Stupid Tattoos

Now if you've read most of my previous posts, you will know that I do stand up for people who make the decision to get a permanent work tattooed on them. But now I think I will show just how little tolerance I can have for some. If a tattoo is chosen for nothing other than a shock factor, or if it is in an unbelievable stupid place, then I honestly would have no problem calling that person stupid if they then complain about being critisised or biased against. This tattoo is a perfect example of what I am trying to say.

How can this person ever expect to be treated 'normally' in society? He has single handedly ruined most of his chances at working in any form of professional career. Unless he happens to be a tattooist or piercer, we can pretty much count on him being regarded with suspicion wherever he would manage to find work. I do agree with everyone being unique and changing themselves to be different in society. Yet......surely this guy went a bit far across that line.

And, I'm afraid to say, he is not alone in this world....

Considering this is a mug shot, we can only assume that that Nazi symbol on his forehead has sunk in by osmosis and changed his brain to evil.

Motifs Used In Samoan Tattoos

I. Togitogi (dots) These are normally found in the tattoos on womens hands.

II. Aso (thin cross beam) This is normally used when tattooing a man's back.

III. Fa'avaetuli (like the leg of a golden plover) These are normally used in womens tattoos.

IV. Fa'aanufe (worm-like)Generally used in womens tattoos

V. Fa'alaupaoga (like the leaves of a Pandanus tree)

VI., VII. Aso Fa'avaetuli (like the leg of a golden plover)

VIII., IX. Atualoa Used when tattooing the front of mens legs.

X. Fa'amuli'ali'ao

XI. Fa'a'upega (net-like) Used in men around the groin.

XII. Aso Fa'avaetuli (like the leg of a golden plover)

XIII. Aveau (starfish) Used when tattooing women.

On the Pacific island of Samoa, tattooist carried out their art by dipping the pointed teeth of combs into ink and placing them on the surface of the skin. The comb was then tapped so that the teeth punctured the skin, inserting the ink. Both men and women had their bodies tattooed and elaborate designs could take several months to complete. In Samoan tradition, tattoos were restricted to the lower part of the body.

Traditional Samoan tattooing of the pe'a, body tattoo, is an ordeal that is not lightly undergone. It takes many weeks to complete, is very painful and used to be a necessary prerequisite to receiving amatai title; this however is no longer the case. Tattooing was also a very costly procedure, the tattooer receiving in the region of 700 fine mats as payment. It was not uncommon for half a dozen boys to be tattooed at the same time, requiring the services of four or more tattooers. It was not just the men who received tattoos, but the women too, although their designs are of a much lighter nature, resembling a filigree rather than having the large areas of solid dye which are frequently seen in mens tattoos. Nor was the tattooing of women as ritualised as that of them men.

Humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs—sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal—have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments and even forms of punishment. In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 2000 B.C. But as this seemed to be an exclusively female practice in ancient Egypt, mummies found with tattoos were usually dismissed by the excavators as women were of "dubious status." The female mummies had nevertheless been buried at Deir el-Bahari in an area associated with royal and elite burials, and we know that at least one of the women described as "probably a royal concubine" was actually a high-status priestess named Amunet, as revealed by her funerary inscriptions.

The tattooed right hand of a Chiribaya mummy is displayed at El Algarrobal Museum.

But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old. Among the numerous ancient cultures who appear to have used tattooing as a permanent form of body adornment, the Nubians to the south of Egypt are known to have used tattoos. The Scythian Pazyryk of the Altai Mountain region were another ancient culture which employed tattoos. Accounts of the ancient Britons likewise suggest they too were tattooed as a mark of high status, and with "divers shapes of beasts" tattooed on their bodies, the Romans named one northern tribe "Picti," literally "the painted people."
Yet amongst the Greeks and Romans, the use of tattoos or "stigmata" as they were then called, seems to have been largely used as a means to mark someone as "belonging" either to a religious sect or to an owner in the case of slaves or even as a punitive measure to mark them as criminals.
The fashion was also adopted by Roman soldiers and spread across the Roman Empire until the emergence of Christianity, when tattoos were felt to "disfigure that made in God's image" and so were banned by the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-373).

