Tribal tattoos

[Sean Hollyman]

What do you think of them? Personally I find them uninspired, basically the last resort if you're out of ideas or too lazy to come up with a good design. It seems most people just get them for the sake of having a tattoo, no thought put into it.

(I mean no offense to anyone here who may have a tribal tattoo)

BTW I mean those gym-hitting dudebros who get them just for the sake of it. REAL tribals, they're cool.

 

[JoJo]

I don't have any tattoos myself but I don't mind tribals, they often look aesthetically pleasing, more than quite a few more traditional tattoos anyway. My brother has a few tattoos and is the epitome of not properly thought out tattoos, including a Chinese symbol that is meant to mean 'freedom' (looked it up and it actually has a closer meaning to 'comfort' or 'tranquillity'), a voodoo doll because they were on special offer down at the tattoo shop and some poor quality doodles on his feet he drew himself with a friend's tattoo gun. Compared to that lot, tribal tattoos look positively inspired.

 

[sextus the crazy]

They come off as kinda cultural-appropriation-ish or at least just for trend, like getting chinese symbols tattooed on. Still, I don't mind the stat bonuses they offer (Even if gunslinger takedown ruins stealth).

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Eh, I'm not a big fan. If you're going to take some designs from a different culture you could always be a bit more inspired about it. I've always thought a South American/Incan/Aztec inspired sleeve would look really cool, way more interesting than Maori inspired ones. It certainly doesn't help that the kind of people that get them tend to be massive, massive cunts.

 

[Queen Michael]

I like them. They look pretty nice, and are way better than the alternatives, such as:

* A Chinese sign you can't read, that might or might not mean what you think, and which has a perfectly ordinary word like "love" or "eternity" that's supposed to be deep just because it was written with a Chinese sign

* A picture that doesn't manage to symbolize what you intended all that well. "Yeah, this winged tiger jumping through a burning hoop symbolizes when I quit my job as assistant manager at Wal-Mart."

* Video game stuff like a heart container, a 1-up mushroom, the triforce or other stuff like that.
...
No wait, the video game sones are awesome. Ignore that one.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I don't like tattoos in general. They ruin bodies. Maybe you can pull off one, but you know I almost never meet a person that only has one. People seem to get carried on to more and more, without any kind of cohesion or sense of aesthetic in between.

 

[Asclepion]

Iain Banks said that once you have a tattoo, you can never again be truly naked.

While there are vast multitudes of shit, there are also amazing ones:

Spoiler: Reminds me of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I don't think highly of tattoos in general to begin with, and IMO tribals are the lowest of the low. Even a shitty doodle that you got while drunk has more personality than those non-specific, meaningless symbols. Getting one on your forearm doesn't make you look cool, but rather a tool. Of course then there are those who get entire back covering tattoos or cover their entire bodies in them, in which case they can look amazing but raise some questions about the person in question.

 

[NemotheElvenPanda]

They're douche-baggy to the point of cultural appropriating something that isn't yours. I love tattoos and would be so happy to get my own someday, but not some generic, harsh black marks or pseudo-Maori/Tligit/Aztec/Hawaiian patterns that really make no sense. Same with getting random Chinese characters which can be taken in so many different ways by how they're written, if you actually do your research anyway and don't get a character that expresses something different to what you want. If you're going to inject ink into your epidermal layers, at least try to be original and forethought into it.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

My tribal tattoo identifies me as a member of The Gamerz gang.

For real yo.

Just watch out for Twitchy and don't make fun of his speech impediment.

[sub]My Kusari tattoo has NEVER been mistaken as a tribal tattoo. The only people who can get away with tribals are professional fighters because you don't dare tell them to their face it makes them look like a douchebag without them taking you down to the ground and breaking something.[/sub]

 

[Flutterguy]

Most tattoos are uninspired and boring. Thats why I don't mind people with joke tattoos, atleast that has some meaning or personality attached.

Being symbol minded myself, I've been debating getting a triskele tattoo for a couple years. Don't think I will, unless I get a coupon for a free one or something.

 

[happyninja42]

Iain Banks said that once you have a tattoo, you can never again be truly naked.

