Tattoos

Let me start by saying that this will not be a post bashing tattoos/people who get tattoos(in general). I have a tattoo myself, and I love it(note the sweet 4-pack):

 I got it in February of '09. I was searching for images to use as an avatar on a website that I frequent (spacefem dot com), and I saw this and thought, "That would make a fantastic tattoo!" It's only black ink (apparently red ink contains nickle, and I have a severe nickle allergy, so I decided to opt out of color all together), and I love how it's a little cartoon-y. I got it the day after I found the image online. The 'S' is for Slytherin. Yes, as in Slytherin House, as in Hogwarts, as in Harry Potter. Don't judge me. (I call it my 'stealth geek' tattoo, because you don't automatically recognize it as an HP tattoo, so it's stealthily geeky!)

I wanted to get it somewhere that I would be able to cover easily, but I also wanted to be able to see it myself. So basically, no one knows I have a tattoo until I show them, or unless I'm wearing a bathing suit. And I like it that way. My tattoo is a private expression of my personality (and commemoration for my love of Harry Potter), and like the rest of my private parts, is not for display.
I'm not saying that I have a problem with tattoos that can be easily seen. In fact, I want my next tattoo to go on my right wrist.

What I really want to talk about is something that I'm sure many people, with or without tattoos, can relate to: How difficult it is to look at/study a stranger's clearly visible tattoo. Sometimes, when I'm out and about during my day, I like to look at people's tattoos. I try to do this surreptitiously, because it's rude to stare, and I'm far too much of a sociophobe to A) let them know I'm looking or B) talk to them about it.

Invariably, though, they will notice my fervent, paranoid glances in their direction, and be either weirded out or extremely offended. But, at the same time, if you have a tattoo that is visible in normal clothing, I'd assume that you want people to look at it. But, I'm still too phobic to mention that/not care if you see me looking.
Also, I take public transportation almost every day, because I'm "GREEN"... And I don't have a car. (But, I can TELL people that I care more about being "green" than I actually do because I take the bus.) As you may have guessed, this is prime opportunity for people watching, and for noticing tattoos. In fact, I met one of my exes that way, but that's another story.

Here are a few facts about the number of people who have tattoos, and the number of people that take public transportation in America(United States):

According to the U.S. Census (2010), there are 311, 956,249 people living in America. Of those, 76.7% are over 18. That means there are approximately 215,249,811 tattoo-able Americans.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center (2010), 36% of Americans age 18-25, 40% ages 26-40, and 10% ages 41-60 are tattooed. That makes 86% of Americans over 18 tattooed, which translates into about 185,114,837 tattooed Americans.
Approximately 75% of people with tattoos have VISIBLE tattoos.

According to publictransit dot com (2010), about 14 million Americans take public transportation daily (like me!). That means that there is a 13% chance that everyone on the bus will have a tattoo. And one bus can fit up to 60 people. So that means that about 8 or so people are likely to have tattoos on any given bus at any given time.Which means about 6 of those people have visible tattoos.


And there is a 100% chance that I will be curious about said visible tattoos and want to look at them. ESPECIALLY if the person I am looking at is covered in them. And even MORE especially if they're stupid. Like this one time, I saw this guy on the bus that was absolutely COVERED in ridiculous and poor quality tattoos, like a railroad spike on his face.
Once, I saw a girl with what looked like the beginnings of a sleeve at the top of her arm near the shoulder. It was a triceratops killing a tyrannosaurus. And it was fucking sweet. But I couldn't get a good look at it, because she kept glancing up from her book and glaring, as if to say "Stop staring at me, crazy person, or you will meet with the same Fate as this tyrannosaurus!"

I think we all need to agree on some tattoo etiquette. If you have a visible tattoo, stop getting all offended when people stare at you. It was your decision to get that devil Hello Kitty tattoo on your forehead, what did you think was going to happen?
For the most part, I respect the art that is your ink, and I'd like to appreciate it fully without having to feel awkward and embarrassed at wanting to see it.