In a recent survey I carried out in Dublin city centre, I asked 50 people what their opinions were on getting a tattoo of someone's name. I got a few interesting replies so here are some of the better ones;

Oh Jaysus, I'd never do that. Unless they were a close relation and they died young or something. I think it would be terrible if you had someone's name on you and you after falling out with them. Mary O'Brien, 32. Tallaght.

I actually have my ex's name on my neck. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but in hindsight I think it may have jinxed us as we split up not long after it. Luckily I had the sense to get it done in chinese lettering so no one knows what it means. Otherwise I'd be screwed! Catherine Burns, 26. Clondalkin.

I think I would do it, but only in a very discreet place, maybe just an initial rather than a name though. But I'm a bit of a chicken anyway, my boyfriend's name has the same initial letter as my own. [Laughs] I do think it's silly getting them when you're young though. I mean, think of how many relations change and then ask yourself if you could live with a memory of someone you may hate, attached to your body! Not very appealing to me anyway. Gillian Brennan, 28. Tipperary.

Would I do it? Hmmmm I don't think I would. It's almost worse than getting married. Laser is very expensive isn't it, it's almost cheaper to just get divorced I'd say. Well unless you're rich and the wife takes half! John Macken, 45. Naul, Dublin.

I recently had an interview with a member of the Garda force, Seamus. He has two tattoos, one on his shoulder and one on his upper arm. While both cannot be seen during his work, he tells me that a workmate of his needs to constantly wear long sleeves in order to cover up an ornate 'D' on his forearm.
Seamus's tattoos were done when he was younger, for a few different reasons. The spider one was not completed to a high quality the first time so he got it re-inked in recent years to bring it up to a better standard. The main reason behind these tattoos Seamus tells me, was to remind himself of the person he used to be and to not allow him to return to that place.

But regardless of the fact that he had to get one re-done, he would not change them at all. "they're a part of who I am now, they were done when I was in a lower place and they'll always remind me to look up and reach ahead."

A lot of people decide not to get tattoos because they need to cover them up in work as they are deemed inappropriate. Yet in this day and age they really ought to be better understood.

Take Kim Bale, a piercer, she is a heavily tattooed woman, yet as she is a piercer, they are seen to be totally acceptable in her line of work. (Along with facial piercings, of course. No one wants a piercing from someone who is a piercing and tattoo virgin!

Kim's tattoos would be seen as controversial in the public eye, one sleeve comprising of pin-up style women in the kitchen. A possible cliché I know, yet it is based around a humorous cartoon perspective.

However if Kim was to apply for work in a clerical/official government position, she would have to cover every single one, which would definitely not be an easy task on a hot summer day.

In typical fashion as well, Kim told me just how painful the underarm tattooing was. "I thought it would take forever," she laughed, "I would not like to do it again, that's for sure!"

But her sleeve is looking beautiful, we can only hope that it will be taken less seriously in the workplace in the near future.

Now this is a perfect example of a large tattoo that can be part of a 'hidden society'. How often could this tattoo be seen on a woman if she were dressed normally for work in a shirt/trousers. A beautiful piece this, I was watching it being done over a 4 or 5 hour period. Definitely not a piece to be chosen light-heartedly, this is in one of the more painful places to be tattooed. Clare, the tattooee, if I can invent a new word, had a few words for me; "Sore!" She laughed. " Particularly near the end on finishing off the detailed bits" But she doesn't regret it one bit? "Not at all. I llove it all, the design, the colour, the size. You would be hard pleased to find a more satisfied customer here today I think!" And no regrets? "Not one" she tells me. "If I had any, it would be too late now anyway!"