Nowadays, many people get tattoos because they are beautiful and fashionable, but few people think about their meaning. Why do people get tattoos? Psychology has its own answer, which is quite interesting. It turns out that a tattoo can mean a certain symbol that can change a person’s life. Let's look at the most common reasons why people get tattoos.

What is a tattoo

People have been decorating their bodies with all sorts of designs since time immemorial. Once upon a time, such a picture contained information about a person, his social status, tribal membership, etc. Gradually, the functions of tattoos lost their meaning. It has become simply an art form. When tattoo machines were invented, drawing on the body became available to anyone.

Why do people get tattoos

In psychology, there are several factors that influence the desire to make a drawing on your body. Among them:

1. Thirst for self-expression.
2. Search for new sensations.
3. The desire to hide flaws.
4. A way to deal with complexes.
5. The desire to attract attention and stand out in your social group.

As we can see, psychology explains quite well why people get tattoos, but there is also a much more mundane reason. A person may simply try to cover up the previous one with a new tattoo. Both the master (poorly executed) and the client (didn’t think through the drawing) can be to blame for a bad image. Not all people go to immediately cover up a tattoo; some try to add something to the drawing to get a presentable look. Most often, such experiments bring the client back to the master’s chair, but in order to completely cover the drawing.

Why do girls get tattoos?

When we talk about factors influencing the desire to have a tattoo, we are talking about men. Women are guided by their logic. The most common reasons for girls are as follows:

1. In the name of love. When a girl is in love, she wants to prove to her man that she is ready to do anything for him. For some, a tattoo is also included in the concept of “everything”.
2. This is how their beliefs manifest themselves. Mostly teenagers suffer from this. They believe that with the help of a tattoo they will be able to defend their faith or some special views on life.
3. Another reason why women get tattoos is explained by psychology as masking imperfections. These may be some kind of scars or scars that do not adorn the body. But not everyone understands that stretching of scars is inevitable, so image adjustments will be needed.
4. Because it's fashionable. There are also people who blindly follow fashion, without thinking about the appropriateness of the action or its meaning.
5. Because my girlfriends (favorite actress or actor, lover, etc.) have tattoos.

Tattoos for teenagers

Why do young people get tattoos? Because of the desire to demonstrate their own autonomy and independence. An important role is also played by the fact that the owner of the tattoo will stand out sharply among his peers. As soon as a teenager gets a drawing on his body, he begins to feel superior, because he has something that others do not yet have. After some time, everyone gets used to his tattoo. Then the teenager makes another one, this time larger or more significant. If he fails to stop in time, then an innocent hobby can transform into an addiction.

For what purposes do people get tattoos?

In psychology, there are many different concepts about tattoos, or more precisely, about the purpose of applying them to the skin. Let us remind you that now a tattoo is considered an art, and not a source of information. But based on what designs a person wears on his skin, one can draw conclusions about his personality, character traits, faith and hobbies.

Some people expect something specific from tattoos. Simply put, they are endowed with functions that we will consider below.

Compensation

Why do people get tattoos? Psychology provides the answer to this question. A tattoo serves as a compensator or supplement. When a person decides to get a tattoo, he wants to add some character traits to himself or emphasize existing ones. This could be attractiveness, aggression, wisdom, leadership, love of freedom. Subconsciously, both men and women choose tattoos based on these principles. Indeed, in some cases, a tattoo helps you look more attractive. And for a man, a tattoo can add a little brutality.

With the appearance of a tattoo, a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence increase. This behavior is typical of the hysterical type of people who can use a tattoo simply to attract attention to themselves.

Protection

Why do people get tattoos? They try to protect their personality from external influences. Also, a person can try, with the help of a drawing on the body, to “curb” those character traits of his personality that are unpleasant to him. The same principle can be seen in beard fashion. In our world, women and men have equalized their functions, so guys try to emphasize their masculinity with a beard.

Aesthetics

This function of a tattoo is mainly assigned to girls. They try to use patterns on the skin to hide body imperfections and make it as attractive as possible. Even if there are no shortcomings, then they simply think that a tattoo will bring them incredible success with men.

Catalyst

Why do they get tattoos? To get out of some protracted state. For many people, getting a tattoo means making a decision or beginning a life change. Indeed, such drawings can become a catalyst for human desires and decision-making.

Psychologists warn that such motivation can develop into addiction. Today a person needs one thing, so he tattooed such a design on his body. tomorrow he will need another, so a new image appears on the body. Ultimately, a person can no longer imagine his existence without new tattoos. It becomes a disease. There are individuals (both men and women) whose tattoos decorate every centimeter of skin on all parts of the body, including the face.

Identification

The psychology of a tattoo also lies in the fact that it helps to identify in modern society. Now there are a lot of opportunities for implementation, and therefore a person is at a loss and does not know what to do with himself. By getting a tattoo of a certain symbol or design, he can show others what he is all about. In addition, there are medical tattoos that are applied to the body by people suffering from certain ailments, for example, asthma, epilepsy. This is done for cases of seizures, so that others and doctors can immediately understand what happened to the person.

