If it doesn’t bother you, do you typically share the meanings with anyone who asks? If it does bother you, why?
How do you feel about getting asked the meaning of your tattoos?
r/AskWomen
If it doesn’t bother you, do you typically share the meanings with anyone who asks? If it does bother you, why?
Comments
I prefer a framing which acknowledges that it might be an extremely personal question, such as “Do you mind me asking what that tattoo means to you?” so that I can just say “It’s personal” if I feel like it.
Some people’s tattoos relate to really dark/difficult stuff in their life, or just stuff they might not want to open up to a stranger about (and it is often strangers asking this type of question, oddly enough).
It bothers me a tiny bit simply because I don’t like talking about personal stuff even if in my case it’s completely harmless. And because as someone already mentioned, a tattoo could be about personal, often dark topics such as self harm, being sober, transitioning etc. so one should take care when asking about the meaning.
That said, I do love when people show interest in my tattoos.
It depends, if they ask about a single one (and if it has any meaning) I don’t mind sharing but I’m not going through all of them. I respond with ‘I just liked it’ or ‘it just looks cool’ a lot, especially to strangers
Idk curiosity is okay
I wish people were that interested, but I never get comments like that. Most people I’m around regularly have them.
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Had a guy at the gym grab my arm to look at my constellation tattoo and demanded to know its significance. Sir the significance is that you should never touch strangers without permission and Orion looks cool.
It makes me roll my eyes
I have devil Ned Flanders on my ankle, none of them have “meaning”
I only have animals tattooed so people can see right away what they mean.
It means I liked them, so I got them . 😂
It doesn’t bother me, and I’ll tell if asked.
BUT I’ve had this tattoo for over 10 years now, and I’ve told the story about it endless times. By now, when I tell about it, I say the same thing, word for word. I find it super boring to tell people about it, and I’d rather not talk about it.
If I could choose, no one would ever ask me about it ever again.
Mine does have meaning. I got a loon after my husband died. We had honeymooned in my favorite place in the world, the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. I have only been asked about it once, fairly soon after getting it. I was with a friend, and I got choked up trying to explain it, so she took over, and ended with, “And they (husband and I) were both loons, so….” I cackled like, well, a loon at hearing that. It’s a good memory.
N.B. The loon is the state bird of MN and greatly associated with the Boundary Waters. I’m a Mississippi gal
No one ever asks. Most people just ant to talk about their own tattoos though. So I just ask them questions.
I enjoy it. All of mine have meanings, and I’m more than willing to talk about them. I understand some other people don’t have meanings, and “I just like it” is a fully sufficient answer.
I just shrug. Plants and flowers make me smile. I like looking at them. Easy as that.
I think it’s totally fine. It’s just a way of asking what inspired you to get that tattoo so I don’t find it strange or cringey. Some of my tattoos have meaning, some are just pretty but I’m always happy to talk about them!
At first it used to annoy me but now I just make up ridiculous stories. My butterfly tattoo? Oh I was actually a professional butterfly wrestler in Peru.
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I don’t mind being asked. I just say they don’t have any meaning at all.
I love giving the meanings behind all my tattoos because they all have a specific meaning. My big shoulder piece with my hummingbird is for my grandmother who passed, she loved roses and hummingbirds so I got those and have her birthdate and death date next to the hummingbird bird specifically going along the top where they start the measurement for a birds wing span and then her death date by the tail for the tail end of her life, this giving the final measurement of the bird. I have angel tweety on my left leg calf which my grandmother specifically chose out the design out of the 3 I showed her and have her signature going around it. I then have an infinity loop arrow with the Roman numerals MMXI for 2012, it’s the matching tattoo I have with my best friend we met in 2012 when she was a freshman. I also have an Aries sign as I’m an Aries with a monarch butterfly attached which my aunt helped pick out as it was my grandmothers favorite butterfly in addition I love the meaning of the monarch butterfly which typically symbolizes transformation, resilience, and personal growth. It can also represent freedom, renewal, and the connection between the living and the dead. I then have a half a quote stating our paths may change as life goes on and my brother has the other half that states our bond will always be strong and we have matching puzzle pieces.
It feels a little intrusive to me when someone asks, but it doesn’t offend me. I have a quick set answer to give that is reasonable and doesn’t conflict with the truer and more complex realities of what they mean to me. Someone who asks will generally be given a response designed for public knowledge. Someone I offer to talk with about the meaning is going to hear something with significantly more depth and meaning.
I just say it’s personal if it’s someone I’m not close with.
Depends how they ask. I’ve had the enthusiastic “OMG your tattoo’s amazing, what does it stand for?”. I’ve had some dude randomly grabbing my arm to have a closer look saying “What’s that squiggly thing for?”. You can guess which one bothered me and which didn’t.
It used to annoy me but now I just make up ridiculous stories. My butterfly tattoo? Actually a tribute to my career as a professional butterfly wrestler in Kazakhstan. The shocked looks are priceless.
I’m really proud of my tattoos and I’m always so excited to share!
I have –
A lavender because it’s my mom’s favorite flower
A forget me not flower because I love, “love”
These are on each ankle so I could get a feel for how painful it was (I know each body part is different).
The part I don’t tell people is that I used to cut myself as a teenager and got two thigh tattoos to cover it up, as a symbol that I don’t do that anymore – if I did, I would ruin this beautiful art piece on my body.
The thigh tattoos are
A butterfly with a regular wing on one side and cherry blossoms on the other (I know this is super generic but promise mine looks sick as hell). Both butterflies and cherry blossoms stand for renewal, a second change, etc. it reminds me that when I fail, I can pick myself back up. Failure does not define me, they’re learning experiences.
