A Contrast In Ink: A Comparison of Different Tattoo Selection Methods

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The decision to get a tattoo is personal and different for everyone. Tattoos are generally permanent additions to the body. Rushing into a design typically ends in regret. Taking a considerable amount of time to find the perfect design and the positioning on ones’ body may not be a bad idea. Unfortunately, there are far more tattoos that are spur-of-the-moment rather than thoroughly considered, meaningful, or commemorative tattoos. In Beth Janes’s article, “Why I Rue My Tattoo,” and Stephanie Dolgoff’s piece, “Tattoo Me Again and Again,” the authors describe the different processes that they went through when deciding to get their tattoos. Both authors discuss their reasons for getting their tattoos, the designs they chose to get, and share their different opinions about the finished tattoos that they have chosen to live with for the rest of their lives. Both authors have several tattoos and chose to get them for completely different reasons. Janes researched her first tattoo and appeared to have given it quite a bit of thought. Janes says, “Jessie and I got our first tats together to spice up our senior year at Catholic school” (73). Janes got her second tattoo a year after her first. “I simply made the decision right before the lower-back-tattoo trend took off” (73). She got her design from a friend’s T-shirt and decided that it would make a good tattoo that would represent a sweet-yet-bad girl image, or as Janes says “…the Sonic Youth-listening, beer swigging badass I also identified with” (73). Like most teens, Janes’ decision to get her tattoos appears to be a bit trivial and more for the sake of others than herself. Dolgoff’s reasons for getting her tattoos are quite different and she appears to have put much more thought... ... middle of paper ... ...h, and not putting enough thought into the location. Both authors followed different paths in choosing their designs and ended up with different results. Janes ended up with a tattoo that she is not fully satisfied with because she would rather spend her money on something other than tattoo removal. Dolgoff planned her tattoos with some forethought into the process and the results are that she enjoys her tattoos and doesn’t regret them at all. It appears that putting more thought into getting a tattoo, as Dolgoff did, is going to give more satisfying results in the long-term. Works Cited Dolgoff, Stephanie. “Tattoo Me Again and Again” The Contemporary Reader. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, 2011. 75-76. Print. Janes, Beth. “Why I Rue My Tattoo” The Contemporary Reader. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, 2011.73-74. Print.

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