Tattoos are now regarded as socially acceptable, in the most part. In many ways they are now a part of our culture and won’t be going away anytime soon. There are many reasons why people choose to get a tattoo.

Reasons You May Wish To Get A Tattoo

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Public perception on tattoo has its ups and lows. It has been associated with a life of crime in the sense that the art of tattoo is prevalent among inmates in jails and security prisoners. People branded it as a tainted skin art in which the stigma persists up to this time. Some people or establishments, they took care not to hire any person who sported a tattoo especially those proclaiming themselves to be a member of certain underworld gangs or groups.

With this kind of perception, one just can imagine the struggle faced by the modern tattoo industry that is thriving now and other parts of the world. Despite its negative image, some tattoo artists refused to be intimidated in their quest to meet the level of international artistry in the form of skin art.

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The dove, a beautiful white bird, is the universal symbol for Peace. The foundations for this go back to Biblical days particularly the Bible’s Old Testament. It was in the Old Testament when God had unleashed such torrential rain that the world flooded. Only Noah, his family and the creatures and animals on board the Ark he had built survived. After Noah’s ark had been drifting for days Noah sent off some of the birds in search of land and after a few days the Dove returned bringing with it an olive branch in its beak to show that land was nearby. Because of this the dove has since become a universal symbol of hope and later it became the recognized symbol of peace. This image has been known to many people for hundreds of years.

Since those days the dove has become a Christian symbol meaning to ‘Rest in Peace’. It is for this reason that many tattoo wearers have a dove tattoo on their bodies along with the name of someone close to them who has passed away.

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For some strange reasons, I like designing flower tattoos more than others. Flower tattoos are mostly favored by women, they are like clothes accessories except that you can wear your tattoo to bed. It’s like having a piece of art with you all the time. I find women with tattoos more appealing, sexier, more feminine and more powerful.

The image of a tattoo can be so captivating that it stirs up all our senses. You can have a Rose tattoo with a barbed wire around it and still look very good. It’s Ying and Yang, loving and sweet but authoritative and intimidating. But if you are intending to ink a flower tattoo on your body, it’s best to find out the meaning of the flower and what you want it to represent. You can then combine different images to give contrasting impressions of your tattoos.

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Let’s face it, people who like tattoos are always looking for the next amazing tattoo design to set themselves apart from the crowd and although this might seem like an easy task, anyone who has been through it knows differently. Sometimes it can just hit you, you see something in a picture or in a museum or even in a movie and bingo! that’s it - you know straight away that this is your next tattoo. If you’re one of the lucky ones (those who can draw beautifully from imagination) you can scribble it down and take your own amazing tattoo design to your tattooist and within no time at all your dream is a reality. However, most of us are not that lucky and whilst we have willing and creative minds which think up all these amazing tattoo designs we have weak and stubborn fingers who insist on not getting the picture (literally!).

Body art has been with us from the year dot when ancient cave men used it not only for camouflage but also to mark themselves and their tribesmen out from other rival tribes. Indeed, the word ‘ tattoo’ is derived from the ancient Tahitian word “tattau” meaning to mark. Since then tattoos have evolved into a serious art form and most people are into their body art because it is beautiful and because it makes a personal statement about themselves. Choosing your amazing tattoo design can be a minefield though. Just think of all the Chinese symbols for example. Do you know what they mean - and moreover, do you expect your tattooist to know? A very good friend of mine had a Chinese symbol tattoo done a couple of years back. It was a beautifully intricate design on his left shoulder with symbols surrounded by oriental dragons and magnificent colours. He was born in the year of the dragon and his wife was born under the sign of the dog. The symbol was suppose to say something like ‘ dragon will honour dog in life and death”. However he has since discovered that although it does say that it could also be construed as “dragon will curse dogs honour in life and death”.

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The allure and fascination with Chinese tattoos is just an extension of the appeal that various religions, beliefs, and cultures have on the rest of the world.

While some people choose this sort of design because of the subtle symbolism, others are attracted to the centuries of history attached to the culture.

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It is believed that the mythical creature developed its appearance from the totem poles of many different tribes in China. As the tribes merged, the different attributes of the dragon’s appearance took shape. The Chinese dragon is believed to have evolved over time to incorporate the features of 9 animals to become the mythical creature it is today. These features include the:

• Horns of a deer
• Head of a camel
• Eyes of a demon
• Neck of a snake
• Stomach of a clam
• Scales of a carp fish
• Claws of an eagle
• Soles of a tiger
• Ears of a cow

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I just saw a Caucasian woman with a Chinese tattoo that says, ‘love birds’ in Chinese. But that’s what she thinks. When read in the Chinese context, it means either you love birds or and you are a bird lover! On the naughty side, it can also mean you love the male organ, you know, the reproductive one. If you don’t believe me, trying showing it to anyone in China or Taiwan.

So it is really crucial for Westerners who want to tattoo Chinese characters on their body to really know what it means and symbolize. The Chinese calligraphy may look impressive, especially when combined with a Chinese dragon tattoo, but get it wrong and you may be looking like a clown with a puzzle tattoo instead. And by the way, Chinese tattoos are not Japanese tattoos. Some characters may be the same, but most of them have different meanings in the different cultural context.

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