Change of fate

There are special types of tattoos that some people apply to their bodies to improve their financial situation, gain power, and become successful in all matters. We are talking about runic formulas, spells, and magical signs. This is the most dangerous type of drawings on the body, since even the best magician in the world is unable to predict what can be expected from runes and magical signs that have become part of a person.

Power over yourself

Why do people get tattoos? According to Freudian psychology, they are trying to prove to themselves that their body is completely under their control. They decide for themselves what they will look like. If they can get a tattoo, then they have power over their personality.

Separation

With the help of a tattoo, a person wants to separate or stand out. Including from family. This is good, because this is how a person grows up. You shouldn’t take a tattoo as a way to prove something to people, but it is certainly a good option to demonstrate your independence.

Social groups

Previously, tattoos were made to make it clear which social group a person belongs to. For example, warriors had one tattoo, slaves had another. This also includes the meaning of a tattoo. Particular attention is paid to interpretation in Japan, where the bearer of a tattoo is automatically equated with a certain social group. Nowadays, some (especially teenagers) get tattoos accepted in certain circles of society in order to be accepted in them.

Why you should give up tattoos

There are several reasons why you shouldn't get a tattoo. We will list them all, and you decide for yourself whether to get a tattoo or not:

1. You should not get designs on your skin when you are young. The point is not that minors are not given it, but that over time, views and priorities change. Perhaps you will regret something you once did.
2. If you approach a tattoo unconsciously, over time it will begin to cause irritation. Think carefully about what exactly should decorate your body.
3. If you have skin diseases or many moles, it is better not to get a tattoo. This also applies to allergy sufferers.
4. A tattoo can only be done if you are feeling well. Even a slight increase in temperature is a reason to refuse a visit to the specialist. In addition, make sure that the instruments are sterile, otherwise you can get a number of unpleasant diseases.
5. Getting a tattoo hurts. Of course, everyone's experience is different, but don't expect your procedure to be painless.
6. The tattoo is quite difficult to remove. After this, unsightly scars and spots remain on the skin.
7. Be prepared for the fact that not all people are loyal to tattoos. Some still have the belief that only those who have been in prison wear tattoos.
8. With age, the skin sags, so a tattoo may lose its outline and meaning.
9. Not every company's managers are loyal to tattoos. In some places they will simply show you the door, despite all your skills and merits.
10. To get a really beautiful tattoo, you need a lot of money. If they are not there, then it is better to refuse a cheap drawing.
11. There is no need to exclude the possibility of an allergy to paints.
12. There is an opinion among doctors that tattoos reduce the functioning of the immune system and contribute to the occurrence of skin cancer.
13. Rarely does anyone stop at one tattoo; many become dependent on body designs.

Conclusion

The debate on whether to get a tattoo or not can go on for quite some time. Now there are many supporters of body designs and ardent opponents.

Some argue that a tattoo is a guarantee of ugly old age, while others argue that old age does not make anyone beautiful. You can understand the arguments of one group and the other, but choose everything yourself, based on your desires and needs.

If you decide to get a tattoo, choose the best artist and the best salon. Remember, you will wear this pattern for the rest of your life. In order for it to be pleasant to look at even after many years, you need to put yourself in the hands of a professional.

An equally important point is the sterility of instruments. Everyone knows cases when the desire to become more attractive turned into a serious illness for a person. It is unlikely that anyone needs AIDS or hepatitis, so carefully discuss this point with the master.

The history of tattoos is as old as the world itself. Drawings on the skin were applied by primitive tribes as a talisman, as well as proof of belonging to a certain tribe and position in society. In the Middle Ages, body paintings were banned as a pagan rite; these were times of total repression. But even in these times, the existence of tattoo culture continued. In the present tense, the attitude towards drawings on the body has become like body art, an avant-garde movement in art, fashion, that is, as an artistic decoration of the body with the help of tattoos.

Why do they get tattoos?

A person, when applying an image to the body, subconsciously pursues certain goals hidden in his self-expression:

• one of which is to change society’s attitude towards itself and its personality;
• the next intention, arising from the previous one, is to change your attitude, behavior, self-expression in this society and towards this society;
• the applied image indicates the psychological aspect of the influence of a given person on the immediate environment, on relatives and friends, as the subconscious attitude towards others changes;
• one of the opportunities to express the inner “I”.

