Why?

Will

Hopefully a welcome break from "does it hurt", "where should i get pierced/tattooed" and "am i old enough" threads

Im just curious what peoples motives are for getting a tattoo or a piercing? I usually get asked by people "why do that to yourself?" I tend to just ignore the question plainly because i cant explain
I just like them cos in my opinion i think they are quite nice, theres nothing sexier than a tattoo/piercing or 4 on a woman!
The reason i have mine done is cos i think they compliment me in some way, even here i cant fully explain why I have a few piercings, i just like them
Some people get them to be diferrent, or rebel against there parents but I think thats quite rare, tattoo's can hold a deeper meaning to people like maybe a portrait of a loved one.
So why do YOU mod yourself?

Ag marbh

Good question. For me tattoo's are a form of expression and also a diary of my life. Even if I don't have the same taste's when i'm older i'll be able to look back at my tattoo's and say thats from a time when I was like this and that. These are some of the reasons why I could never regret a tattoo later on in life.

Piercing is just something I like the look of and as a general interest into body modification. It used to be a hobby for me almost and I really liked the rush from getting piercings.

Tree

i got a few of my piercings as treats when i got dumped. no regrets

munkeehaven

I love drawing and art, so images are important to me...I just wanted to get tattoos of things/symbols i really like..i guess i just like thinking of my body as a blank page...just waiting to be decorated

ergonomics

I see my body as a blank canvas that needs to be decorated, just like the person above me.

cactushan

agree as above and also i have a thing for pain:D

Blub2k4

I was fascinated by tattoos from a very young age, only actually started getting tattooed myself at 32, only 3 years ago.
I have had piercings a while longer.
The endorphins while getting tattooed are the thing that do it for me now.
Piercings were always a sexual thing, when they're healed and the actual piercing is not part of it really.

porn_star

hmm, never really had any intentions of getting into piercings or anything as such.All I wanted done was my navel when I was 12 and after I got it done, I just got hooked. They were just my own way of expressing myself and I always like to see how I could heal them and what ways were fastest. They never really had a purpose as such, just liked the way they looked, but yet theres a couple that I can still relate back to a certain event that happened because I got it for a reason, etc, so they still have a personal feeling for me aswell.
Tattoos are another form of expression, but really personal to me. I've only got one on my back and the one up my side, but both have their own meaning to me, especially one on my side, it means a lot and at the same time it's hard to explain.But I guess they'll serve as reminders for me when I'm older for that particular time.
That and getting tattooed/pierced is a great and addictive feeling

Sean7

Year 2056 - An old man stretches out his leathery skin to reveal the beautiful images that his tattoos once looked like. "See kids, Granddad used to be cool!"

amazingemmet

I have a condition called tunnel chest which means my chest has a dip in the centre normally its quite small but in me it was quite prononuced. this lead to a lot of slagging and teasing through primary and the start of secondary school. After all that i was never comfortable in my body. I always felt mine wasn't correct (still do to some extent). This lead me to the feeling of being seperate from other people i never could fit in as i didn't feel like one of them.

Forward on a few years to when i was in third year in school and I seen some guys sticking skewers through their cheeks and i thought i want to try that so i stuck a safety pin through my labret, it was one of the single most amazing experience of my life in that instant i as i felt the pin tear through my lip i felt connection with my body it was like time slowed and i could feel every fibre that the needle pass through tear or split and it was astounding better then anything i'd ever felt. This lead to my interest in piercings, in the following years i had pretty much every piercing you can have, i have taken part in suspensions, ball dances, modelled for piercing and fetish mags. Piercings gave me an intial sense of control over my body that i could shape it to my desires not let it shape me.

Now that i'm older i feel at one with my body, i feel like i cna shape it to suit me and let it reflect who i am on the inside. Let the vessel refelect the spirit inside so to speak.

At the moment i'm changing my body mainly in non surgical ways training at becoming an acrobat and contortionist. I'm also in the process of tattooing it but thats more decoration for the vessel if ya get me.

Blub2k4

Sean7 wrote:

Year 2056 - An old man stretches out his leathery skin to reveal the beautiful images that his tattoos once looked like. "See kids, Granddad used to be cool!"

Ai but Sean7 will still be a knobhead.

Will

ZING!
Yeah i too think ive developed a taste for the buzz you get after getting pierced, i still remember my fist ever piercing (im sure everyone else does too) Got my labret done, was bricking it, shaking and really tense. It wasnt that bad in all honesty, just a pinch then it was over. Took a few seconds for the rush to kick in. I just jumped up off the chair, said to paddy "is that all!?" then thanked him and went on my way!
It was an unreal feeling. Then i was hooked.

Sean7

Blub2k4 wrote:

Ai but Sean7 will still be a knobhead.

No need for such hostility dude **** Just putting a light-hearted vision of my future in there. And personally, while I speak for nobody else, I cant wait to be an old tattooed knobhead.

Blub2k4

Sean7 wrote:

No need for such hostility dude **** Just putting a light-hearted vision of my future in there. And personally, while I speak for nobody else, I cant wait to be an old tattooed knobhead.

fair enough looked like a plain old troll to me.

