There was a time, three or four decades ago when tattoos were considered a sign of rebellion and bold individuality. The rarity of those with tats made it a big deal when someone got inked. Cutting to the chase, nowadays tattoos are as common as Starbucks shops and Mattress stores.
Truth be told, with so many men and women from age 17 to 77 getting tattoos, the real rebels are people like me who remain tat free. Everyone else is a follower and tattoo art may be individualistic, the bottom line is an ink wearer’s rebellion and showing how cool they are falls short.
FULL DISCLOSURE: My niece Dei has several tattoos. While I would never get a tattoo myself, Dei’s inked skin does not make me love her any less. She’s always dear in my heart and mind and always will be!
So last week on Facebook I caught some flak for noting how a woman’s tattoo on her breast can in time not age so well. My comment was “Today’s blooming rose on a young women’s breast is tomorrow’s wilted wed on an old lady’s stomach.”
I was actually cited for shaming women. The issue a couple of Facebook acquaintances had being that I did not make any observations about men with tattoos that don’t age well. I answer that by saying I could not care less what ink men get injected into their skin. While not being a creepy stalker I openly admit to paying more attention to the looks of women than men. This has nothing to do with homophobia. I fully support all men and women who prefer same sex lovers and relationships. It’s just that I prefer observing women over men. So get over that!
Now on this ‘shaming’ accusation; I wasn’t shaming women. I just voiced my opinion. My opinion being that the female body is a thing of beauty and putting tattoos on it is akin to slapping a bumper sticker on a Ferrari. We still live in a free country and are allowed to state our beliefs. Just because my taste or opinion on a matter is in disagreement with how others feel does NOT make me a shamer!
This hyper-sensitivity people have on so many issues is really becoming a divisive problem in our culture. Social media is the wind that fans those misguided fires. Today there appears to only be ‘lovers’ or ‘haters’ on topics and that kind of black and white thinking scares me. We are at a point where if someone posts on social media how they “Didn’t like the new Taylor Swift song” there’s going to be a throng of backlash calling that person a ‘basher’, ‘hater’ or ‘shamer.’ Really? Are we that touchy? And yes, Taylor Swift, I put a small bit of this touchiness blame on you. “Haters are gonna hate”,.right? Jeesh. For the record, I’m an admirer of Taylor’s song “Lover” and 2016’s “Better Man”, the song she wrote for Little Big Town may be her best work ever.
Years ago when many people fawned over the hilarity of the TV series “The Office” I came up with a kinder way of being critical of it without getting nailed as a hater. Regarding “The Office” I said, “It’s not for me.” Using this phrase doesn’t mean I hate something or rue the day someone watched “The Office”or got a tattoo or anything that extreme. Lighten up folks. So when the subject of tattoos comes up I can simply reply, “It’s not for me.”
And just to show how I can end this tattoo issue with a smile and whimsical statement, here’s an old song from The Who that we can all enjoy.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG– Reflecting on my 40th high school reunion.