Am i just showing my age?

[rpcrowe]

I realize that face piercings and extensive tattooing are all the rage these days among young men and women but, I really do not like face piercings and tattoos that cover major areas of the anatomy are somewhat repugnant to me.

I shot a young lady a few weeks ago whose legs were covered with an intricate design that looked like tree limbs. I was happy to learn, however, that these were not tattoos but were henna paintings which would eventually be removed. I hope that she will not repeat the design with tattoos...

However, I shot another young lady whose entire left shoulder and left arm down to the wrist was covered with a massive and intricate tattoo. There was no bare skin area to be seen between shoulder and wrist. To tell you the truth, it was really repugnant to me. This young lady had the most amazingly beautiful eyes but, the skin art covering shoulder and arm attracted attention away from her face...

She also wore a nose ring and had several other piercings around her face. Again, these distracted my view away from her lovely eyes...

The tattoos may be in style now but, I wonder what the tattooed gal will look like in twenty or thirty years when her arms may get flabby and the tattoos begin to run...

[Clactonian]

Looking at your avatar ... yes!! But then so am I and I concur.

[Donald]

Maybe the challenge for us of a certain age (!) - or for me anyway - is understanding why body art has made the comeback that it has over the last few years. So far as I'm aware it is merely decoration and has no meaning in the way it had amongst certain peoples in times past (it was also 'merely' decoration in many societies, but then they often didn't have clothes to cover the skin with).

The fact that I don't understand it or why people adorn themselves with it, shouldn't lead me to to condemn it. But, I'm a grumpy old man, so it does. All I want to know is .... Why?

[Wirefox]

She also wore a nose ring and had several other piercings around her face. Again, these distracted my view away from her lovely eyes...

I often wonder if thats the whole thing with it. Insecurities with self image can often lead to some drastic measures to draw the attention away from the areas of their bodies and faces that they are insecure about. Yes, this also applies the the most beautiful of personages...in fact they seem to seem to suffer the most from low esteem.

The other side is that they think it makes them different....rebellious and antiestablishment. Shocking the establishment is part of growing up says V's up to the representation of the parental hold. The age old ague of the teenie/tweenie. However as we know (with age) extreme outer non compliance more often not hides the fervent future conformist. When we (as an older generation) pretend to be comfortable with it we are really trying the contra-reactive tactic.

My eldest daughter has a small tatoo near her....well we won't go there, a navel piecing and earpiercings and my youngest has just had the upper part of her ear pierced. Personally I don't like tatoos. Its like scriblling on the Mona Lisa with a permanent marker and saying its an artistic improvement.

The problem is with irreversible teen makeovers is that in 10 years time they will inevitably look like a resident from the poor end of a trailer park.....fact. Unfortunately the vast majority of the population will view the tatoo of Bruce Lee's dressing gown up the side of your face or the 6mm ring through your septum as a lifestyle choice rather than a fashion statement....that means you sentence yourself to working 10 times as hard as anyone else to prove them wrong. And lets face it life is hard enough without self inflicted hobbling.

[Mark Lawrence]

It just doesn't do it for me either.

[Eric M]

I guess I'm just an old fart that doesn't get the body "art" thing either. It is especially depressing to see some otherwise pretty young female with an abundance of ink... Wonder what they'll think of it when they grow old.

[Nass]

Me either, horses for courses.

[Donald]

Boy, we're really sounding like grumpy old men!

Re Richard's comment (repeated by Steve) about nose rings. Being a farmer's son, the only meaning nose rings have for me is when fitted to bulls to stop them getting too angry.

Mmmm! For SWMBO ............ (No, better not go there)

[Wirefox]

Boy, we're really sounding like a grumpy old men!

Maybe we should have a regular feature and change the subject each week.....next week we could have "Are Mars Bars really Smaller these Days"....week after that Thongs for men....you get the idea.

[Donald]

Thongs for men...

Is that the same sort of thing as Toys R Us? (do you have Toys R Us in other parts of the world?)

[rob marshall]

"Are Mars Bars really Smaller these Days"

It's all to do with relative size. When you were a lad, a Mars bar seemed large because you were smaller.

