Last week when I made that entry about considering a survivor tattoo, it's had me reflecting on the current body art I do have. My first tattoo was an armband with a heart design on my upper right arm. My second was a rose thorn design on my lower back that wraps around my waist, stopping at my hipbones. Both were tattoos I got simply because I thought they looked good. People have asked me what the story is behind them, but there really isn't much of a story to tell for either. The lower back one I made go around my waist instead of just on my lower back in an attempt to avoid the tramp stamp cliché, but that's about it.

Them having no real significance behind them has made me reflect on why that may be. Some of those who have asked about my tattoos have expressed surprise that there's no real meaning behind them because they seemed to be under the impression that every tattoo had meaningful story behind them. Of course, a tattoo isn't supposed to have some deep meaning behind them, but what makes me wonder is if me getting permanently inked for superficial reasons might have something to do with my experiences. What if it correlates with my personality?

I've talked about my personality before, but I'll go over it again. I'm a rather deadpan individual. I don't show a whole lot of emotion, positive or negative, and come off as a serious no-nonsense person. I know because my friends have told me that was their first impressions of me. But I am highly sociable and friendly most of the time. Still, I sometimes wonder how I do have friends since I always seem so serious. Given this, some have expressed surprise at me even having tattoos because, according to them, I don't seem like the kind of person who would get them.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is I'm not a very lively person and perhaps that's the reason I got tattoos for not so lively reasons. The reason I am the way I am could be because of my past traumatic experiences being molested for 20 years. I'm pretty certain that's played a major part in shaping my personality. I guess it's not too unlike how dead and lifeless I felt when it was happening through my teen years. Maybe I'm just now considering getting a tattoo that's about me being a survivor of sexual abuse because it took me confronting that past to get something that actually has a deep meaning to it.

Once again, I'm going on about something that doesn't really matter in the long run. But these are the musings I've been having lately. I feel like I'm long overdue for a truly meaningful tattoo. I may very well get even more after this one, depending on how I feel about it once I finally get it. Maybe from now on, I'll make sure there's a story to tell. I'd still be getting them for myself, of course. But I feel I'll be doing myself justice by finally getting tattoos that have some real significance to them.

I may as well mention my piercings as well. I have several in both ears (4 in each, so 8 in total) and one in my belly button. I know I said I only had a couple in that post, but what I meant was a couple of places on my body. There's no story behind them either, other than I got them because I like how they look. But come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone having some significant story behind their body piercings. Maybe some people do, but not me. I don't think I'll ever get more, but if I do, I doubt there will ever be much to tell either.

Well, for what it's worth, I can't say I have too many great meanings behind mine, and I have a dozen separate inkings. Some of them were driven partly by fetish; some of them were simply 'i like that'. One I had arranged to be chosen for me, with no knowledge on my part, until it was on me. How's that for trust?

In time I've seen more meaning- or perhaps assigned more meaning. But nothing too deep as far as I can tell. And I'm not quite the deadpan person you are, I think. Sometimes we just like what we like.

Even if motivated to get some by fetish, I would say that still has more personal meaning to it than getting it simply because you thought it looked good. Same with the one you had chosen for you. At least you have an interesting story to tell. I wish I could assign meaning to my current tattoos. And my piercings, for that matter.

Well perhaps. Fetish/sexual, I suppose. For a few of them, not counting the pinups... Definitely for the piercings- which I foolishly did myself back in younger days, but not so young I shouldn't have known better. Gosh I guess over a quarter century ago now. Well I don't care as much about those things as I once did. Age or depression, take your choice. With hard times a-coming I suppose I've gotten my last tattoo. I'm glad to say they mostly still look pretty good- I limit sun exposure.

I’m not much better with doing piercings on my own. I actually repierced my belly button after I had taken it out for a couple years but my ex convinced me to get it done again. The hole was already there so I was able to push jewelry through, but still. Even my ex was saying he would’ve paid for me to do it professionally. I’m lucky it didn’t get infected. But I’m not big on piercings anymore either, really. I still like mine but I’ve no interest in getting more. Guess my interest has shifted toward tattoos.

Mmm. I was worried about my health a while back and removed my nip rings for a whole... month? thinking, in my GAD/OCD fashion, that I would end up in hospital or something (I didn't). I have only one, now- those piercings have a well-earned reputation for closing up at warp speed. Even after only a week, you have to work to put jewelry back in a nip piercing. A month may as well be a decade. All my piercings were rather obviously sexual in nature.

When I was younger I wanted to pierce my navel. Not something you often see on a guy but hey I'm messed up. Meh.

Any list of ideas for the 'meaningful' tattoo? And upon rereading your post, I'd say even 'superficial' tattoos have to reflect something about the wearer. You have what you have because you wanted it, right? I have mostly cute and/or pretty things on me- no 'dark' themes (well okay a little light-hearted BDSM but it's very playful); no teardrops under my eye or guns or swastikas or knives or guns or skulls... those things definitely aren't 'me'. I mean everything displays some facet of my personality without necessarily being purposely 'deep', and I would argue that yours still reflect your idea of you, surely.

I have opinions about piercings being sexual in nature. Some would say the one in my navel is sexual. While I have seen men get turned on by it when they saw it, I don't believe any piercings are inherently sexual even if they're genital piercings. They're just a form of body art, who's to say it has to be sexual? Unless, of course, one gets it for that very reason. That's my take on it anyway.

And no judgment from me on you wanting a navel piercing. I actually met a guy who had one once. It didn't look bad.

Perhaps my tattoos could be interpreted as having some reflection of me. Come to think of it, my ex did joke that the rose thorns on my lower back and waist were fitting because, in his words, I'm "beautiful yet prickly". I don't know how serious he was. I'm not sure what meaning could be assigned to the armband/heart on my arm.

As for this list of ideas, I don't have any designs nailed down yet, but I would like to get a tattoo dedicated to my mom, one dedicated to my late maternal grandparents, maybe one for some of my closest friends and a few that are actually reflective of my personality. But the survivor tattoo will definitely come first.