Tattoos are popping up all over the globe. It’s becoming harder and harder to have an “original” piece that you know someone else really doesn’t have. With however many billion people are on the planet, someone else is bound to have the same tattoo as you, right? Right.
When I got my first tattoo, I was 18 and thought I was pretty badass. This was during my darker stage in adolescence, but I got a tattoo that meant a lot to me and that I wouldn’t mind looking at forever. It’s a broken infinity symbol with three dots symbolizing that nothing lasts forever except for your friends, your family and yourself. I thought my tattoo was great. I still think it is great, don’t get me wrong, but I recently met someone who has the exact same tattoo. The three dots for hers, however, mean the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit. How can two people take the exact same tattoo and it mean something completely different for each of them? Is this how the world of tattoos is supposed to work?
The more I walk around our amazing campus, the more I look at the many people who are tattooed, especially women. These women fascinate me. They’re not unlike the other women who choose to not be inked, but they are special in the fact that they have made the decision to take something they love or believe in, and have it forever placed upon their bodies. Your body is a temple, right? Then why not decorate your temple how you want?
Having a tattoo isn’t that special anymore and some say that is what takes the magic away from them. I don’t quite believe that. It took me seven months to decide what my tattoo was going to be. I have been scouting campus for tattooed women and I found a few. The women all have different majors and the tattoos all have different meanings. The women are just as diverse as what is inked on their skin.
Grace Vanchieri is a freshman psychology major. She has a couple tattoos, but the one I tend to focus on is on the inside of her left bicep. It says “Non Sibi Sed Patriae.” That means “Not for Self, but for Country,” in Latin. I should mention that she is also in the Marines. In my opinion, that’s a pretty meaningful tattoo, not only for herself, but for her country and for her fellow comrades in the armed forces.
Michelle Stefko is a senior biology major. Her tattoo is one of the most personal ones I’ve ever seen. It’s an RPM gauge on the top of her foot. It’s in memory of someone she lost. The power tattoos have on people is amazing.
Some tattoos aren’t as personal as others, but they are still important to the person who has them on their body. Maggie Thomas, an English major, has a quote on her back, between her shoul- der blades: “To Thine Own Self Be True.” It’s a line from "Hamlet", which happens to be her favorite Shakespeare play.
Other tattoos are just as important as these. Caitlin Brett, a senior biology major, has the outline of Long Island tattooed on her foot. She’s from Long Island and loves it that much.
Rebecca Beard, a junior communications major, has an owl on her shoulder blade. It’s not just any owl, however. It’s an owl made of music notes and symbols. It’s an interesting piece that one of her friends drew for her.
These tattoos are meaningful to each of these women in a different way than they would be if someone else had the same tattoo. Tattoos are quickly becoming more and more acceptable on a daily basis because it seems like everyone has one. Women who get tattoos are, unfortunately, not as accepted as men with tattoos. It seems we have a slight double standard going on.
I am pretty sure that I know more women with tattoos than men with tattoos. Why is that? I’m not sure, but according to the Raw Story in 2012, 19 percent of men are tattooed, while 23 percent of women are tattooed. It could be that men typically get larger and more intricate tattoos, while women get smaller ones that are quicker and easier to ink on the skin. Either way, just last year there were more tattooed women in the United States than men. I am curious about how those statistics would hold up on Longwood’s campus.
