Black Women with Tattoos is Ugly??????

I went online looking up pics of Black women with tats cuz I have tats and I like to see good pics of girls with tats and there aren't that many of Black women, or any women of color really. Well there I was surfing the internet when I came across this on Brown Sista:

Sistas And Tattoos
Debra on April 19, 2007 at 8:37 pm (1 year, 8 months ago)

Keyshia Cole All Tattoo-ed Up Sistas and tattoos- where do I start? Much like 10 inch nails and purple hair- tattoos are the newest thing sistas have decided to overdo. I swear we as a people are like peacocks- we like to be seen.We are flashy and don’t get me wrong this can sometimes be a good thing. However when overdone we often end up looking like fools and such is the case with sistas and their multiple tattoos.
I remember back in the day when all women had the same tattoo- a delicate little rose on the ankle. That was back when ladies wanted to be a little edgy, a little sexy, but still feminine. Well the times sure are a changin’- but for sista’s mostly. Black women can now be seen sportin’ tattoos on their breasts, thighs, arms, and even their necks. What kind of woman gets a tattoo on her neck?

I am sure this is all for attention sake and that is the sad part. How sad is it that as women so many of us feel the only way we can get attention is to have outrageous markings all over our bodies and in areas we shouldn’t be showing off in the first place.

Sad to say, but sistas are slowly losing the feminine battle. Between the tattoos, outrageous hair, loud dispositions and 10 inch nails, we seem less like women and more like cartoon characters.
Search Brown Sista for more: Nailed, Tattoo

As a woman of color sitting in front of my computer with a full sleeve on my right arm, knuckle tats, two tats on the back of my neck, one on my hip, two matching ones on my collar bone and plans for more, I was a little taken aback. I didn't get my tatoos as a "trend" and even with my 9 highly visible tats I still consider myself to be a little edgy, a little sexy, but still feminine. Yes I said I have neck tats....so what kind of woman am I? My own woman that's what kind. I don't understand why anyone would sit through hours of pain, nurse there healing tatoos, go to pains to keep them moisturized and out of the sun and get them repaired or touched up if needed just for attention..if you ask me that seems like you could spend that money lauching your own reality tv show or buying an outfit for your American Idol audition instead...probably get your attention a bit quicker that way. It wouldn't have been as bad if it wasn't followed by 27 COMMENTS that agreed and said things like

'Ladies lets be ladies without mutilating our bodies with tatoos. It often takes away the “soft and pink” in us that men desperately desire to see.'

'Black women….no BLACK PEOPLE are so quick to follow trends it disgusts me...Just some quick history, tattoos come from way back in the biblical days, they were origianally proof that some one was a prisoner (now we use numbers). That alone makes me not want one'

'...it looks so damn tacky! Not lady like or attractive. There’s nothing wrong with a tattoo on the small of your back, maybe your ankle something sexy you know. But all that big outrageous stuff is a mess!'

'I’m a black man and I CAN’T STAND to see a woman with tats all over her body. It’s like black women are ashamed of their skin. I was talking with some brothas the other day and we all agreed that sistas have taken the wrong turn on this trend. Too much weaves, nails, green contacts, tattoos - just too much. Most black men love the beauty of a sista’s NATURAL skin. Where are my mocha queens?! We shouldn’t be distracted with roadmaps, zodiac signs, chinese symbols, babies names, etc …that ish looks rough. Black Sistas stop with this stuff and spread the word.
20 year old tats look like painted on crust.'

I literally sat at my computer with my jaw dropping open. That last comment especially floored me. I know everyone doesn't think like this, but it's people like this who make life so much harder than it needs to be. People have a right to their own bodies and their own choices. If you don't like tats that's fine...don't get one, but what's the point of standing up on a soapbox and telling everyone else that their decisions make them "disgusting" and "unfeminine"? I think that says more about the people saying it than the people it's directed at...also it would probably be wise do some research before complaining about a sub-culture that's as wide and varied as one can be. Tattoos were not ONLY used as markers for prisoners in the past. And yes there are things like "prison tats" now, but there are different genres of tattos. Japanese, Traditional American...I don't even know all the types. I've seen some absolutely gorgeors tattoos on women-beautiful dancers with fans, roses, orchids, fairies, religious symbols, animals, even zombies...

personally, I think tatoos are beautiful (especially mine, but I may be biased =P ). The only thing I would say is that people should make sure to go to a qualified tatto parlour with safe up to date equipment and make sure that the artists have decent protfolios. They should also do some research to either design their piece or decide what they want to get, but as long as they make a responsible decision to get a tat and don't get one DRUNK or illegally, or with bad equipment and sanitary conditions, they can do what they please and more power to them.