Second one is my FAVORITE. It’s Ophelia drowning in the river with the flower motifs. I think it’s unique as most people do not get a tattoo like this lol. For those who do not remember or have never read the play, it’s from Hamlet. Hamlet is her boyfriend and also the prince, Polonius is her father.
Both command her to do things for political gain. Drowning in the river was her first, last and only decision she’s ever made. It’s open ended for interpretation. For me I love how it reflects that she had no agency over her life. That play, plus waiting for godot by Samuel Beckett changed my life – it inspired me to be an active agent in my own life, I transferred colleges because of these lessons. It was one of the scariest but best decision I made at that time in my life.
I also have my eyebrows and eyeliner microbladed (looks VERY natural – not like the old style).
I don’t care as they don’t have meanings, but not everything has to have a meaning. I have them because I like them and that’s all!
Most of my tattoos have no meaning, they’re just things I liked. The first handful of times I was asked, I didn’t mind, it was just a question, no big deal, and I kind of enjoyed the interest in them. But at this point I’ve been asked hundreds of times and I’m just tired of answering it. Especially because the one I’m asked about most is a castle, everyone asks what it’s from, and it’s not from anything. No one ever asks if the fairy is from something, or the pegasus, or the leaves squirrel and fox. And it gets mistaken for other things. What’s that city? Is that a graveyard? What’s that building? Is it Harry Potter? Disney? Zelda? No, just a generic castle because I like it 😭
I totally understand the curiosity and it’s just making conversation but I’m just, tired lol
It doesn’t bother me at all when people ask about the meaning of my tattoos. I have 8, and they all mean/represent something. It’s a story. However, not all people have tattoos that “mean” something, nor should they have to “mean” something. It’s art, so sometimes people have them because they’re just interesting or pretty. Same reason you hang a picture on the wall.
It’s generally fine. I didn’t get the tattoo to keep it hidden away. It’s a tattoo to honour my marriage and it’s very special to me and I don’t feel I need to keep it private. I do think the context of it (it’s a bible verse citation from our wedding) does occasionally lead to uncomfortable situations. That is super rare though.
I find it a little odd, especially since mine are more art than a deep meaning and dont stand for anything. But I like talking about them I guess
I don’t care. My tattoos were spontaneous “I want a tattoo” decision and that’s what I tell people. They still mean something to me and give me something to look back on
I don’t care if someone asks, but they need to accept that the answer for almost all of them is “i just think they’re neat”
I have a lot of tattoos and a lot of them have almost no meaning, so sometimes I just don’t have an answer other than “I like tattoos”. Also it’s a stale question, I try not to gets annoyed when people ask but it’s hard sometimes
I don’t care. It’s when I say they have no meaning that things get weird.
It doesn’t bother me, but it does bother me when they pressure me into replying when I don’t want to share. I have a tattoo symbol that means “survivor” basically a simpler way less on the nose symbol than a Medusa tattoo, when people ask I just say it has meaning for me. It is when they get pushy about it that annoys me, if I liked you and trusted you enough I wouldn’t just say it’s real meaning. I don’t feel like sharing that part of myself with everyone that asks.
I just got my first and only tattoo earlier this year. It’s a little swallow on the side of my wrist.
It has sort of a triple meaning. I love birds, first of all. Next, when I got divorced and was spiraling at my life being in chaos, I was outside talking to a friend on the phone watching the birds and how they would just fly away when the felt the need, and then come back when they felt safe. I started telling myself it was okay, I was just a little bird flying away and I would land again. It’s still an anxiety coping mechanism for me.
I thought about getting a bird tattoo for years after that but couldn’t decide exactly what, so I started looking up meanings behind different birds. By accident I stumbled upon the info that swallows are important in Portuguese culture, representing family, love, and homecoming. My dad died 25 years ago next week, he was Portuguese. It felt like a sign, so I went with a swallow.
I don’t mind when people ask about it, but I only tell them the part about my dad. Only a couple people know the rest.
I think of my tattoos as an art collection. They’re all pretty big so I get asked about them a fair amount. Not necessarily “what do they mean” but “damn that’s a really nice tattoo who did it for you?” I’m always happy to answer! I love my artists!
It doesn’t bother me to be asked. I don’t consider the meaning of my tattoo problematic to share. While it is meaningful to me, is not something that is so overly personal that I would feel uncomfortable explaining it to someone I don’t know well.
But many people get body art for very personal reasons and might not want to be open about sharing them. And others get body art without much consideration of the meaning behind the image (beyond that it looked cool, or they liked it.) So asking the meaning behind someone’s tattoo may get you mixed results.
It means I wanted it so I tattooed it. I don’t care if people ask, it gives me an excuse to brag on myself for tattooing, and possibly gain another client.
I love my tats and I love showing them off but I have one that has writing on it. It’s a cryptic poem that is just for me, no one else would get the meaning. I hate when people start reading it out loud.
It depends on who is asking. If it’s a complete stranger, I will said something like, “Oh, I don’t want to talk about my tattoos” or “Eh, its a personal story.” If it’s a friend, I will tell them the meanings or reasons. If it is a cop, I’ve said, “It means absolutely fucking nothing.”
Doesn’t bother me ao I just tell them.
Mine mean nothing. The artists I’ve had tattoo me simply drew up some really fun stuff and I wanted it on my body to look at whenever I feel like it.
They have meaning and I’m happy to explain if asked. If I didn’t want to then I wouldn’t and just say ‘I liked them’. Up to you how/if you answer.
Some people are curious, if they do it rudely I smile sweetly and say, ‘oh thanks (even if they only said ‘what’s that?’ I love it too, it’s so lovely of you to ask about it…..and basically kill them with kindness until they go away or find some manners.