A bit like your sig would suggest really.

Léan

Hmmm..
I think it just started from when my sister got her nose pierced, no one really had it done at the time, I was fasinated with it. I eventually got around to getting my lip pierced and thought that'd just be it, but it led to a whole lot more for me.
I love getting pierced, looking after piercings (even though sometimes they can be a pain in the ass). I don't think I can imagine myself without them at this stage, wouldn't feel like the same person. That's still not really a motive though.. Hmmm...

edibility

There are a couple of reasons for me.....

I think piercings and tattoos are aesthetically pleasing, and that getting them makes me moreso.

I love the feeling of being pierced.....the endorphins and the fact that you are the one doing this to yourself, the control over the pain your body is receiving.

I was always, and still am, self concious about my body, so altering it in any way has always been appealing. When I get a new piercing (and hopefully when I get a tat, which will be soon) I feel that I've changed something about me that makes me less self concious. It's not that I want other people to think better of me, it's that they help me feel better about myself.

Sean7

Blub2k4 wrote:

fair enough looked like a plain old troll to me.

A bit like your sig would suggest really.

In fairness it'd be a pretty piss poor attempt at trolling if it was.

Actually on a serious note, I think alot of my reason for getting a tattoo/piercing is just customising my body. I mean it's my body and while it's already different from everyone else in obvious ways and nobody else has one exactly like it. I want one that even more different, I want my body to truly express me be it through shaving my hair off or letting it grow or putting rings in my ear or getting a tattoo that I've thought of. That's not the only reason but it's one of the main ones.

Shelli

edibility wrote:

There are a couple of reasons for me.....

I think piercings and tattoos are aesthetically pleasing, and that getting them makes me moreso.

I love the feeling of being pierced.....the endorphins and the fact that you are the one doing this to yourself, the control over the pain your body is receiving.

I was always, and still am, self concious about my body, so altering it in any way has always been appealing. When I get a new piercing (and hopefully when I get a tat, which will be soon) I feel that I've changed something about me that makes me less self concious. It's not that I want other people to think better of me, it's that they help me feel better about myself.

I'm very self conciuos about my body too, and while I love the look of piercings and tattoos, I feel that sometimes they can draw me unwanted attention which makes me even more self concious. That said, I wouldn't change any I have nor do I regret getting them.

edibility

It's the attention/lack there of that makes me self concious.... I suppose I phrased that badly in a way, it's more a general dislike of my appearance that drives me. It's not what other people think, it's what I think myself.

daiixi

amazingemmet wrote:

I have a condition called tunnel chest which means my chest has a dip in the centre normally its quite small but in me it was quite prononuced. this lead to a lot of slagging and teasing through primary and the start of secondary school. After all that i was never comfortable in my body. I always felt mine wasn't correct (still do to some extent). This lead me to the feeling of being seperate from other people i never could fit in as i didn't feel like one of them.

Wow they think of names for everything nowadays don't they! My ex has that and I think it's one of the sexiest parts of him, so don't stress about it!

I originally got pierced because I wanted to set myself apart from the people that I grew up with and I've since gotten pierced at times which have meant something for me - like moving overseas etc..

Not been tattooed yet, but just decided on what design I do want, now just have to wait until I've got the time to get it done.

Sean7

daiixi wrote:

Wow they think of names for everything nowadays don't they!

Used to be called pigeon chested back home. My mate had a chest like that and we all thought it was cool.

amazingemmet

Nah pigeon chest it goes the other way sticks out a bit, i got a friend who's like that. We fit together like lego.

Sean7

Ah **** his went in the way, we called him the wrong thing for years. Ah well learn something new everyday. Still whatever it is, it looked pretty cool I thought.

Ag marbh

amazingemmet wrote:

We fit together like lego.

haha that would be quite a site!

Reku

For me it's just a case of the tattoos "feeling right", they feel me I suppose you could say. I used to have talons for finger nails, had to ditch them for work though but everyone (even people who'd normally be a bit conservative) felt they suited me. I've an unusual personality so I guess having an unusual body just fits...
My tattoos even my mum actually likes *gasp, shock, horror, etc...*, they're ones I've designed myself so they are personal and have a personal meaning attached to them. They're not anything fancy or the like, just symbols which are special to me. Only have two so far, out of eight I've designed, keep planning to get the next 3 of them and investigating possibilities for the next one after that (the placement for it is on the face so hence my interest in the titanium white UV tattoos, from Chameleon Body Art Supply, current plan is to buy some of the ink and get the tattooist to test a small patch on my forearm, if I can't see it after a month of healing then I'll go for the face. Know it sounds weird wanting to get the tattoo when it won't be visible but the point is that I'll know it's there, I get them for me.)

Blub2k4

farohar wrote:

Only have two so far, out of eight I've designed, keep planning to get the next 3 of them and investigating possibilities for the next one after that (the placement for it is on the face so hence my interest in the titanium white UV tattoos, from Chameleon Body Art Supply, current plan is to buy some of the ink and get the tattooist to test a small patch on my forearm, if I can't see it after a month of healing then I'll go for the face. Know it sounds weird wanting to get the tattoo when it won't be visible but the point is that I'll know it's there, I get them for me.)

