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Extreme Tattoos

10/23/2014

Tattoos used to be the mark of gangsters, sailors and prisoners.

As they have become more and more mainstream - and an expression of who we think we are - people have resorted to more and more extreme tattoos to achieve their desired effects.

Why do we get tattoos?

The reasons for getting tattoos are many and varied, but include:

to mark ourselves as a member of a group of friends, club, gang, tribe, or organisation (which is how they originated historically)
to identify ourselves – to mark something significant about ourselves
to mark a significant moment in our lives
to honour our love for someone or something
to express our unique and individual style
as a fashion statement
to cover up scar tissue after an accident or surgery
to get attention
to be cool
to be different
to rebel
to stand out
to boost confidence
to tell the world to back off
as a form of ownership
as a form of abuse

The current trend towards extreme tattooing is not thought by most people to be beautiful in the usual sense, so why do people do it?

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Why do people get tattoos?

10/22/2014

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

There is an old saying: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

Never does this apply more so than in the case of tattoos.

We all have different standards of what we consider beautiful, and this has changed to some degree throughout the ages, but these days, standards of beauty are different to the point of being extreme.

What most of us consider as being beautiful when we are young, changes as we grow older, and it is important to know this before we do anything permanent, that cannot be erased.

We think that the first person we fall in love will be with us forever. We think we will always love a hairstyle when we first have it. We think we cannot live without a certain pair of jeans or pair of shoes, and we must have it, even if we cannot really afford it.

But we know this is not true. The lust fades. The hair grows. And the jeans and shoes wear out, or we grow, so that they no longer fit!

So, why do we think it will be different with tattoos?

What is it about tattoos that blinds us to the reality of changing fashion, tastes and styles?

Why do we get tattoos, which constantly remind us of a past that we have grown beyond?

Do tattoos make us feel safe, certain, knowing that something at least will never change, fade, leave us?

Do they make us feel different, individual, special?

Do we feel that we mean more, matter more, are more, if we have tattoos?

Everyone’s reasons for getting tattoos are there own, but studies have shown some common features (see article on EXTREME TATTOOS).

It is great to ponder on why we would want to get a tattoo, before making the commitment to do so.

They can be removed, but this is a painful, prolonged and expensive process, and it would be far better just to not get one in the first place, if there is any doubt at all in your mind that this is right for you.

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Extreme Tattoos

Why do we get tattoos?

The current trend towards extreme tattooing is not thought by most people to be beautiful in the usual sense, so why do people do it?

Why do people get tattoos?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

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