My Response to the Anti-Tattoo Army

I'm sure by now many of you have seen the footage from Sunrise and the furore surrounding it. Firstly it was tattooed women targetted, and it has now progressed to the tattoo community as a whole. 

I stand by what I wrote on Twitter: Is there ever a time in a woman's life where she isn't being told that she's not beautiful enough?

It's 2014 and people are still complaining about tattoos like there are no other important issues to focus on. 

Yesterday Anna Musson posted this article on the Daily Telegraph website. 

Beginning an anti-tattoo article with a comparison to perming hair proves how poor this argument is. These articles won't change people's minds about get tattoos, but what it is doing is giving ammunition to already judgemental people. 

Getting tattooed doesn't simply boil down to it being the 'cool' thing to do. This generalisation gets thrown around whenever non-tattooed people argue against tattoos. It's about as common as the phrase 'the difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people is that tattooed people don't care if you're not tattooed.' 

Forget the clichés, the reason why someone gets tattooed concerns only them. Whether it's to commemorate someone or for their love of body art and modifications, tattoos require no justification. 

Why is there that need to divide people into categories? Labels serve no purpose other than to highlight the ignorance of some and the anger of those affected. 

"My point is this: I don’t make the rules. But there are rules....you may come to appreciate the rules do exist and you can either work with them, or work in a record store." If these are the rules, I'm sure Musson would be surprised to discover that tattooed people do indeed have jobs. Tattoos do not negate an education and work experience, and employers should remember that to avoid discrimination lawsuits. 

Tattooing has been around for thousands of years, but these 'rules' keep changing, so how are we meant to keep up? Getting tattooed doesn't break any laws, so if they make you happy, by all means continue getting them. 

We're conditioned to appreciate the art in museums, but once it's tattooed onto one's skin, forget about it. 

With Musson describing etiquette as "the most efficient way to fit in with society is to put others’ needs before your own," is the flaw in her entire argument. Perhaps it is something politicians should be practising in parliament, but being tattooed has no impact whatsoever on the fabric of society. 

I'm not going to dismiss my own happiness because some (wrongly) think being tattooed is a blight on society. If a person with tattoos on their body bothers you so much you may want to reassess your priorities in life.

I'll never stop defending the right to get tattooed, but unless the anti-tattoo people bring a new argument to the table, everything they say is tired and redundant.