[JK6065]

I don't like that 'body art' that much either and I'm guessing that wouldn't be because I'm too old for it .

[tclune]

She also wore a nose ring and had several other piercings around her face. Again, these distracted my view away from her lovely eyes...

I'm guessing that you aren't in her "target market..."

[Wirefox]

It's all to do with relative size. When you were a lad, a Mars bar seemed large because you were smaller.

You may be right. That would explain a lot about my perspective shift on the merits of Samantha Fox

(do you have Toys R Us in other parts of the world?)

Where do you think I buy my lenses

Is that the same sort of thing as Toys R Us?

Makes you wonder though. If Marks and Spencer displayed them next to the chilled 'meals for one' we would certainly get some entertaining walks in HR departments across Britain. And on that subject - do our beloved ones actually get some sadistic high from leaving us standing alone in the middle of the lingerie department. You can only study the packet of butter and sultana biscuits in you trolley for so long. And...why is it when you do pick up courage to look up you always meet the eye of some middle aged cougar holding up a plunge bra in front of her ample bosom...or is that just me.

It gets worse because when you have daughters there are the inevitable ordeals in New Look or Select stores. Now there has been ample discussion on other forums about how photographers feel criminally uncomfortable when wielding their 300mm telephoto anywhere within 600 yards of a school playground....wimps. You want to try being the only middle aged male loitering in the middle of a New Look store (I suppose the trench coat does not help but thats another story). Now I ask you, where do you look. Well I used to find a pillar to hide behind and study the address book on my phone. Big mistake! Do not hide behind pillars with a phone that has a camera . So the shoe department. That seems safe so I toddle over with my Co-op carrier bags and sit on one of the fitting benches. Safe my ****. It is almost inevitable that a a 17 year old in a micro skirt will plonk herself down opposite and start to pull on some knee high fashion boots - time to inspect the sprinkler system in the ceiling I think. Thankfully daughter has finished her hour long stint in the changing rooms and rushes to the rescue with an arm full of clothing. A bit of a tangent here but why oh why do women insist on changing into their latest sartorial find and then calling you over to the change area to view them in all there price label bedecked glory. "Well, what do you think?" - "mmm the lady in the next cubicle has a great cleavage in that underwired bra she is trying on" or "wow that mini skirt looks tempting on the girl in cubicle 3"....what do they expect you to say. You are not going to tell them they look like Hilda Baker front of a gang of half clad women are you. So its the inevitable "Very nice" and a scuttle back to the relative safety of the thermal underwear stand.

Anyway you have never been so glad to see your daughter so its straight to the checkout with your credit card. Now this should be the easy bit but for some reason you have turned into Lesley Phillips and the only thing that comes out when you address the checkout girl is "well hellooo"

[Dave Humphries]

~ And on that subject - do our beloved ones actually get some sadistic high from leaving us standing alone in the middle of the lingerie department. You can only study the packet of butter and sultana biscuits in you trolley for so long. And...why is it when you do pick up courage to look up you always meet the eye of some middle aged cougar holding up a plunge bra in front of her ample bosom...or is that just me.

It gets worse because when you have daughters there are the inevitable ordeals in New Look or Select stores. Now there has been ample discussion on other forums about how photographers feel criminally uncomfortable when wielding their 300mm telephoto anywhere within 600 yards of a school playground....wimps. You want to try being the only middle aged male loitering in the middle of a New Look store (I suppose the trench coat does not help but thats another story). Now I ask you, where do you look. Well I used to find a pillar to hide behind and study the address book on my phone. Big mistake! Do not hide behind pillars with a phone that has a camera . So the shoe department. That seems safe so I toddle over with my Co-op carrier bags and sit on one of the fitting benches. Safe my ****. It is almost inevitable that a a 17 year old in a micro skirt will plonk herself down opposite and start to pull on some knee high fashion boots - time to inspect the sprinkler system in the ceiling I think. Thankfully daughter has finished her hour long stint in the changing rooms and rushes to the rescue with an arm full of clothing. A bit of a tangent here but why oh why do women insist on changing into their latest sartorial find and then calling you over to the change area to view them in all there price label bedecked glory. "Well, what do you think?" - "mmm the lady in the next cubicle has a great cleavage in that underwired bra she is trying on" or "wow that mini skirt looks tempting on the girl in cubicle 3"....what do they expect you to say. You are not going to tell them they look like Hilda Baker front of a gang of half clad women are you. So its the inevitable "Very nice" and a scuttle back to the relative safety of the thermal underwear stand.

