March 8, 2019

"I got my first face tattoo... when I was 24. Basically, I got it so that I couldn't get a normal job...."

"I got 'cursed' above my eyebrow. I used to be quite critical of myself and see the glass half empty. I used to think things happened to me for a reason and I would punish myself for things mentally. Then I got a rose on one side of my face, which is to do with romance and beauty, then leaves on the other side, which symbolise new beginnings for me in my life.... Some of the stories behind some of the people I tattoo are heartbreaking or really joyous.... I help a lot of people who are really self-conscious about parts of their body, or stretch marks or scars from self-harming. If you have something pretty on a part of your body that you have negative feelings about, it can make you feel much more confident and happy. Growing up I was a very timid and quiet girl."

BBC reports.

36 comments:

JohnAnnArbor said...

Tattoo location chart, for reference.

gilbar said...

she'll look SO GOOD in a few years, every guy in town will be lining up to go out with her!
</sarc

Maillard Reactionary said...

"I tattooed my face so I couldn't get a normal job."

Success! My congratulations.

Mary Martha said...

Face/neck/hand tattoos are called 'jobstoppers' for a reason.

An acquaintance is a talented tattoo artist with his own business. He refuses to do 'jobstoppers' unless he has known you for a while and has already given you other tattoos and you are very happy with the work for over a year.

Every time I see a hand tattoo I want to ask about what gang they were a member of. It's generally only something I see when someone is handing me back my change in a drive through. Evidently that job isn't quite as stopped.

rehajm said...

One of my favorite programmes.

Unfortunately you can't fix stupid.

FullMoon said...

"Is the glass half empty or half full?" is a common expression, a proverbial phrase, generally used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be a cause for Pessimism (half empty) or Optimism (half full)"

Engineer: Glass is too large .

Heartless Aztec said...

My edgey nice got tatted up in the early 90's. As a result she's always stuck in that tatt style universe as in "Oh, here comes 90's girl." My sister said my niece is looking for an affordable tatt removal service an oxymoron if ever there was one.

etbass said...

Well, she's right. When I was in business, hiring and firing people, there is NO way I would hire anyone with a tattoo that was visible.

Quaestor said...

I used to think things happened to me for a reason and I would punish myself for things mentally.

We could use lots of these.

J. Farmer said...

Broke the cardinal rule: never get a tattoo where a judge can see it.

Shouting Thomas said...

So many things I don’t need to know about that I do know about because of the internet.

Lucid-Ideas said...

This is essentially voluntary aposematism.

This is a way of people telling you that they should be avoided, and that you should do exactly that.

Ann Althouse said...

A woman can put makeup over her face tattoo. It's really only a "job stopper" for men — right?

I'm seeing videos of women with face tattoos completely disguising them with Dermablend, for example.

Maillard Reactionary said...

I used to go to a brewpub in Princeton where they once had a hostess as you came in, who was festooned with a number of metal rings in her eyebrows, and (as a coup de grace, as it were) a metal stud in her tongue. She looked like she was trying out as an extra in the next Hellraiser movie.

Not very conducive to putting me in the mood for lunch.

The Godfather said...

@Althouse, I think it would take Emmett Kelly make-up to cover the face tattoos I've seen.

And, yes, that would be an improvement.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I suppose that I don't really care whether people decide to disfigure themselves. I mean, I think it is a stupid thing to do, but I don't care about them as people. They made that choice.

However, if you purposely make yourself unable to get a job. Make yourself a NON functioning person in society, you DO NOT DESERVE to get one damned cent of public assistance. None. Nada. Zip.

Go curl up and die and think about what you did to yourself before you take your final breath.

DrSquid said...

Just as with those who just can't stop getting plastic surgery, extreme tattoooing is a mental illness. Something is just not right with this girl.

chickelit said...

However, if you purposely make yourself unable to get a job. Make yourself a NON functioning person in society, you DO NOT DESERVE to get one damned cent of public assistance. None. Nada. Zip.

My first thought was how does she get by then..the Dole? On second thought, maybe she didn't mean it at face value (pun intended). Another intention could be that she wants to work but she wants YOU or anyone else who judges her to have to hire her and actually think her tattoos are cool.

buwaya said...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-flagellation

This is a very ancient and respectable option for people who think -

"I used to be quite critical of myself and see the glass half empty. I used to think things happened to me for a reason and I would punish myself for things mentally."

