Tattoo Girls

I recall a summer day at an amusement park seeing a very attractive red-head woman wearing a pink tank top and white shorts. She, also, sported a dragon tattoo that started at her shoulder, and went all the way down past her midriff, down her leg, ending at her foot. It was interesting, artistic, appealing, and creative. However, my first thought was that it would have looked better on a canvas, not on a human body.

My impression of the woman was formed unconsciously. She seemed unapproachable, hard, difficult, manly, although she was lovely to look at, sans the tattoo. The group I was with all turned to each other, and almost in unison, every one said out loud, "What for?" I wondered how she would have looked, and how she would have seemed, before the massive application that seemed more like a billboard than a mere tattoo.

Defenders of tattoos will call it "body art," and cite how different cultures, for a variety of reasons, have engaged in the practice for centuries. Tattoos have been used to indicate a person's occupation, to ward off sickness, membership in a clan, or to draw strength from a particular animal. Tattoos have also been used to mark spies, slaves, and concentration camp inmates.

Today, the main purpose for tattoos seems to be to provide an occupation for artists who would otherwise be unemployed.