kinda tough when he was tattooing over my clavicle bone. Just got it in the last month or so, and did it in 2 appointments. The upper arm/shoulder not so much pain. Did that one about 5 years ago. I'm lucky in that pain's not an issue for me, as long as it's not a tooth ache! Nipple piercings EXTREMELY painful, but didn't cause a problem for me either.

Charles

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I don't really mind tatoos, but it's not just the pain that has stopped me from getting one as I do martial arts, so pain doesn't bother me. It's the fact that they're basically permanent, and I haven't found any design that I would want on my skin for the rest of my life. Sure, they can be removed, but there's usually a scar that remains. Now, I do have 2 piercings in each ear, but the thing about piercings is that extra earrings can be removed for work, but having to cover a tattoo is more difficult if it's not in an area that is covered by most workplace attire. Aspies already have a difficult time getting through job interviews, and I don't need to make things harder than they are by worrying about a tattoo showing.

This. You know, not all tattoos are trashy and stupid.

I get the impression that tattoos are pretty mainstream round where I live. About one fifth of people in Britain have a tattoo, though the percentage varies with age. It's not confined to a particular social class.

I think people get inked for a variety of reasons and it's not an indicator of a certain personality or values held.

I don't hate them, but I do wince when I see someone showing a badly-drawn design.

Some people do end up regretting them. They decay over time as skin becomes more elastic, the ink blurs or fades. Also people change their view on life over time and what seemed like a good idea twenty years ago might not now.

Personally, I wouldn't rule it out, but as my interest in art changes over time I don't currently foresee wanting a particular design on my skin permanently.

I saw an exhibition by a Japanese artist of tattoo designs on paper and thought they were good pieces of art. Didn't need to be on skin to appreciate them.

I like simple black tattoos on other people. Colorful tattoos look like blood and bruises and wounds to me, which make me a bit anxious.

I could never get a tattoo. I have this issue - sometimes it takes a lot of effort for me to perceive my body as a whole, as ME, as opposed to bits and parts. Putting a tattoo on one of those parts would, I think, make it worse.

You're darn right. There are very few bigger turn-offs for me than a woman with a tattoo. Things like piercings are also big turn-offs.

Forget the tattoo and wear a kilt instead.

I think that it would be odd for me to want to have a tattoo, because tattoos are inherently sociable, in that their purpose is for others to look at.

I think that unmarked skin is one of the best looking things. With a tattoo it seems that a person can't ever actually be naked.

I don't understand why others would want to donate part of their skin area to conveying a message to other people, but I wouldn't complain at them for having done so.

Some tattoos are at least interesting, if they're at least something creative and not just copies of others' tattoos.

I can say with authority that more people in Scotland and Ireland will have a Celtic tattoos that wear a kilt.

I have enough blemishes / spots / scars / hair on my skin without any addition.

Wow, thanks for the discussion, people!

I hadn't really considered the judgmental aspect of the topic prior to posting. That is, I hadn't seen it as a "how do you feel about people who get tattoos" thing. I'm sorry if people took it that way and responded perhaps too hastily.

For me, it's not that I don't like tattoos. I've seen very beautiful art on people's bodies. For me, it's about the pain, so in my mind it's related to my asperger's because I will fixate on how much something is going to hurt before it happens. Sometimes I say ouch before I get hurt!

I get that tattooing has been around for eons--this is why I mentioned the ritualistic aspect via the Maori. This kind of tattoo is a rite of passage, so it makes sense to me as to why you'd choose to endure the pain.

In western society, I don't see a difference between males or females and tattoos. This is because of the pain issue, which only a couple of people touched on here. I think pain tolerance is more gender neutral.

For me personally, the decision about getting a tattoo is too hard to make because of the pain, so I can't get around to even considering it.

On others, I can get distracted speaking with someone who has tattoos. I don't really judge them, either, though I've wondered about someone who had nazi symbols or other symbols that signify you've offed someone. That is scary to me, and probably the bearer of the tattoo wants it that way. Come to think of it, it's a good way of letting me know I should stay away if I feel afraid, especially since I have a propensity for asking questions. I'd hate to know the answer to me blurting out, "So, what does that tattoo mean?"

Yipes!

No, they're not.



Why would I want to do such an inherently "social thing" like show others my nakedness just so they could find me attractive?

Yeah, mostly I got mine because I wanted the "experience" of getting one. If my tats have any inherent "meaning," it's that I don't take this "transient world" seriously.

As for people not finding me "attractive," weeeellll............I'm more than happy to be left out of the monkey mating game. I find body modification intriguing to say the least, and even though I don't experience "attraction" myself, I'm much more likely to notice a beatifically modded person than a boring, baseline human.

Without considering that others would see a tattoo what would be the point of getting it?

I don't understand. I expressed an opinion, that untattooed skin looks better, and that without it I don't feel like I can ever see a person's real skin.

If you prefer to have tattoos or you prefer that people not perceive your skin, that is fine. That's just not what I prefer.