A trend has been circulating within the body modification community. And boy, is it a radical one that I have a hard time understanding.
The body modification community is obsessed with shock value and going to extremes, yet it seems like some people are cutting corners in order to get to the top level of “edginess” within the tattoo world. Some of the most rebellious and risky places to be modified are areas that are most visible on the human body, the hands, the face, and the throat. Usually tattoos in these areas are reserved for the heavily modified people, those who have already dedicated their bodies and their lives to being tattooed people. But lately it seems as if some people are skipping over arm tattoos and leg pieces and going straight to large scale hand pieces and huge neck tattoos. And while everyone is allowed to tattoo their bodies however and wherever they want, it doesn’t follow the rules of building a tattoo collection and it looks pretty silly.
Most tattoo artists will suggest that a client does not go straight to tattooing their hands, neck, or face if they aren’t heavily tattooed. Back in June, an article from Jezebel began circulating the internet in which a woman was dismissed from a tattoo parlor after wanting a neck tattoo and not being heavily tattooed. The woman went into a tattoo parlor and the artist refused to give her a tattoo on the side of her neck because she only had a few small visible tattoos. This woman went on to write an article about being discriminated against for being unmodified yet this is what tattoo artists have to do every single day. Most tattoo artists will refuse to give an unmodified person a tattoo on their hands, neck, or face because these areas are extremely visible and will stick out more on someone who doesn’t have a lot of tattoos. Tattoo artists treat tattooing as a business and as business people they make informed decisions about whether a permanent modification is a smart idea for their client. They have the right to refuse any client that they choose because they want to protect their good name and giving someone a regrettable tattoo could affect their reputation as artists.
Some of our favorite celebrities are guilty of having tattoos in ‘taboo’ places before they’re heavily tattooed. As celebrities they probably don’t need to worry about jobs or economic security the way that regular people do, but I doubt that Grimes will want that faded 8 on the top of her hand for the rest of her life. And what about Mike Tyson, who got a large face tattoo after barely having any ink? It may be cool for celebrities to tattoo their hands and their face without being heavily modified, but in reality is isn’t a good idea for people in the working world. Your hands, neck, and face are the first places that someone looks at and people will see these tattoos before anything else. Employers may not hire you because your tattoos can’t be covered and someone with a face tattoo may not be the best representation for every company, even if their resume says otherwise. It’s all about thinking smart and planning out your tattoos. Tattoos are permanent but more than that, being a tattooed person is something that everyone else will judge you for. When you dedicate your whole body to being heavily tattooed and go on to more visible places, you have taken the time to get used to what it’s like to be a tattooed person. You have gotten the stares and learned to love being a tattooed human being. It’s dramatic to jump right from having no tattoos to having tattoos that you can’t hide because there is no in between. Your tattoos will always be on display and I believe that it takes a few years of being a tattooed person to understand what that’s really like. You have to ease yourself in to the tattoo world and go through the steps to becoming a heavily modified person instead of skipping the bases and going hardcore right off the bat. Getting a tattoo for the whole world to see isn’t for rookies and you should respect the opinion of a tattoo artist who recommends that you invest some time into being modified before you take the plunge.