Greetings. My "Google Analyitics" tells me that there has been a recent surge in Ask A Punk readership so I would like to welcome all the new folks and encourage them to read deep into the archives and to submit some questions of their own. One question this week.
Dear aap,
I'm a 51 year old woman, married, 2 boys, ages 10 and 14. We live in a small beach town south of Los Angeles. Here's my question: All my life I've wanted a tattoo. Really. Ever since I saw my uncle's hula girl dancing on his arm which he got during his stint in the navy during WWII. (The tat, not the arm) So everyone in my family looks a bit uncomfortable when I bring up the tat desire. I'm not talking giant butterfly on my chest. Just something simple on the arm. So, am I just too old to do this, or should I follow my own desire in spite of my family's discomfort?
Thanks, man.
Mom at Beach
Dear MatB -
I’ve got four words for you: Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie.
As everyone knows, Barbie recently turned 50 and she has apparently decided to go the tattoo route as well. Of course she decided long ago not to have a family of her own so she won’t have to deal with anyone’s disapproval… well, at least not with that special brand of disapproval that only a husband and teenage kids can dish out.
In my book, you’re never really too old to do anything as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons. I’m sure, living where you live, you’ve seen plenty of your contemporaries doing things or wearing things that aren’t “age appropriate.” What do YOU think of those people? Do you silently nod in approval or do you find yourself thinking: “Good god, she should know better” ?? Are you really paying homage to your Uncle’s hula girl, or are you just looking for a way to remind your family and friends that you’re still more feisty & unfathomable than they realize? You’ve gotta be honest about that. I’m not second-guessing your motives, I’m just asking.
OK, so let’s say you’ve sussed all that out and you’re convinced that this tattoo is something you’ll be doing purely for your own self-actualized reasons. You’ve still got some work to do. Speaking as someone who has a little bit of ink on him, I can tell you what any decent tattoo artist would say if you walked into his/her shop and said: “I just want something simple on the arm” … He/she would tell you to leave and not come back until you knew specifically and exactly what you wanted, and why (although the “Why?” question would probably remain unspoken, just implied.) What do you really want the tattoo to symbolize? A visible tattoo is automatically going to change people’s first impressions of you… What do you want that first impression to be? What are your influences? Aside from hula girls ask yourself some questions: What visual images hold the most power for you? What statement do you want to make with this bit of permanent art?
As with most things that get sucked into the gaping maw of the American “mainstream,” the original purpose/gravitas behind tattooing has definitely gotten drowned out by the current trendy “coolness” factor. In fact, I’m guessing the next generation coming up (ie: your kids) are already looking at the tatted-up 28 year-olds and are thinking “That is so THEM and not US.” Of course I could be wrong about that… perhaps in 4 years your oldest son will start inking himself up and when you protest he’ll just point to the koi fish on your arm and start caterwauling about parental hypocrisy (a favorite theme of every new generation.) I’m just saying: Think ahead.
All of this might sound like I’m trying to discourage you. I’m not. I’m just saying that you still have a couple more stages of thinking to go through. You’ll also have to keep in mind the physical changes that your skin will be going through in the years to come. These changes are different for women than they are for men, so I can’t really help you much there. You need to get some hard data. If you see some women roughly your age who are sporting some ink, why not politely ask them about their tats? That would be a good place to start.
Ask A Punk is definitely not a referral service but, after you’ve done all your research and pondering, if you still need the name of a tattoo artist, I know one here in Los Angeles who does great work, is especially good at working with women and even does hula girl tats. I can send you her info.
Posts
