Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

I’m a firm believer in the power of the printed word.  Of course, I have been an avid reader for about 55 years now, so I have had plenty of practice.  To me, the best way to get educated on just about anything is to read, read, read!  (See my series of posts called Ten Ways to Take a Stand Against Ignorance for a more complete view of my feelings on the subject.)

Before I got my first tattoo, I scoured the local public libraries and Amazon for books that might help me understand what I was getting into.  (I was not much of an internet browser at that point and thus missed out on a bajillon highly informative web sites, something I’ve done my best to remedy in the years since.)  The best book I found, pre-first-tattoo, was The Total Tattoo Book by Amy Krakow.  Once I’d read that, I had a much better idea of what to expect, and it remains a valuable reference.

Last year, I found Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo, by Terisa Green, Ph.D.  If ever a book lived up to its title, this one’s the one.  The author covers the whole tattoo experience, from planning through aftercare, and offers an incredible wealth of useful tips, history, etiquette suggestions and tattoo trivia.  I read the book from cover to cover in an afternoon (I’m a fast reader) and then went back through it a couple more times (I’m an avid re-reader, too).  The only criticisms I have of the book is that it has no index and no table of contents, either or both of which would have made it easier to use for reference.  I provided my own homebrew solution by putting Post-It™ flags on pages of special interest.

If you’d like more information on either essential book, you can click on the cover images I’ve posted here.  Knowledge is power. 

Thanks, everyone, for waiting out the technical difficulties over the past few days.  I should have everything back on schedule in very short order.

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I’m a big fan of the comic strip “Luann.” A week or so ago, the artist, Greg Evans, started a storyline about tattoos.

First, super-hot firefigher Toni Daytona got one.

Then, super-schlub firefighter Brad DeGroot got one (but not exactly on his own initiative).

Then, airhead queen Tiffany Farrell got one, apparently in an area not normally on display to the public even in the skimpy outfits she favors. (Is Tiffany 18? If not, how’d she manage that?)

Now, strip heroine LuAnn DeGroot has gotten caught by her parents, trying to sneak down to the tattoo parlor.

Not that I advocate getting tattoos for the reasons anyone but Toni got hers… but it’s sure going to be fun to see how this all turns out.

Check Luann and her family out here (and in other books of Luann daily strips) and see the series here.

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Years ago, before I got inked myself, I read Robert Heinlein’s classic Stranger In A Strange Land. One of
the characters in the book is a fully tattooed sideshow performer named Patricia Paiwonski. She stands in a tank full of cobras, offering money to anyone who can find an inch of un-tattooed skin below her chin. The problem is, of course, that while she’s naked, she’s got a “fig leaf” in the form of a huge boa constrictor, so there’s no chance of anyone collecting the prize.

“Aunt Patty” is a founding member of the Fosterite church, and the Fosterites, as Heinlein put it, were not celibate. And the people brought into the church by Foster himself have his “Kiss” tattooed on them, so they can be recognized by others like them.

I always thought that was an interesting form of identification. But I wasn’t so sure about Heinlein’s amater psychology, implying that “the syndrome that can lead to full tattooing” is a euphemism for being addicted to sex. Of course, there’s a lot of sex in Stranger, especially the uncensored version, filtered through Heinlein’s misogyny and aversion to homosexuals, so who can tell whether a fully-tattooed person is any more addicted to sex than anyone else in the book?

While I do think there is a difference in body consciousness in multicolored people (compared to those who have no desire whatsoever to get inked) I don’t think we’re displaying the equivalent of Foster’s Kiss just because we’re more decorative than others.

Or am I just displaying my own amateur psychology along with my ink?

photo credit: M.V. Jantzen

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I am always on the lookout for books about tattooing and other forms of body art.

Unfortunately, all too many of the ones I’ve seen seem to be written in a “capitalize on this fad before it passes” frenzy, and are thus woefully short on real information and long on ick-factor photos. Let’s face it, folks, if you want to see the huge spectrum of body modification in all its glory, you can check out the BMEzine web site. (Be warned, that site goes into graphic detail about everything under the sun–fascinating to read, but you don’t want to be caught checking it out at work.)

And, of course, most public libraries have limited budgets and have to pick and choose among the books available on all topics, so what you might find in any given library system might well be aimed for the “You might think you want to do this, but you really don’t” teen audience (books that are going to be bought by parents to give to teens, is what it amounts to).

I like to read. I’ve been reading since I was two years old, according to my parents. So for me, the first step in any new endeavor is to try to find good books on the subject and see what it’s all about before I take the plunge. But how on earth can one find good books on tattooing and body art without spending a fortune and maybe getting a shelf full of duds? Reading the book reviews on Amazon is confusing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set of reviews where everyone agrees. Some people are really enthusiastic about books that other people only grudgingly give one star, and that’s because half stars aren’t possible. Which people would I agree with if I read the book? Who knows?

I’m actually thinking that one possible answer is to write my own book–now, to figure out where on earth to do the research.

Oh, one amusing note: When I was browsing Amazon, I found some “sexy lower back temporary tattoos” for sale. My multicolored daughter informs me that those tattoos are referred to as “butt antlers.”

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Tattooed people tend to be rugged individualists, right? So we don’t need no steenkin’ shoppin’ at all… right?

No, I didn’t think so either.

Following my personal philosophy of think… plan… go for it, I present a few suggestions for yourselves or for that multicolored Someone Else. I haven’t read all of these myself, but I plan to. If you’ve read them, I hope you’ll give me a book review in the comments.
Books, food for thought

The Total Tattoo Book, by Amy Krakow

The Tattoo Encyclopedia : A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo by Terisa Green

500 Tattoo Designs by Henry Ferguson

Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo by Ph.D., Terisa Green

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