In addition to these reasons, there are others that explain the essence of the question: “Why do people get tattoos?” The main ones are:

• the first option is that the drawn image is a body decoration that always remains on the person. As a consequence, one can stand out in society in this way;
• the second option is a person’s beliefs, which can be religious, ideological, or amateur. The essence of the conviction is to show and prove, first of all to yourself, and then to others, commitment to the idea, expressed through a tattoo;
• Another option for people to apply tattoos is protection caused by an inferiority complex and their own insecurity. This category of people prefers to paint images of frightening animals or various heroes from famous myths. But with such drawings a person can express love for his sports team, for example a tiger or a bull, or simply pay tribute to today's fashion and tattoo a demon on his chest;
• Tattoos are often used to hide existing skin defects - scars of various origins, unwanted pigment spots, or to hide problems associated with the asymmetry of certain parts of the body;
• to prove one’s status - this mainly has to do with the criminal world, where there are ranks and statuses that are confirmed not by official documents, but by tattoos.

Why do people get tattoos from a psychological point of view?

This question can be answered as follows. In accordance with the understanding of system-vector psychology, there are eight groups of people who have certain innate properties, abilities and desires. Each of the representatives of these groups has their own motivation for visiting a tattoo parlor. So, characteristics for some groups:

• people, representatives of the skin group, adapt to existing conditions and have amazing flexibility in thinking. They get used to the pain that occurs; their bodies produce opiate substances that quickly relieve pain. They derive pleasure from pain, which is why they strive to experience this sensation again; they are frequent visitors to tattoo parlors;
• visual group - whose representatives have special visual sensitivity, love to admire the beauty of the surrounding nature and their own beauty. If such a person decides that a tattoo is beautiful, then he will definitely decorate his body with it. When under stress, they can create masterpieces of tattoos on their bodies in order to attract the attention of others;
• sound group - what is not expressed in words is recorded in a drawing, for this they use pentagrams, various logos, and symbols. These people are in a constant sense of life, their desires are in the realm of the intangible, and the body is used to convey their ideas to the world around them;
• Representatives of the anal group are indifferent to tattoos and keep their skin clean. A tattoo can only be done in recognition of their moral authority or for company. They also accept tattoos as keepsakes.

Why do girls get tattoos?

The history of the emergence of women's tattoos goes back more than one century, and begins even before the baptism of Rus'. With the help of a body image, knowledge was conveyed to others about the girl’s inner world, which consisted of a desire for peace and the comfort of home.

During the rise of Christianity, tattoos were banned, as they became a symbol of paganism and a denial of the existence of God in the understanding of that time. In isolated cases, drawings on the body were occasionally found. But they reappeared en masse only in the eighteenth century.

An American girl whose parents were killed by Indians and she was taken prisoner became a representative among the white race. The Indians tattooed her on her chin and then accepted it as their own. After almost ten years, local authorities learned about her and traded her with the tribe for horses and a blanket. After the world learned about the girl who suffered such suffering, a boom in tattooing began among the fair half of humanity.

Queen Victoria had a tiger fighting a python, and Churchill's mother had a snake wrapped around her wrist. After the Second World War, the number of people wishing to have an image on their body increased rapidly. This was especially expressed in the mood of protest against the humiliation of women's rights.

Unlike earlier times, tattoos are now on display and occupy larger areas on the female body. The designs of women's tattoos are varied - inscriptions in Latin and English, the meaning of which is known only to their owners, are especially popular. No less popular hieroglyphs are Chinese and Japanese, Arabic script, Celtic symbols, small birds, flowers, animals.

A well-applied and correctly selected tattoo emphasizes the beauty of a woman’s lines, her individuality, and increases low self-esteem. Using a tattoo as a bracelet or necklace, she can never part with it. The drawn angel will provide her with constant protection, and the bat will protect her from bad influences and diseases.

Why do they get a tattoo on the neck?

A neck tattoo is discreet, stylish and alluring. Often the sign is applied to the side of the neck, behind the ear, where it looks no less attractive. Usually a small design is applied to the neck, since a large one will look bulky and sloppy. Therefore, immediately agree with the master on a small sketch. There are no restrictions in choosing an image - anything that will look harmonious can be printed. Most often, small stars, hearts, butterflies, fish, hieroglyphs, which can easily be hidden behind loose hair. Moreover, the skin on the back of the neck retains youthful freshness for a long time, and with it the tattoo applied. People of creative professions usually apply a sign on their neck.

If the decision to get a tattoo has been made, then choose the most neutral option with which you will coexist. Contact an experienced artist to create a suitable sketch and then apply the tattoo.

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Psychologists and psychiatrists have learned to read information about a person from his tattoos, even the most bizarre ones. Body “painting” will tell a specialist about a person’s fears, character traits, state of mind, illnesses and addiction to alcohol and drugs.

Fears

“A tattoo is a classic replacement for something that a person lacks,” says a family psychologist Natalia Panfilova. - Very often men who are too soft and unsure of themselves get aggressive tattoos: knife, warrior, tiger. Girls who feel that they lack attractiveness for the opposite sex decorate themselves with flowers, cats, and petals.

However, the effect is often the opposite.

- I had a client who was pretty, but not confident. “She got herself a tattoo of a bouquet on her arm, a lot of roses,” she said Natalya Panfilova. “But the tattoo didn’t suit her at all.” She and her husband started having scandals because in his picture of the world it was something incredible.