Royalty used to do this.

If they are a bit more extreme about it, they can try this too -

https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/25/asia/philippines-easter-good-friday-crucifixion/index.html

Pain is a simple thing. There is no argument with pain. It overrides all the misdirected higher-order thought, that leads to foolishness like permanent markings or long-term imprisonment in bad company.

rehajm said...

If you have a crap tatt or a strange piercing you aren't necessarily unemployable. Off the top of the head: tattoo parlor, biker bar, instagram influencer, barista, bouncer, character actor...

Anchovy1214 said...

Think ahead. If you are 20or 30 and getting a tat, get one that looks like a map of the Mojave desert. That way when you are 80 or 90 and all wrinkled wrinkled up sitting around in the nursing home, you can tell everyone it is a topographic map of the Mojave desert.

Francisco D said...

My first reaction was to wonder if she was on Disability.

I need to get over my experiences doing disability examinations.

BTW, Tats and fancy cell phones were ubiquitous among people on disability (at least in the Midwest). I had a cheap flip phone at the time and decided that I deserved an iPhone simply out of annoyance.

tcrosse said...

In my day the Navy frowned on tattoos. It was pointed out that a tattoo was a distinguishing characteristic which made it easy to pick you out of a lineup.

Quaestor said...

Skulls.

Skulls are absurdly emblematic of the jejune mentality of the majority of the tattooed. It is not accidental that skull-themed motorcycle art is also tediously common.

Leland said...

Some people go to medical school, become lawyers, or study engineering to help others, but they work normal jobs and thus boring, self-absorbed people.

buwaya said...

Skulls -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori

Ancient and honorable imagery, but not on a tattoo.

walter said...

"I help a lot of people who are really self-conscious about parts of their body, or stretch marks or scars from self-harming."

Yeah..self-harm is better when you pay someone else to do it.

William said...

At the gymn I sometimes see girls with these elaborate sleeve tattoos. They're very intricate and delicate and probably cost a lot. I wonder if expensive tats are status symbols and, if sufficiently beautiful, could help you land a job in certain industries. I don't know. I lost track of Western Civ over twenty years ago. I'm just a tourist here now, observing the strange customs......Over forty years ago I had a brief relationship with a girl who had a small tattoo of a cross tattooed on her breast. It had a homemade, prison yard look. It was a useful hazard sign that there were sharp curves ahead. I'm not sure what tats signify now.

Fritz said...

These days I'm astonished at how many people I see on our beach, and how many women in particular have tattoos. Maybe it's just that it's a kind of rednecky neighborhood.

About 10 years back my SIL had breast cancer and got a small cross tattooed on her breast to mark the site for radiation treatment (she survives, so far) Her husband, a high school teacher went out and got Jesus (yes, Jesus) tattooed on his arm. He liked it, so he ended up with both arms in tattoo sleeves, and legs. I thought it was a little much, but it ain't my skin.

walter said...

I don't know why anyone would want one those things drawing attention to their snot holes.

Josephbleau said...

In Tsarist Russia a cult developed where men would be voluntarily castrated for various religious reasons. It was reported that the female members were enthusiastic about participating in the ritual. Tattoos are better. The Edinburgh Royal Tattoo is the best example.

Josephbleau said...

BTW Australia is a place where the Bogans value a good sleeve/leg tat. (Men in shorts- Ugg) I think the ink has gotten more colourful over the years. In my youth I remember tats being dingy and off blue. I have none BTW. A Scandinavian with a tat is a pariah unless islamic.)

Be said...

Currently enjoying Melville's description of his caretaker on Nukuheva, Kory-Kory. Apparently he was very loving and solicitous, despite being hideously marred by ink over all his body.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typee


Robin Goodfellow said...

I used to think things happened to me for a reason ...

They do happen to you for a reason. And the reason is you're stupid, and you make bad decisions.

jaydub said...

"A woman can put makeup over her face tattoo. It's really only a "job stopper" for men — right?"

Only if he's a Republican. If he were a Democrat he could just cover it with blackface. May only work in Virginia, though.

stlcdr said...


A woman can put makeup over her face tattoo. It's really only a "job stopper" for men — right?

I'm seeing videos of women with face tattoos completely disguising them with Dermablend, for example.


So, doesn’t that then present a problem? If you wouldn’t get the job because you have a tattoo, but hiding that fact and you do, is effectively concealing something fairly obvious? Lying?