I doubt that the titanium white will be totally invisible and even if it is you would want to be sure to go to an artist who has a light hand, cos no matter how invisible the ink is the scarification could be extreme and show up that way.
Have a look at scarification on BMEzine, tattoo needles are often used with no ink in.
Also the jury is still out on that ink, despite what the boys in Chameleon say.
Good tattoo artists generally wont use it.

<edit> also if you do decide to go with this **** be sure to bring a UV light with you as most studios wont have one and with this ink being invisible they wont know what they are tattooing.

Reku

Blub2k4 wrote:

I doubt that the titanium white will be totally invisible and even if it is you would want to be sure to go to an artist who has a light hand, cos no matter how invisible the ink is the scarification could be extreme and show up that way.

Thanks for the advice, this is among my concerns over it, if the scaring is slight and not overly obvious and doesn't outline large chunks of the tattoo it would be unlikely to affect job interviews much (Who out there asks another person they've just met about the imperfections on their face? Already have some scars from my youthful clumsiness near where I want the tattoo anyway ). Basically as long as it's passable for a more naturally occuring scar...
Hence wanting to run a test on my arm, so I can see just how bad any discolouration, scaring or raising of the tissue might be, as the face will undoubtedly be worse than the arm since the face tends to be one of the most sensitive parts of the body.

Blub2k4 wrote:

Also the jury is still out on that ink, despite what the boys in Chameleon say.
Good tattoo artists generally wont use it.

The same can be said for any ink though, as none of them have even one bit of documentation certifying them as being in any way safe, they all just go on the basis of they haven't had any horrific/fatal reactions yet.
Sure if you checked with a blacklight you'll find all kinds of crazy pigments produced by your own body which don't show up in normal light (not sure if it's due to amino acids or there being something odd in some of the processed foods out there) so the fact that it's UV reactive doesn't bother me, I don't see any reason to be more concerned over it than over any other ink. If I have to I can look into going to the UK (nearest studio listed to do this sort of thing) to get it done (though this would obviously be pricey due to 2 trips, one for the test and, if that turns out ok, one for the tattoo.

Blub2k4 wrote:

<edit> also if you do decide to go with this **** be sure to bring a UV light with you as most studios wont have one and with this ink being invisible they wont know what they are tattooing.

That I figured was a given, have some of the strip form blacklights they used to sell in Argos and I think they still do in the Gadgetshop (or whatever they're now calling it :rolleyes: ), should hopefully provide enough light for the tattoo artist to see how it's going. Though I figure it'll be much harder than with most other inks since the colour will be fainter than alot of the inks and so, even when glowing, more difficult to see with blood getting in the way.

Suffices to say I'll have to shop around, get the opinions of some of the artists and see who'd be willing to consider having a try at it, I certainly don't imagine this being a cakewalk...

Blub2k4

Blub2k4 wrote:

be sure to go to an artist who has a light hand

Blub2k4 wrote:

Good tattoo artists generally wont use it.

Farohar wrote:

Suffices to say I'll have to shop around, get the opinions of some of the artists and see who'd be willing to consider having a try at it

The question is will you find someone skilled enough to put it in who will also agree to use this ink?

I think anyone you will get to do it will be a scratcher at best, not saying you shouldn't try if you really want it, just think long and hard before you let anyone near your face.

I dont think anyone good enough to do it right will touch that ink. I would definitely recommend you try to get a woman to do it, lighter touch in general with the tatooing.

j0e

amazingemmet wrote:

Nah pigeon chest it goes the other way sticks out a bit, i got a friend who's like that. We fit together like lego.

I ve got that always thought of designing a tattoo around it, my m8 had the bright idea of a spoon, and as sad as it sounds it the best idea so far

sry for being so ot

Reku

Blub2k4 wrote:

The question is will you find someone skilled enough to put it in who will also agree to use this ink?

I think anyone you will get to do it will be a scratcher at best, not saying you shouldn't try if you really want it, just think long and hard before you let anyone near your face.

I dont think anyone good enough to do it right will touch that ink. I would definitely recommend you try to get a woman to do it, lighter touch in general with the tatooing.

Can only hope I will find a skilled artist willing to consider taking up the task. If I can't get anyone willing to do it I'll just have to wait the 40 odd years 'til retirement then I can get it in a normal, visible ink, and not worry about how it will affect future employment prospects, that kind of wait will be annoying but if needs be then so be it.
Is that bit about the women tattooists true? My first tattoo was done by Karen Russell (think that's the right spelling) but the guy who did the second was a complete waster so I wouldn't consider him a fair representation of the male artists. I would've thought that the amount of practice put in would have a far greater impact than gender?

Blub2k4

Women are more empathic generally and dont have the "suck it up" attitude that testosterone induces and hence women will go easier as a rule.
Male artists hang with so many macho men that they become such themselves and pain can become a competition.