The fears of the mentally ill are also expressed in their tattoos.

Scientists from the Jerusalem Center for Evidence-Based Medicine in their scientific work (magazine "Bulletin of Psychiatry and Psychology of Chuvashia", 2010) examined 1,576 tattoos that were inked on 412 patients with mental disorders.

As stated in the study, some patients asked tattoo artists to give them mystical tattoos - they served as a talisman-amulet against the “evil eye.”

“Thus, the image of a “joker mask” on the outer surface of the elbow was interpreted by patients as a protective sign,” the scientists write.

The desire to hurt yourself

“Sometimes I notice that clients get tattoos on parts of the body where it is very painful,” says Natalya Panfilova. -For example, on the foot. Most likely, they deliberately want to hurt themselves. That is, the tattoo itself does not have any meaning, what makes sense is the action of applying it.

Scientists from Novosibirsk State Medical University (they published their research in the journal “Medicine and Education in Siberia” in 2013). Among 60 people with tattoos who took part in the study, scientists diagnosed 78% borderline personality disorder.

As they say in the work, 2-3% of people have this disorder . They are characterized by impulsiveness, low self-control, emotional instability, unstable connections with reality, high anxiety and a strong level of desocialization.

“It is of interest that people with borderline personality disorder in 90% of cases do not feel satisfied with the final result - the drawing,” says the study. “They are attracted by the process itself, associated with the need to endure pain in the process of drawing ("Will I be able to Can I stand it?")".

The need to endure pain is a socially acceptable way of “self-harmful behavior” (other unacceptable ways are to provoke an accident or commit suicide).

At the same time, "from Of all the tattoo options proposed by the tattoo parlor artist, people with borderline personality disorder prefer inscriptions or drawings related to the theme of death (skulls, dead people, grave crosses, etc.).”

The 13 people who did not have borderline personality disorder had much more optimistic tattoos - mostly images of animals or ornaments.

Researchers cite different reasons for self-destructive behavior.For example, in psychoanalysis, the founder of which is Sigmund Freud, it is believed that aggression was initially directed at another person, for example at a parent in childhood. But the well-being of the child depended on the parent, and he “decided” to redirect the aggression towards himself.

Thirst for attention

“Bright, catchy, large tattoos can be found in individuals of the hysterical type,” says psychiatrist, head of the department of intensive psychiatric care Artyom Gilev.

The main feature of this type isegocentrism, thirst for constant attention to one’s own person.

“For example, a person has a bright flower all over his back or a tiger on his face,” says Artyom Gilev. - Also, such a tattoo cansay that a person has bipolar disorder. He did it during a period of exacerbation, and then came out of this state and was shocked by himself.

Like Life, bipolar disorder affects 2-4% of the world's population. In the patient's life, periods of mania (feeling of one's own greatness, a flow of ideas, rapid speech, decreased need for sleep) are followed by periods of depression.

Psychopathic desire for order

As Artyom Gilev said, psychopaths of the epileptoid type (one of the main features is a morbid love of order in everything) tend to get tattoos where the smallest details are visible.

“For example, one patient pricked himself with a picture from a window,” said the psychiatrist. - I chopped out all the trees, there were leaves on each one. A window in the house opposite, in the window there is a person, a cat.

Schizophrenics also have very elaborate tattoos.

"Thus, one of the patients we observed, before getting a tattoo of a dragon, looked through several tens of thousands (!) of images of this fairy-tale character on the Internet and in the literature until he found a drawing that was as close as possible to his idea,” says the report. a study by scientists from the Jerusalem Center for Evidence-Based Medicine.

Stories suggested by voices

According to Artyom Gilev, people with mental illnesses often get tattoos that are incomprehensible to others. Sometimes their meaning cannot be explained even by the owner himself.

It happens that a patient asks a tattoo artist to ink a plot that the “voices” tell him.

Sometimes the images on tattoos are quite adequate, and only when the patient explains what they mean does it become clear that he is sick.

In one of the patients, scientists from Jerusalem Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, on the shin was “a giant Egyptian sign - an ankh (T-shaped cross connected to an oval on the top crossbar).” The patient explained that his tattoo meant: “I will never allow myself to be operated on again.”

He was given painful intravenous infusions, and then a transparent bandage was applied, which fixed the needle and resembled the sign of the ankh.

“After going on a short-term vacation, the patient immediately went to a tattoo parlor and got the said tattoo, claiming that, having seen it, “the doctors will understand and will not torment him anymore,” the study says. “When asked why he got it, tattoo on his leg, the patient stated that “the doctors are undressing him anyway.”

“Another patient, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, decorated his body with a chaotically tattooed alphabet to show that he was “good at school,” the scientists continue.

It happens that there is no logic at all in the tattoos of patients.

For example, a patient with schizotypal personality disorder applied a primitive symbolic tattoo depicting a graphic silhouette of a lawnmower to his buttock (intimate area) for decoration,” the study says.

