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Hello,

generally I lurk and randomly post, but I have come to ask the advise of forum as most of opinions offered for other threads seemed to help.

I am looking to get my first tattoo, on the inner portion of my forearm. The tattoo in question is of a religious nature, and while discussing it with a friend (himself already tattooed), he advised me to shy away from the forearm, inner or outer for getting the tattoo, because as he put it, most people would see it as a tattoo first and the symbolism behind it second. So I ask, if you were to meet someone new for the first time, and saw a forearm tattoo, what preconceptions if any would form, and also would you recommend going forward. Also, anyone with a forearm tattoo, your experiences.

Thanks..

I think the only person you should care about having any "tattoo preconceptions" is a future/present employer. And depending on the line of work, it could be a big deal.

Honestly, I see so many tattoos on people I don't really care anymore. I may look at it if it's pretty or if it is specifically shown to me, but otherwise I probably won't look long enough to find out what it is.

Your friend is bullshitting you. I can't think of anybody I've ever seen that would think 'oh he just got a tattoo on his forearm, must be because he just wanted a tattoo'. On the other hand, maybe the people over in your place are different when it comes to that. I seriously doubt it, though, unless you live in a stricly religious community.

Koko has the right of it, though. The only one whose preconceptions will /really/ matter is your (future) boss. If (s)he's not okay with it and you want to keep your job, make sure you either a) always wear long sleeves or b) put it in a more hideable place such as your back. If you work in retail or an eating/drinking place, you'll want to go with option b for sure. Also might I ask why you want it specifically on your forearm?

To be honest, if you're a stranger I'd notice the tattoo but wouldn't stare at it directly, so I wouldn't really get the meaning behind it, obviously. Just the fact that you have ink. It's irrelevant to me, but I see your friend's point. Unless you actually SHOW your tattoo to someone, no one's going to really look at it. Unless you're at like the bus and the guy behind you has a clear view or something.

Staring is rude, yo.

I think you're friend's right. If I was your potential employer, and if I was the type to be turned off by a tattoo, I'm not gonna notice or even care what the tattoo's about; it would be a strike against you. Depending on the job, it would be all 3 strikes if you couldn't effectively hide it.

If this might cause you an issue, think hard before doing it. Your upper arm would be much safer in the long run, I'd say.

It would be helpful if we know what kind of career field you are in right now. Personal trainer? Probably wouldn't matter too much. Financial adviser? Be sure you can cover it.

If the first and only thing I noticed about you was the fore arm tatoo. My initial thought would be "manual labourer".

lando said:

if you were to meet someone new for the first time, and saw a forearm tattoo, what preconceptions if any would form

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I don't see many people with tattoos. I've met enough people with tattoos to know they aren't much more than another form of decoration (ie, not much different than clothing style, etc, simply more permanent).

However, it's still different than what I'm used to, so there is a bit of 'reading a book by its cover' when I see someone I don't know sporting a tattoo. It's not bad, or good, but noticeably different.

If every other person you meet has a tattoo, then you'll find there's no real cultural pressure either direction.

If you can count the number of people you see with a tattoo daily on one hand, you're going to see a lot of negative reactions.

Humans have a very strong categorization system as a survival trait, and unless people in your city are culturally raised, as children, to accept tattoos as simply body art, then you're going to be on the wrong end of that instant categorization.

Keep in mind that it's generally the 'bad guys' in 'family friendly films' that wear tattoos. There's still a cultural stumbling block for that.

lando said:

also would you recommend going forward.

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My religion teaches us not to get tattoos (body as a temple, etc) so my only objection wouldn't apply to your situation.

In which case, the only advice I can give you comes from Red vs Blue's Tattoo PSA, only because it's logically consistant.

Paraphrased:
Think of yourself 10 years ago. You were an idiot then! Would you trust yourself, ten years ago, to pick out a permanent mark for your body? Of course not! Guess what? 10 years from now you will only just be starting to realize how much of an idiot you are right now.

You may feel very strongly about your convictions and beliefs now, but the only constant in life is change.