I am probably the person that anyone would least suspect of having a tattoo: I am a very conventional soccer mom,31, conservative in outlook and work at a bank.Up until a year ago, I was one of those people who looked down on people with tattoos. I considered tattoos as ugly,vulgar and in very bad taste;and the people who had them as unintelligent,coarse and unrefined.But that all changed last year when my husband and our two children went on vacation to Fort Lauderdale.
At A Glance Author Kathy M. Contact qsertorius@aol.com When Six months ago Artist John Studio Adrenaline Location Omaha >From the first day, we saw literaly dozens of young college men and women with tattoos.Over the next few days, I met and got to know some of the young college women with tattoos and much to my surprise I found them to be intelligent, charming and engaging(and I also started to develop a liking for some of their tattoo designs).One girl in particular, Barbara, a college sophomore, who babysat our children one night( and who had a very nice tribal tattoo on her lower back) explained to me very intelligently and eloquently the reasoning behind so many young women getting tattoos these days. She said that a tattoo was a source of empowerment,a way of asserting a small measure of control over your body and your image.She also said that a tattoo was a way to embellish your body, make it more attractive, after all women have been using make-up, lipstick and jewelry for centuries to beautify themselves, and getting a tattoo is simply a continuation of that tradition.And for women es pecially it has become popular because, generally speaking, women are more attuned to the subtleties and the beauty of art. After that conversation,I began to consider the possibility of getting a tattoo myself. After all, here was Barbara, a young,intelligent,sophisticated, elegant,thoughtful woman, with a tattoo. And the tattoo did not detract in any way from her intelligence or elegance; and actually did enhance her body's natural beauty.
Over the next few months,I thought more and more about it, researched the topic and progressively came to the decision that I really wanted to get a tattoo.
So in February of this year, after checking out hundreds of designs, I selected one that I loved and would feel comfortable with for the rest of my life.
I picked the cleanest,most expensive studio that I could find, where they used new needles.
I chose a small Celtic tribal design, about 6 inches long by 1 1/2 inches tall to be placed on my lower back.
The artist, John, was wonderful. He put me at ease and made the whole experience as pleasant as possible.The whole procedure took about 35 minutes.It hurt but not as much as I had feared. The pain that I felt was similar to a sharp stinging sensation.More of a discomfort than a pain.My tattoo cost $150 and I gave John a $20 tip for a job well done.Before leaving I was given some ointment and instructions for the caring of the tattoo during the healing period.
That evening I took the bandage off my lower back and looked at my tattoo in the bathroom mirror.It was gorgeous and everything that I could hope for.Later on,before going to bed, I told my husband, who was already in bed reading, that I had a surprise for him and to close his eyes.
"Honey", I said to him,"remember all those girls you were staring at last summer in Fort Lauderdale and how turned on you got by their tattoos.Well take a look at this. You can open your eyes now".
I turned around and lifted my nightgown to show him my new tattoo.
He was, all at once,surprised, stunned, speechless and,then, extremely excited and and delighted.
Nowadays, not a day goes by without my taking a few minutes several times a day to look at my beautiful tattoo in the mirror. I love it and so does my husband. In fact he finds it such a turn on that our sex life has improved dramatically.He says it is exciting to know that his conventional, traditional wife has this wild side to her.As it is, the tattoo is discreetly placed so that only I and my husband get to enjoy it.( Although I have shown it to a few close friends, who were at first stunned but afterwards quite liked it - in fact my closest friend liked it so much that she went and got one done herself).
As Barbara correctly pointed out, my tattoo does give me a sense of empowerment and control over my life, and it also enhances my body's natural beauty. Thanks Barbara.
P.S.: I also secretly get a kick out of the fact that my conservative friends and colleagues at work would absolutely freak if they found out that "one of them" has a tattoo. They cannot seem to appreciate the meaning and the beauty of the tattoo. They look at tattoos, as I once did, as a blemish on your body rather than an embellishment of your body.