Scientists believe that “voluntarily applied tattoos, along with other non-verbal signs, can play a significant role in the diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders, especially in cases where the subject deliberately seeks to mislead the doctor.”

Tattoos of drug addicts and alcoholics

The same scientists examined 609 tattoos that were inflicted on themselves by patients with drug and alcohol addiction (the study was published in the journal Narcology in 2010).

These tattoos have many typical themes. They "are a kind of identification mark for initiates, allowing them to make contacts to purchase drugs."

“The category of general symbols of drug use may include images of a skull pierced with a dagger or syringe, as well as any medical paraphernalia (tablets, capsules, ampoules, syringes and needles),” the scientists write.

Those who use opiates often tattoo images of a poppy flower or pod.

“The following scenes are not uncommon among them: a poppy flower entwined with a snake, a poppy whose stem is represented by an injection needle, a poppy flower entwined with barbed wire, a poppy head with a flowing drop of juice (“tear”),” the study says. “This also includes images a gnome or an old woman holding flowers or poppy heads in their hands. The image of an elderly person can be interpreted as an image of a person who grows opium poppies for sale."

People who use hashish often get tattoos with the image of a crescent moon combined with three stars (the “trademark” of factory-made Pakistani hashish). There can also be multi-figure compositions on oriental themes (a man smoking a hookah surrounded by dancers, a gin flying out of a jug).

The image of spiders and cobwebs on the fingers means dexterity and resourcefulness, the ability to get out of difficult situations.

Sometimes the numbers stick out. For example, 5 is ecstasy, 8 is heroin, 12 is marijuana (take the first letter in the name of the drug and put its serial number in the English alphabet).

"Reflection of the desired state during drug intoxication are scenes associated with images of a syringe with butterfly wings (lightness, euphoria), gin leaving a jug ("soul breaking free"), a skull pierced by a syringe or dagger indicates the severity and totality of the experiences that arose while taking drugs,” the study says.

Tattoos are often injected on the elbows: this way you can hide the traces of injections.

Alcoholics have their own typical stories. Often they pin an image of three component elements. The central one is one of the typical alcoholic attributes (bottle, glass, glass), the two edge ones are cards, female figures and faces. Under the picture, as a rule, there is an inscription: “This is what is destroying us!”

As a reflection of the peculiar alcoholic humor, there are inscriptions: “Why is there no vodka on the Moon?”, “For the health of the dead man!”, “For the ladies!”, “For you!”

“Knowledge about the deep psychosocial meaning of tattoos can help doctors in clinical practice,” the scientists conclude.

Previously Life, what tattoos do Olympic athletes decorate themselves with. They often cover their bodies with symbols that signify their desire for victory.

Tattoo as a feature of psychological state.

This note is nothing more than an attempt to systematize the accumulated material on tattoos and a psychological analysis of people who have them. It is very general and many aspects may not be included here.

Before I start writing about tattoos, I would like to note that they don’t just appear. No one in their right mind would expose themselves to pain unless there were reasons for it, even the most stupid ones, and due to age or circumstances, such reasons in the eyes of a person who wants to get a tattoo can be very weighty. Well, or if this person is not a complete masochist or is simply mentally ill. It is worth noting that in Russia, unlike many other countries, the attitude towards tattoos is more negative than, for example, in Thailand or Japan. The reasons for this: 1) the established opinion of the older generation that tattoos are the lot of prisoners, 2) the high religiosity of the population - the church does not approve of tattoos on the body, 3) the prevailing opinion that tattoos are a sign of an emotionally immature personality, this can happen, but more on that in a moment Later.
Let's start with prisoners' tattoos - partaks. I can only briefly systematize them, since I am far from prison life and, I hope, will never become acquainted with it. But as they say from the scrip and from prison...

Prisons have existed for a long time, which means there are a huge number of tattoos that change over time. Every tattoo is earned by doing, you can’t just come and order it. God forbid, one of those who was not in the zone gets a dome, a ring or other symbols that have nothing to do with the prison. Once in the zone, this behavior can become destructive. They can give you glass and force you to remove the tattoo, or they can send you to your forefathers...

Meanwhile, with the changing times and the emergence of people who ignore the old laws, as well as with the increased importance of money, it is said that now many tattoos are filled, even if not “earned,” solely for the sake of showing off.

Prison tattoos are divided into 3 types: 1) Hierarchical. A crossed key and arrow is a symbol of a burglar. The bayonet is the calling card of the world of thieves. Denoted a threat. The tattoo is found among repeat offenders, today it is becoming obsolete; on moral and ethical grounds, you understand, there is no need for phallic symbols on the body. A skull pierced by a dagger, a rose, a snake entwining the dagger. The grandfather of all thieves' signs. If there is a crown over the snake, then the wearer is a thieves’ authority, a thief in law or an “overseer,” etc. 2) Indicating time, in this case the number of visits, duration, age, when you first went to prison, etc. These include: a temple with domes: one dome = one trip to the owner. ACE - “The Prison Is Already Familiar” (option - “The Prison Teaches the Law”). Carriers are those who have already served a prison sentence, etc. 3) Ideological (life principles). A “wind rose” on the forearm (usually the elbows/shoulders) - as a rule, means that it has not sagged under the rubbish, and also that the owner lives according to his own concepts. Running deer - “I was born free and I will die free.” The owner is prone to flight. Dancing skeletons symbolize fearlessness, risk and contempt for death.

