On June 8th, one of my most exciting moments finally arrived- I was getting my first large tattoo. It was a portrait of Maleficent played by Angelina Jolie who brought one of my favorite characters to life. Here is a photo of it taken by my potato of a phone camera:
by Vero Imbo at The Arts Coorporation, Montreal.
I was thrilled to show it off to my coworkers, my family, anybody and everybody until the healing process began. It soon scabbed over, it peeled, it did its tattoo thing, which is totally fine, but I wasn’t as willing to let people see it.
That’s when I realized that it no longer mattered what I want. I had people ask to see it all the time, which is totally fine, but after politely saying no they would keep asking and asking. It dawned on me that this piece of art that is on my body, would no longer feel like my own. I learned quickly that no does not mean no anymore to the people who want to see it. To them it was a part of me that they figured they could look at any time it pleased them.
I was extremely uncomfortable at certain times during this healing process with showing it off and that did not matter to anyone. I kept getting asked to expose my body repeatedly after turning down the idea multiple times, until I finally get exhausted and just do it.
This may not be a big deal to some people, but it is to me, because I have a right to keep my tattoo covered if I want to. The fact that people demand to see it is insulting and actually very rude if I had already said no.
Yes this tattoo is on my arm. Yes the arm is not a sexual body part (unless that’s your thing then cool). While this is on my arm, I wish the public would remember that its MY arm. It is part of me, and that demanding to see it when I do not feel like showing it off (or for medical reasons) is not okay and honestly feels like borderline harassment. This does not mean that I regret getting the tattoo. I still adore it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that no means no, and that goes for anything. These are just my thoughts.
Can any of you relate? Let me know what you think.
-Ar0deth
ar0deth 