Another respected female tattoo artist of 9 years, Raven of Tattoos by Raven in Ostego, Michigan also adds her comments. "People do make poor choices. I am one of the few people in my area that try to get people to think about what they are doing. The 'loser' tattoos, I don't believe have a positive effect on the psyche. Placement is also an issue here sometimes. Most shops don't care, they just want their money and don't care about the person. We are getting such young clients in, and you can't tell them anything. In that respect, I am willing to swallow a tiny bit of rightness in his claims...However, I am so astonished by his 'men are mighter than women' attitude, that I would not have anything but disdain to his arrogant self-righteousness. Someone needs to remind him that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and he needs to stay in his cave and leave the rest of us to our own life."
OK, OK...of course a professional tattoo artist is going to be pro-tattoos, but what about the general public and the claim that "all men living, dead, and those yet to be born" think tattooed women are ugly? Rich Picken, a professional in the high-tech industry in Massachusettes (who has no tattoos and no desire to get any) says, "I do not care if a woman has a tattoo. In fact, I interview people with tattoos and piercings and I have no issues with it. I think of tattoos as jewelery, so I look at them and sometimes I think the tattoo is badly done. A good tattoo makes a woman look better and a bad tattoo detracts from a woman." 30 year-old Ernesto of New York City (who also has all his teeth and sports a few tattoos) says, "MOST tattoos on women are very sexy. However, there are some that are tacky. I prefer colors--black and white can be kind of manly, but colorful, pretty, 'girl's' tats are very sexy." Ricky, a professional from Sweden says, "I think [tattoos on women] is OK. My wife is tattooed and so am I. I don't mind that...it shouldn't be too much, but some is OK. [My wife's] got one on her left upper breast--I find it kind of erotic." And then we have the man that loves tattooed women more than anything in the world. Micko, a professional in the Information Technology industry in Canada, sums it all up with these words: "Tattooed women are a special 'breed,' if you will. Many of them keep life fun and usually aren't bothered as to how others view them. A woman with tattoos is strong, usually having the attitude of 'love me for who I am and not what I look like.' Not all of the women are what would be considered 10's in most mens' books...but they are in mine."
Granted, as brought out here, poorly done tattoos look bad--on anyone. No one is disputing that. But to bash a man OR a woman with tattoos by claiming they are unattractive, unintelligent, or "white trash" is simply nothing more than laying claim to one's own ignorance. We've all heard the stereotypes, but at least most of the population is intelligent enough to realize that stereotypes are nothing more than a product of misinformation and outright prejudice. Mr. Danehy is a prime example of where these attitudes come from, using his own "power of the press" to infect the nation with his narrow-mindedness. The decision is yours. You can agree with this article and the opinions here, or you can agree with Mr. Danehy. Whichever you decide, though, try to keep an open mind so you don't find yourself guilty of this kind of prejudice. Find out why people express themselves the way they do, and you just might come to appreciate it.