In real life, it is quite difficult to see such tattoos, since no one will show them off, and even if you see some kind of tattoo, you may simply not understand its meaning. If you see and recognize a tattoo, draw your own conclusions, no psychology is needed here, it all depends on your desire.
That's it, do you want to know more? There are thematic resources and special literature with the history of tattoos and their meaning, the hierarchy is very extensive, and each large group has its own subgroups.

Let's move on to “worldly” tattoos. I tried to fit them into the following groups:
1. Psychological
A. Protective and compensatory.
b. Motivational
2. Decorative
a.Decorative
b.Fan
c.Tattoo as art
3. Ideological
a.Identification
b. Religious and ideological.
4. Professional

In most cases, tattoos cannot be attributed to one particular group; they may have characteristics of both 2 and all 3 groups.
Now, in order.
Psychological, protective and compensatory. Of course, a drawing painted on the body does not bring money, does not save you from bullets and does not increase your chances of winning at roulette. Such tattoos can come in different forms, but most often they are small completed figures, mostly understandable only to the owners, another version of such tattoos, abstractions in the form of waves, fancy patterns. Tattoos of this type are very easily confused with decorative ones. In order to draw any conclusions about the owner of the tattoo, you still have to get to know him a little better. Protective tattoos can be the result of trauma suffered in childhood: attempted rape, murder, humiliation and insults at school, in the yard (whether justified or not), as a result of any physical injury, due to a difficult atmosphere in the family, screams, scandals, inferiority families, etc. Frequent moving, changing schools, being forced to make new acquaintances and friends can also cause this type of tattoo.

Aimed primarily to protect the psychological state of a person, this is a way to show that everything that happened to a person in childhood has passed, but remains forever in memory. Tattoos cannot always be a reflection of a child’s life; they can also appear at a later age with prolonged depressive pressure on a person, with constant humiliation. Such tattoos give inner confidence and additional strength to withstand adversity. They will tell you about the real meaning of a tattoo only if they trust you. This is a very personal tattoo; trying to find out anything about it through pressure will lead to rejection of that person and possibly a reluctance to communicate with you in the future. But you shouldn’t assume that this kind of tattoo appears exclusively on people who have been subjected to pressure or violence. Tattoos can be found on people who simply considered themselves unhappy at a given time. It is noteworthy that on girls’ bodies you will most likely find small (solid) complete figures; on guys, a tattoo may have a protective and motivational meaning. For example, phrases - to each his own, I don’t break under the pressure of fate, etc. Insecure guys, in order to appear cooler, can stuff all sorts of fists, brass knuckles, and bats on their bodies.

Psychological, motivational. This kind of tattoo can be found on athletes. Achievement in sports requires physical strength (of course, depends on what you are doing) and enormous mental concentration. Tattoos of the type: god, energy, mind, strength, life, humility, teacher, training, harmony, etc., made as inscriptions in different languages ​​or in the form of hieroglyphs, can be found among people involved in martial arts (martial arts). The more oriental a person practices (taijiquan, kudo, judo, aikido, wing chun, taekwondo, hapkido, jiu-jitsu, karate, etc.), the higher the likelihood of encountering them in the form of a Japanese hieroglyph. You can also see tattoos of Buddhist monks, samurai, traditional Japanese houses, katanas, shurikens, etc. This is explained quite simply. In films, a person can receive 5-6 punches in the face, kicks in the body, while dashingly distributing bullets to everyone left and right, saying cool phrases, and then running for several kilometers. Reality is reality. Those who know, don’t have to read, for those who don’t know, I’ll explain: one well-placed punch with a hand is enough to shock the enemy and cause serious injury, 2-4 strikes end the fight. This is if the hands. I am silent about the kicks of kickboxers and taekwondoists. About Thai knees and elbows. About the breaking of joints and throws of judokas and aikidokas. The outcome of the battle is decided very quickly; maximum concentration is needed to deliver the decisive blow, grab or throw. In addition, eastern BI mostly use “energy” (Ki, Qi, etc., different names). It is drawn from these tattoos, or rather from the psychological confidence that these tattoos help to obtain the necessary energy, confidence, strength and speed for the necessary actions. Boxers may have tattoos in the form of butterflies or bees. Yes, yes, it’s all from there: flutter like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Another type of tattoo is “snarling beasts”. Bears, wolves, lions, tigers, etc. The effect is the same psychological mood and gaining confidence + demoralizing the enemy and suppressing his fighting spirit. Motivational tattoos also include ordinary phrases that are understandable without additional explanation: I will achieve everything myself, a sprout breaking out of the asphalt (both the inscription and the drawing). Among security athletes and bodybuilders you can find tattoos in the form of the Superman sign, bent bars, pancakes, the inscriptions no pain no gain, extreme power, etc. Again, due to the availability of tattoos, you can see superman icons on scrawny guys. And a training tattoo (done in the Japanese style) on a fat guy. Japanese hieroglyphs in girls indicate a high spiritual and intellectual level. The ratio is approximately 1 to 100, so such tattoos most likely indicate the absence of this highest spiritual level.