....well that's my little rant for now. On with my search.

Tags: Black, Tattoos, Women

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Comment by NuLite on March 4, 2012 at 12:39pm: CLEARLY her research is lacking in what WE do to OUR bodies and have been doing, and are going to KEEP Doing lolz

@ Diana those pics are hott!

Comment by Thomasina Jackson on March 4, 2012 at 11:34am: I would comment...but you said more than enough and I agree with your view...tats are beautiful

Comment by Fashionfreak on July 7, 2011 at 2:45pm: This cracks me up.

Near my job sometimes I will see a black woman with beautiful tats getting winced at while other women with tons more are praised. It's like on black girls it looks like we come from jail or something *eye roll* though we do get a bad rap sometimes from lame hoodrat tattoo epidemic there are plenty with works of art! My twin sister is one of them ^_^

Comment by Diana Cyborg on March 14, 2011 at 8:58pm

Comment by Diana Cyborg on March 14, 2011 at 8:58pm: omg black women and tattoos, it doesnt matter what race you are, anyone can get tattoos, I myself have a few and Im getting more , Im gonna get a whole sleeve, including a leg sleeve, tattoos are pure art, this is just ignorance, think b4 you speak next time "mocha queen"? ugh I am also a suicide girl and I will show all of you non tattoo lovers that black women can be classy as shit with tattoos <3

Comment by T.E. Smith Perkins on October 9, 2009 at 4:04pm: Yes, I believe that in spite of the growing popularity of body art and piercings most people are still opinionated about what sort of person makes it a choice to express themselves in such a way. I have quite a few piercings, ( nose, ears and labret) and just finished getting a full arm sleeve of tattoo work and will get the other arm done as well. I lived in SF for almost 10 years and the hype about tattoos and piercings there is totally true. What I find is that being a female with such elaborate and large work that I have, (and will continue to get) there is a big stigma about this because females are "not supposed" to get work like this, I even heard a male who had a full sleeve say, "I don't think women look right with full sleeves, that's my opinion". It's funny because in SF I actually was inspired to get full sleeves because of the many women that I saw with them, men too, not to leave the fellas out! The men I knew there thought it was no big deal and the community into which I go to get the work done, (the tattoo artists and my artist doing the work), were more than psyched to do and see the work getting done. At work, I try to cover most of it up, to avoid questions or occasional stares. Most are aware, look but say nothing and I work in an office. My reasons for getting the work is multi-faceted, it's artistic, spiritual, cultural and a way of expressing my individuality & I will continue with this evolution of the work. L, T

Comment by stephenie mccray on August 14, 2009 at 3:48pm: this is soooo stupid! there are hella white people who got there whole bodies cover in tatoo's and i see nobody talking about them! black women can do whatever they want and dont need nobody to tell their 2 cent about it. who cares what you think! and if you think tatoos are "ugly" on black women then i bet you think earings on them are ugly too or even clothes..... i mean dang get over it. and should we not be able to get tats because a man likes our natural skin...... yeah it is beautiful but it's the 21st century it is no longer a mans world! please if it was up to them woman propably wouldn't even be able to wear clothes............

Comment by Tatum F. Baby on August 10, 2009 at 5:53pm: I read this article a while back and was outraged. How could people be so narrow minded? Anyways, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some men like tattoos , some men don't. Its effing body art, its a preference. The people who left comments are so last century, so tired. Another thing, the part about we are losing the battle of feminity, to whom may I ask are we being compared too?

Comment by Lauren on July 5, 2009 at 10:52pm: How ignorant. I love tattoos. Its an art form not a determination of class. Get it together my ppl. Rise up

Comment by Torethamaliyah on June 22, 2009 at 7:28pm: i think the right tats for you can be beautiful. i also think that as people of color, our skin tones are incredibly beautiful as is and we should select modifications that highlight and complement that. it's weird to me when i see sistas or brothas with tattoos that just look like a bottle of ink spilled out all over their otherwise beautiful skin. colors that are barely visible because of our high presence of melanin or designs that have been poorly done do look harsh.

i'm not sure what the original posters meant in railing against tats, but at least one of them seemed to suggest that fake eye color, nails and tats were in the same category. i think that at least part of our community suffers from modifying ourselves out of self-hatred or wanting to adopt a lighter, whiter appearance. but tats don't automatically equal hating our skin. nor do extensions mean we hate our hair. according to scientific record, we're the original people (africans) and so we're the original chameleons. that post though, might have been geared to the ink blot tats crowd.