Anyway you have never been so glad to see your daughter so its straight to the checkout with your credit card. Now this should be the easy bit but for some reason you have turned into Lesley Phillips and the only thing that comes out when you address the checkout girl is "well hellooo"

It's odd when I read your version Steve, it is entertaining (LOL x 3), but I just know that in that situation, I'd be exactly the same not knowing where to look

Fortunately for me, I'm the last person (either) daughter is likely to take clothes shopping.

I'll add my vote to the grumpy old men camp; I prefer natural beauty (and curves) over things that 'get in the way' visually or otherwise.

[rob marshall]

I must be entering my second youth...

I had my Epson photo printer in 500 bits yesterday trying to flush through some toxic cleaning fluid as my nozzles were dry (it's a common old-age problem) In the process I managed to spill about six different inks on my hands. It made a very fetching abstract pattern, especially after I swirled it a bit with a cotton bud.

As for body metal? I have my stapler on my desk - so it just needs a quick tap somewhere nether-regionish

It's great to be young again!

The Aborigones, American Native Indians, and many tribes in Africa and the far East have been doing this stuff for yonks.

BTW: Stop being a load of pussies, you old foggies!

[Shadowman]

Although I am not a fan of tattoos and piercings I guess they can have some symbolic meaning to some, especially tattoos for a sailor or to memorialize a loved one. I guess the next time you have the chance ask the person what is the signifigance of the adornment, and if they don't have a reasonable answer then you can really press them for some clarification. I personally have only natural or accident related adornments on my body. I have a birthmark shaped like the continent of South America on my bicep, a burn mark on my chest from leaning over a hot light bulb, it used to have the letters GE imprinted, and a number 7 carved into my back after being pushed through a glass window.

[vicphotog]

Just to reassure you that you are not a bunch of grumpy old men, some of us moms don't like it either. When my daughter asked me if she could get her eyebrow and/or nose and/or tongue pierced, I let her know in no uncertain terms that any facial piercings she got would likely hurt 10 times worse when I remove them than when she got them. She didn't pierce anything.
The tattoos are another matter... I kept my mouth shut (although in a grimace) when she got the lower hip one, then the lower back one. Then the one on her shoulder. When she tattooed her inner forearm and one wrist, I almost cried. I agree with the comment that it is like scribbling on the Mona Lisa... no matter how lovely or artistic the work is, it is forever... and I can't help feeling sad when she describes her future strapless wedding dress and wonder if all I'm going to see on her special day is those darn tattoos that aggravate me!
She says it's addicting - that seems to be what a lot of the people who have them say....

[jeeperman]

I guess I will throw myself under the bus here.....I am one some would call heavily tattooed. None are visible with the wearing of shorts and T-shirt. Most of both shoulders to the elbow are covered, some skin shows. I do have a couple smaller ones from my days as a sailor {Navy} but the larger I did not start until about 5 yrs ago I am now 43 and am likely not finished. Why???? As I said they are not visible to the public...they are for me. I had personal reasons/stories behind each. Now do I think tattoos look great covering the whole body or on the neck? Nope, not for me. Not into the peircings either although both of my ears have been peirced for 25 yrs or better. It was a high school age thing and I still like them.

Everyone has there own and different reasons some of which I do not understand myself...but who am I to judge. My tattooist has half his face done, crazy if you ask me...but it works for him. I have seen some heavily tattooed women whom remain sexy and then some whom have one tattoo and that one... totally ruins it for me.
It all comes down to ....different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Steaphany]

Joining in on this mens club discussion of tattoos and piercings, I'd have to concur that I prefer the natural, unadorned body form.

But, I also have to point out that I personally do have some body attributes that I would like to have changed, so I can understand the perspective that attracts someone to alter their body into what and how they would like to present themselves.