Decorative, decorative. One of the largest categories. The number of tattoos is greater than professional and prison tattoos combined. I am not including here large tattoos in the form of wings and muscles, which require a lot of work and high quality workmanship. This includes various kinds of crowns of thorns, barbed wire (around the legs, biceps, shoulder). Butterflies, flowers, small abstractions, small animals, thousands of them. Made simply, in one color. They almost never make sense. Made for the sake of doing. Separately, it is worth noting the pompous phrases, most often in foreign languages ​​(it looks cooler, and no one will immediately guess, if we talk about the Russian-speaking space, then tattoos are often performed in French English, less often in Old English or Old German. Mostly found on girls, but the same is not uncommon among guys. They are called upon to show the enormous spiritual world of these people, their sensitive perception, and most importantly, their enormous life experience. If we talk about girls, he will most likely be a humanist who voraciously reads modern literature, with the presence of shallow philosophical thought, refined and. glamorized. Such a girl can feel like a fragile and tender creature, even if at the same time she is a hardened slut. Ce qui ne te tue pas, te rend plus fort (what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger). truire un coeur, regarde si tu n"es pas; l"interieur (before you break your heart, see if you are in it). me. (Everyone strives to become someone, but I just want to be myself). If you come across something similar in a guy, you know that this is a complex personality, pathetic, vulnerable. He tries to look cool, lies a lot, showing off his successes, often fictitious, in order to somehow compensate for his insecurity. If we talk about social class, then most likely it is a socially secure class. Guys from less prosperous families have a different mindset and attitude; they are more likely to hit a bat or brass knuckles, it costs less, and they look much more impressive, showing not a subtle mental organization, but strength and power. The secret to making tattoos is simple. We take a pretentious phrase, translate it into French, preferably with the help of a professional, rather than a prostitute – we fill it in. How are such tattoos presented? When asked what this tattoo means, we make a mysterious look, blow out cigarette smoke (it looks very impressive) and translate the phrase with a languid exhalation. Enjoy the effect.

Decorative. Fan-made. This is where we can talk about the emotional immaturity of the individual, BUT, except in cases with the fan symbols of the club in which the person is involved, for which he supports) this is something more. Clubs, communities of interests are a brotherhood, and tattoos there show loyalty and devotion to this brotherhood and idea. Therefore, such tattoos can most likely be classified as ideological. Tattoos speak of emotional immaturity: Edward Cullen on the stomach of a fat girl, Bart Simpson on the buttocks, characters from popular films, cartoons, and anime. They indicate poor taste and, in fact, excessive enthusiasm for the object. It is not difficult to assume that all life, at least most of it, is connected with the character tattooed on the body. Such people tend to collect material about their favorite character. Comics, figures, posters, T-shirts with signatures of people who voiced the character from the animation, fanbooks and fanart, etc. The emotional attachment passes, and after a while people begin not to be proud of such tattoos, but rather to hide them, some even try to remove them, it hurts. Only a small number of people will truly be delighted with such a tattoo for the rest of their days. Meet such a person a) do not criticize his passion b) you can learn a lot about the character, down to the amount of hair on his body, weight and favorite food.