While there are vast multitudes of shit, there are also amazing ones:

Spoiler: Reminds me of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Having had sex with many naked women who had tattoos, I can debunk that statement with personal, imperical evidence. xD

They were indeed, very much nekked, and it was greatly appreciated.

I mean it's just a pigmentation change on your skin. Saying that having ink colored skin makes you "not naked" seems silly, 'cause you could say that about people with darker colored skin and say they're always dressed.

Which I'm pretty sure wouldn't fly in the street if they walked around saying "No it's ok! I've got on clothes, my skin is dark!"

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Bad tattoos do nothing to lower my quality of life and do not harm others, so I don't really care about them.

Iain Banks said that once you have a tattoo, you can never again be truly naked.

Having had sex with many naked women who had tattoos, I can debunk that statement with personal, imperical evidence. xD

Well, if we use the word "naked" as "unadorned" rather than "unclothed", then you both can be right!

 

[omega 616]

Wow, talk about going at it with both barrels ... you know for a demographic who are usually victimized for being anti-social, spotty, ugly nerds who are just wasting there time with a kiddies toy ... you're very judgmental.

As a person with a tribal sleeve, I obviously like them. It is just body art, my tattoo is like my piercing ... it is something that I chose to do to my body to (in my mind) make me look better. I don't give a shit if other people like it, I do and if other people do, great but if not I don't care.

It's like random art, some random cottage in a field or a watering can or a vase or a game poster ... they don't have meaning, they are just there to add visual interest to an otherwise blank wall. Same for a tattoo, it doesn't have to have meaning ... you like it so you get it.

Maybe a certain crowd does like tribal tattoos, maybe the same crowd who also wear topout tops ... doesn't mean that every guy who has a tapout top is a douchebag, could just mean he liked that top!

Are they any worse than most tattoo's with meaning, most of which are some of the most repeated ... mom & dad "'cos I love my mum and dad!" or *kids name* "'cos I love my kids" or how about "only god will judge me" ... or *dead person* "'cos I miss them!".

Fuck, if it was only people who had proper meaningful tattoos, the only people who would have them are people who over came addiction or PTSD or something

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I think tribal tattoos are a bit try-hard unless you are descended from an actual tribe. Like the tools you see at the gym with Polynesian tattoos who are whiter than I am. Being of Anglo-Celt background I have some Celtic tattoos, but the rest are random stuff I came up with myself.

 

[Mahorfeus]

Eh, if you at least know what the symbol means and personally find it significant, then why the hell not? That would be preferable, but heck, even if you just think it looks cool, I don't think it is much of a problem.

Plus any good tattooist worth their salt could probably put together a pretty neat design - the creative process doesn't have to fall on the person getting one.

 

[JimB]

I don't mind tribal tattoos. I'm not one for useless ornamentation myself--I like things to have a useful purpose--but it doesn't bother me when people disagree with my stance on the topic; and I don't understand the idea of "cultural appropriation," as if culture is a thing anyone can own, so it doesn't offend me on those grounds. If someone wants to scar his body with arbitrary, swirly lines, I don't see how it's my business to judge. It's not like any collection of swirly lines--including the letters you're reading--aren't essentially arbitrary and have more than the symbolic meaning externally assigned to them.

 

[TheIceQueen]

I find tribal tattoos to be boring, but I don't scoff at someone who has one. I mean, I can't judge. I have a kanji tattoo of "Blood Angel." Although, I regret not getting it in a symbol, like a blood drop with wings. Still, tribal is something of a last-resort tattoo, I will agree with that.

I am, however, pretty proud of this one:

Spoiler

 

[90sgamer]

It's like random art, some random cottage in a field or a watering can or a vase or a game poster ... they don't have meaning, they are just there to add visual interest to an otherwise blank wall. Same for a tattoo, it doesn't have to have meaning ... you like it so you get it.

This is the best defense to tats I've seen. I don't like tats, but now I have a better understanding why some people do.
Out of curiosity, would you say that you are uncomfortable with your body or physical appearance with or without tats?

 

[EyeReaper]

I don't see a problem with them. It's that person's body, they should be able to do what they want with it, as long as it isn't offensive, regardless of race. Saying tribal tattoos "cultural appropriation" would be like saying a black guy with a tattoo of a viking crest is appropriating (after all, the vikings were norse) or a Sailor Moon tat, cuz that's japanese culture.