Underage Tattooage

I got my backpiece at 17...

shouldn't the "adult" that was with her need to take some of the blame here?

there are plenty of shady tattoo artists out there, and millions of stupid kids...

...but what kind of "adult" would take a "stupid kid" to a "shady tattoo artist"?

I just got my last piece here in California a few months ago (oddly enough also a tribute to my Grandpa), and at the age of 32 had to sign a consent form and have my id photocopied. It's my opinion that one should just stay away from a sloppy shop. Sloppy with the rules of law doesn't automatically translate to sloppy sterilization procedures, but I'm not going to trust my body to someone that might cut corners just to get a new client. Every time a parlor here in CA has an issue like this one, it makes it easier for the local governments to bow to conservatives and chase the tattoo shops out of town. I've seen it happen beofre...

ummm, conservatives get tattoos too, you know. breaking the law is breaking the law and gives ANY short-sighted local governing body reason to run tattooing out of town. Cleveland is a very liberal city and tattoo shops in the actual city limits (actually, i think it was the county..) were just made legal like 5 years ago, if that.

don't blame conservatives, blame fucked up shady tattoo shops who screw it up for everyone.

I sincerely apologize if that sounded like a gereraliztion. I was actually thinking of a certain event years ago when I was living in So. Cal where the ultra-conservative city council (My brother-in-law's uncle is on it, so I have personal info) was trying anything they could to chase the tattoo and piercing shops out of a certain city. They were practically doing cartwheels when a guy got caught doing tattoos for minors out of his garage. They used it as an excuse/example to chase the legit shops out too. Again, sorry Stirfry if my comment was poorly worded.

Eh, 15 years old is old enough to make a mistake like that. It's a tattoo. It's not going to ruin her life.

I couldn't agree more!

To add to that argument take the far from conservative city of New York as an example example -- sloppy tattoo shops in the 1960's created a huge Hepatitis B scare that caused for tattooing to be outlawed from 1961 - 1997 within city boundries.

It wasn't that people had anything against those who chose to wear body art -- it was the fear that the city will become deseased from poorly santised shops and equipment.


[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by lethholelm]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but at least it doesn't look like it was a poorly done tattoo that she'll have for the rest of her life. It could have been worse. She could have gotten this:

or this

or this one

this one's a real gem

how 'bout a fantastic anime' character?

Led Zeppelin anyone?

And then there's this one...words fail me when contemplating the decision making and application skills that went into:


I think she was too young to get a tattoo...particularly one that big. But all things considered, she could have done far worse. At 24, i have no clue what i would put on my body for the rest of my life though i have a few ideas. I can't imagine there are many 15 year olds out there with a better clue than I.

[Edited on Jul 31, 2004 by Max16Characters]

What limb is that on?

Even at 22 I know my mum would seriously kill me if I ever got a tattoo.

Bummer that he didn't make it past the primaries.

The studio where I get my tattoos done does absolutely no tattooing on people under the age of 18, parental consent or not. I don't know that it is a law in my state, but I know it is definitely a personal preference of the shop owner and the artists that work their. They feel like, by the time a person is 18, they are out of high school and going to do the things they want to do because they are legally considered adults. If they regret the decision of a particular tattoo later in life, the only person involved in the decision to get it done was them. Also, they want to make sure that the person getting the tattoo is getting it because they really want it, not because of teenage rebellion, etc. etc. Most of the time, if they have a mother or father come in with their underage child for a tattoo, they tell the kid to figure out a design that they want and hold on to it until they turn 18- and if they still like the design and want it tattooed on them, then come in and they'll be happy to do it.
Piercings are a different story...the shop does allow body piercings with parental consent...I believe for 15 and up, but I may be mistaken.
I think the only reason that this girl regrets getting that tattoo now is because she's being made a celebrity of it and everyone in the world knows her mom is pissed. She got it done in memory of her grandad, so she had good intentions, but now that it's blown up in her face, she has no choice but to say it was a mistake. That way, mom's happy. I do think it was sketchy that the artist is just tattooing out of hobby...makes me think scarily unsanitary.

i have three tattoos from when i was 16 years old. i had a fourth and i paid more for the removal than i have paid for all my tattoos combined. i hate the scars on my skin and i hate the stupid, ugly tattoos that i got from the shop that was unprofessional enough to do them on a child. there are a lot of things that we wear in our teenage years that embarass us when we see old photos. now imagine that you had to wear that outfit everyday. its fucking terrible.

i have about five friends that had work done underage, and most of them have them covered up now or worked into a new piece, we knew this tweeker ass biker with a tattoo gun

[Edited on Aug 01, 2004 by NatasKaput]

one tattoo artist i know will tattoo 16 year olds with parental consent but not 15 year olds .. the last time i was in the shop there was an irate parent screaming at him because he wouldn't tattoo his 15 year old son .. the kid really didn't seem to care one way or the other .. that being said i do think that the age should be up around 18 and not younger i've known several people who have tattoos from when they were very young that they regret or want to cover .. i know adults do stupid things but teenagers tend to lack even more brain cells when it comes to this kind of stuff

Hmmm, makes me wonder: Is it good to fashion your child in yr own image?

I think there are things I was wearing when I was 20 that embarrass me now and probably things I'm wearing now that will embarrass me when I'm 50

[Edited on Aug 01, 2004 by deegee]

the laws are pretty relaxed here. I had my entire back done when I was 17. i dont regret it but im lucky that i have always put a lot of thought into the things i do.. i wasnt ever a dumb kid. But it does worry me that other 15, 16, 17 year olds could get ink there if they looked of age.
the place im talking about ID if people looked younger.. but there are about 5 places in my small city alone that do not ID at all and maybe 1 or 2 that are very strict about it.

I already had five tattoos when I turned 18, and got my first tattoo a week after my 16th birthday. I've always looked older, and the two places I got all my tattoos done have never asked me for ID.

Anyhow, mine are in places that are easier to conceal (one on my hip, between my shoulders, my ankel, my back and stomach) and aren't quite as big as that one, nor are they something that will change with time like a Whinne tattoo might.

Again, I've always taken the decision to tattoo myself very seriously, and right up until im withered and old will probably love all my tattoos.

It's really too bad the girls mom freaked out so badly. If it was my kid, I'd sit down and explain to her that she would have this tattoo the rest of her life, and that it would have to come out of her pocket if she ever wanted to have it removed.

Who was the adult who was with her? That's the first thing I was wondering. If it was her parent or legal guardian then why the controversy? If not then I wonder why the tattoo artist would even consider this.....

most people i know who got tattoos as minors don't regret the tattoo itself, but rather the quality of the tattoo. apparently it's hard to find a good artist who will tattoo a 15 year old. this girl is lucky (especially with the size and amount of color) that she doesn't have some monstrosity that mildy resembles ol' poo on her arm forever.

hell, i've wanted a tattoo since i was 12. 11 years later, i still can't decide on what my first one will be. thankfully, i knew i was indecisive, flaky, and a perfectionist even way back when, and refrained from getting the cover from "appetite for destruction", or some other such nonsense, tattooed upon my person... now, that's a smart 15 year old.

I don't know about you, but I was a dumbass at fifteen.

In fact, I was pretty fucking dumb at 18 and 21, too. I'm just lucky I had the fear of my folks in me.

Our risk assesment sections of brain aren't even fully developed until 22.