Decorative. Tattoo as art. A controversial issue, since someone would call butterflies on the heels art. That's not what this is about. Animals, all over the back made in color, muscles, mechanisms, dragons and fantasy characters, complex multi-color abstractions, “sleeves”, etc. Despite the fact that these tattoos cause the most acute public resonance and denial, perhaps they are the very highest stage of tattoo development. Firstly, such tattoos require a very high level of skill, one wrong move and the integrity of the work can be violated and the image or idea can be completely ruined. Secondly, it requires greater emotional preparedness on the part of the object being tattooed. Most often there are several such tattoos; they may not be connected by a plot, but can smoothly flow from one to another. Speaking of people, it is worth saying that many owners of such tattoos are associated with art in one form or another. Photographers, rock musicians (both style and image), simply creative individuals, party-goers and clubbers, models, DJs. Unfortunately, the presence of such a tattoo is not at all an indicator of a person’s ability to be creative. This, like absolutely mediocre work in any field of art (photography, songs, mixing tracks, writing, sucking), and those done simply for the sake of pathos and the desire to show one’s self. Psychologically, such people are more different from an ordinary person. They are arrogant and selfish, self-centered, more persistent, and with hard work and talent, they can really move underground culture or just culture in general. They are less susceptible to the influence of social values, reject many institutions of society (authority, education, police, army) or consider these institutions to be unnecessary and not functioning correctly. Less susceptible to traditional gender roles. Among people, the likelihood of meeting homo or bi orientation is quite high. They are highly informed and erudite, but have a lot of unnecessary information, or rather information that is not related to “real” life. They may have problems communicating with other people not from their environment, considering them boring, gray, uninteresting. They are more prone to escapism, going into art, reading books, doing what they love. It is undoubtedly interesting to communicate with such people; it is rarely boring, but for the most part they are very detached from life. If they do not achieve any kind of fame or at least a stable income from their activities, they turn into objects that are best avoided. They become envious and over-egocentric, they believe that they were unfairly offended, they did not see their talent, they did not understand. They begin to hate people who have achieved something greater than them (a higher material condition, a car, an apartment, etc.), believing that they are just slaves of the system, although they themselves happily wanted to have all this. If they don’t put their heads together, they may start drinking and using drugs. And from here there are already 2 paths, addiction, which will gradually lower them to the bottom of life, or a creative breakthrough, which will make them famous. But since addictions gradually take their toll, fame may not last long. These, if we talk about people of art, others can simply be the bearer of this cultural canvas on their body and that’s all.

Ideological. Identification. This includes the fan club tattoos we talked about. A separate list includes military identification marks. Branches of the military, places of military service or specialty (reconnaissance, airborne forces, signalmen, border guards, etc.). In many ways they are similar to prisoner tattoos. There are a lot of military tattoos, since there are a huge number of military branches, ranks, and places of military service. Military tattoos are psychologically more complex; they are protection, motivation and recognition all rolled into one. But more and more often such tattoos appear on guys who have simply completed military service, but have achieved nothing in it, and even, on the contrary, during their service they can be concrete losers and suckers. Rather, these are simple tattoos indicating the type of military service and the date of service, no matter how cool they look. Examples of tattoos. Marines. A skull in a bandana is impaled on the hand. An anchor, against the backdrop of a globe, in the foreground is a dolphin jumping out of the waves and a ribbon with the inscription “Marine Corps”. Airborne Forces A winged sword with a beret on a shield, on the other shoulder there is an emblem of the Airborne Forces and a winged wolf with the inscription “45 ORP”. A parachutist with an opening parachute, a flying plane in the background, below/above in a semi-circle - the Airborne Forces, to the left and right of the parachutist - for example, 79-81. Intelligence service. Bat. Fleet. Polar bear on the shoulder - Northern Fleet. The steering wheel is superimposed on the anchor, there is a 3/4 surface ship in it, on top is the flag of the USSR Navy, on the bottom on a ribbon - for example, 83 KTOF 86. Anchor and sailboat, etc.

Ideological. Religious. Since the Orthodox Church does not approve, or, more precisely, prohibits tattoos, then we will talk about other religions. The vast majority of such tattoos indicate even more emotional immaturity than fan tattoos and perhaps even psychological disorders. Immature teenagers can draw pentagrams, demons, horned goats, the number 666, the words Belial (Velial) in different languages, most often in Latin. Bad manners, and terrible ones, both in professional tattoo circles and indeed among “real” Satanists. Such teenagers listen to heavy music, have problems at school, problems communicating with peers, try to become adults through denial and undermining authority, through violating the ban on smoking and alcohol, and most often have pedagogical neglect. But these are teenagers. There are people who put an almost sacred meaning into such tattoos, they evoke all sorts of otherworldly creatures, some even succeed because they throw substances at them before doing so. You shouldn’t criticize them; perhaps it’s even better to avoid communicating with them. They are self-centered, believe in their own specialness, exclusivity and that only they can understand the hidden meaning of scripture, ritual, idea, etc. This is the case with almost all religions. Ideal tattoos are more connected to life. Nazis, neo-Nazis wear swastikas, 14\88 insignia, quotes from Mein Kampf. Racial hatred tells us a lot about egocentrism, low level of education, envy. Actually, you will see such tattoos, you can put on combat boots, shout something offensive to foreign nationals, and perhaps spend a couple of fun evenings setting fires and kicking foreigners, but remember, no one has removed criminal liability, and your mother will obviously not be delighted. Any community can have ideological tattoos, but since most of them are isolated from the outside world, it is hardly possible to see them in everyday life.

Professional. Different people are important, different people are needed. There are a lot of professions, and that means tattoos. Many are simply made for the love of the profession and that’s all. Such tattoos are not numerous. Firefighters with burning people coming out of houses (although such a tattoo will also have a motivational and protective effect; climbing into burning houses, as you understand, is not so easy). Teachers with books and torches. You might even meet a janitor with a broom who loves his profession.

Continuation: practical analysis of tattoo carriers http://jonnnathan.blogspot.com/2019/01/blog-post.html