Skin Deep

Published : June 28, 2015

Carole Watson has been talking to women of all ages finding out what their tattoos mean to them, and how each made the leap from liking a design to wanting to have it permanently etched on her skin.

by Carole Watson
images: Jason Boudville

At the beginning of the 20th century, The Tattooed Lady was a sideshow attraction. Only men wore tattoos and, outside of tribal culture, most of them were sailors. Despite a bit of rebellion in the ‘60s and ‘70s, not much changed for almost a hundred years.

Recently, there’s been an explosion of tattoos into mainstream culture. Glamorous celebrities have made them fashionable for women. A new tattoo is no more outrageous than a new hairstyle. Lack of body art is becoming the exception, rather than the norm and public places are like art galleries, with the symbols of people’s lives on display for all.

Sian – Teens

Sian started planning for her first tattoo when she was only 14.

“I remember asking my parents if I could get one for my 16th birthday. They said if I paid for it I could, but I didn’t know what I wanted then.”

A few years later, only months shy of her 18th birthday, she was ready.

“I decided to get it when I did because I knew what I wanted and I didn’t really see any point in waiting. Mum told me, ‘I’ll sign the permission form, but I’m not going to watch.’”

Sian says, although she’s always wanted a tattoo, the design had to mean something to her personally.

“Horses are the biggest part of my life, so I chose a horse and the Chinese symbols for love, honesty, loyalty and trust. I decided to get it on my wrist so I can see it. My parents didn’t mind and my friends all think it looks good. Some of them want tattoos themselves.”

Sian would like to add the character for friendship to her present tattoo, but doesn’t intend to stop there.

“I’ll have my next tattoo when I turn 18. I’m still deciding what I want, but its either going to be on my rib cage or hip. I love my tattoo and I don’t regret it at all.”

Bec – 20s

Bec found tattoos quite strange and intimidating when she was a child, but by the time she was a teenager she had developed an interest in all forms of body art. She recalls borrowing library books, not only to admire the result, but also to explore the motivation for having it done.

As music and art have always been important in Bec’s life, she has chosen to represent them through the medium of tattoos.

“I feel that they are an expression of myself that people can see. They make me feel artistic, classy and feminine.”

The treble clef, on the back of her neck, was Bec’s first tattoo. She ultimately followed this with an alto clef, then a bass clef down her spine.

“Because the ones on my back are of musical notation, I find people appreciate them visually. I often get compliments and people coming up to me at musical performances saying they love the tattoos.”

Bec also has a floral design on her foot and ankle.

“This was a very spontaneous tattoo that I had drawn the night before. Lucky it was spontaneous because had I known the pain level involved in that area, I would have never got it done. I love it now.”

Bec says she would like to have more, but all her tattoos so far have developed in an organic way, it’s not something that she plans.

“I feel sometimes people get too precious about the entire process. It's more of a self-expression for me, rather than a deep meaning.”

Lisa – 30s

Lisa confesses she hadn’t really thought about the meaning behind each of her tattoos but once she started describing the circumstances, the pattern became clear.

She says the first one, done in her late teens, was about seeking acceptance. The second, from her early twenties, was for her newfound freedom and independence, and her third, a Wiccan symbol, represents having found acceptance.

“Now I don’t care what other people think. I care what I feel and what I think.”

In the normal course of her life Lisa’s tattoos

are generally not evident.

“The one on my ankle is, but people don’t notice it. And that’s a good thing. I never think about it, but I did for all of my twenties. Nowadays it doesn’t matter, everyone’s got them, but I felt that that mattered at the time.”

The snow leopard on Lisa’s back was visible in her wedding dress and she admits that was an issue.

“It really is a big tarnish on your image on your wedding day. I had to get my mum to sit down with my prospective mother-in-law and explain it. They had an afternoon tea especially to discuss my tattoo.”

Her latest is a tribal interpretation of her astrological sign. Although she’d planned this design for a while, having it done was completely spontaneous.

“My visit to Sydney coincided with Mardi Gras. I went out on the town and a few hours later had another tattoo.”

Lisa jokingly suggests she’d like to book in every week for a dry run with the needle just to experience the adrenalin rush.

“Afterwards you feel like you could conquer the world, so that is kind of fun. Fortunately I’ve grown up and learnt there’s more than just the thrill.”

Joan – 40s

Joan had her first tattoo done in her early thirties. To her surprise, she found herself immediately inducted into the tattoo community.

“I’m sitting there having it done and this guy pops his head through, ‘How’s it going? Is this your first one?’, and I wasn’t wearing a top!”

This visitor was the first of many, all offering moral support and encouragement. After the initial shock Joan found she didn’t feel too embarrassed.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, let’s go and look at her boobs,’ it was, ‘What’s she having done?’ It was about the tattoo.”

Within three months, Joan had three tattoos.

“I was always the good girl, I didn’t rebel very much, so there was a bit of, ‘I’ve got a tattoo, I must be a bit tough.’ Yeah right!”

Joan says that people used to ask her about her tattoos, especially when she lived in a country town, but not as much these days. She noticed that it was always people who had tattoos themselves. People without tattoos would look, but didn’t stop and ask.

“That’s going back about 10 years, so it was still different for girls to have tattoos, they had a stigma about them. If you were a girl with tattoos you must have been a bikie moll or some kind of street child. They were more the domain of men, whereas these days every second person seems to have at least one tattoo.”

If money were not a barrier Joan says she would have many more.

“I’d love to have one on my neck, that really appeals to me. And if I had a spare thousand dollars I’d have someone create a Celtic design for my lower back. I just love having the ink on there!”

Fiona – 50s

Fiona has been fascinated by body art for years, but most people are surprised to learn that she didn’t have her first design inked until she was 47.

“I’d always fancied having a tiny little bluebird on my shoulder. You know that song? I was quite terrified, as everyone is with their first one, and I breezed through it. I thought, ‘What is everyone going on about?’ And that was it. I was hooked! I was absolutely hooked. I started to think, ‘What can I have next?’”

Fiona can appreciate that there is a special significance attached to many tattoos, but that isn’t the case for her, she simply chooses designs she likes, gaining a strength and boldness from having them on her skin.

“Before, I was very inhibited about my body. I would never in a million years put on a pair of bathers. Now I go to Bali, I put bathers on and I think, ‘Look at my tattoos!’ And people do.”

Fiona adores her tattoos and takes a great deal of pleasure from them.

“I used to be dead boring, ‘Plain Jane’ boring, just a mum who drove slowly. That’s the good thing about getting older, you gain strength, and having the tattoos has helped with that.”

She’s been asked so often, Fiona has a good comeback for the ‘old and wrinkly’ argument;

“You’re going to be old and wrinkly anyhow, so what difference does it make whether you have tattoos or not? At least you know you’ve enjoyed your life, you’ve done what you wanted to do, and you’ve appreciated some damn fine artwork. Deciding to have that first tattoo was one of the best things I ever did. It’s given me a whole different outlook on life.”