Am I the “girl from jail” because of my looks?

How tattoos draw an image of our personalities

by Carol Väljaots

The history behind tattooing goes back thousands of years. It was mostly practiced among indigenous people, sailors, criminals, army deserters and military personnel. For a long time the stereotype was that people with tattoos are a threat to our communities and they wish to rebel against society although recently this is not the case at all. Young people wish to express themselves in a creative way.

Tattoos through my eyes

Since a really early age, I always looked up to people who had tattoos. There was something about them that got me hooked. The way they walked, the look on their face - like they owned the world. I never saw the typical stereotype that they might be criminals or people from lower class - I think that could be my privilege of living in Estonia.

When I was 17, I had a friend who already had a lot of tattoos so that encouraged me even more to go and get one. Since I had been living alone for almost a year at that point and I believe my parents trusted me, they were okay with me making that decision. I was super excited about my first tattoo. After it healed I wanted another one, and then one more, and of course one more.

Now I have one arm full of tattoos and also a few others around my body and I get it. This is the look on those people that I admired while being young. They could be going through a lot but if you’re happy with the art that you put on yourself, then you will develop an attitude that you actually can conquer the world. I couldn’t really explain why that happened. So I decided to ask around a bit. I decided to interview my friends from Estonia, other volunteers who I live with and locals in Greece.

Eugenia Sapountzi

© Carol Väljaots

Interviewing 15 people with- and without tattoos

The average age people had their first tattoo was 18, for some 15 and for others 22. The main thing that made them get one was the love for art. There is something about tattoos that hooked them - on friends or what the media was showing. Their favorite band or a character from a TV-show. When asking people without tattoos which personality traits they see on tattooed people, the answers were all quite similar - expressive, open-minded, sexy, know-what-they-want and confident.

Tattoos as an artistic confidence boost?

I used to criticize my body a lot. My belly was too big, thighs too fat and arms too spaghetti-like. Working out made me feel better mentally but I was still not satisfied with the image. After years passed, many people have asked me the question: “Are you confident in your body?”. My answer for a long time has been: “Hell yes!”. I haven’t cared what others think of me for a while. It was part of me growing up. Writing this article and asking people questions about their confidence made me realize that I felt more and more confident with myself after I started getting tattoos. I am proud of what I have on my body and I want to show it off. That made me realise that people really don’t care about the belly roll or not so skinny ankles, that I have been worried about for years - they are just impressed with the unique picture that no one else has. I love the sentence that one of my interviewees from Germany said: “We can not really choose how we look, but tattoos are something that people can decide what, where and from whom. It’s like creating your own body, which I think is pretty confident.”

Eugenia Sapountzi

© Carol Väljaots

I never realized that almost everyone is struggling with their body image. Many males that I interviewed said that without tattoos, all that people saw in them was how skinny they are.

Now after being covered with tattoos, no one notices that in them anymore. It’s more compliments about the art that they carry. “Like they are walking pieces of art”. On the other hand, we can look at it as covering a part of yourself to deal with negative thoughts but I think for some it can be the way to heal. It could be to cover some scars that they wish to forget.

“I remember going there with everything covered…”

Half of the people with tattoos who I interviewed mentioned their problems with mental health. It’s a topic bigger than the one here but they all said the same thing - tattoos make them feel beautiful, it’s something that they love about their body and it makes them more confident. For everyone the value is different but the common thing is, that it reminds them of something - who they were, what they went through, who they are or where they want to get.

Eugenia Sapountzi

© Carol Väljaots

But does it really have to have a meaning? The word “meaning” came up in almost each interview. A girl from Estonia said to me: “Nothing really deep and horrible happened to me and I feel a bit that maybe I’m not worthy of having one.” And I get why she is feeling that way. It’s the first thing that people ask - “what’s the meaning of your tattoo?”, “why did you decide to get that one?” etc. Most people that I interviewed said that they don’t mind when people ask about their tattoos, although they are not so comfortable going too deep with explaining. For some it’s very personal, something that got them through a difficult time in their life. Others just got it because they liked the idea and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. In the end, it’s our body and we all do tattoos for ourselves not for others.

“... it’s more in my head rather than the society” said my friend from Estonia. A lot of us tend to feel like we have to hide our art even when it’s not necessary. Depending where you live you get to have the choice. Would you hide a part of you for someone to hire or like you, or would you embrace an important part of yourself and see what happens? After all those interviews I feel like I am privileged to think that way.

“I remember going there with everything covered and being nervous about them asking (about the tattoos) because they had those forms that they were filling. In my country (Colombia) it’s quite a common question.”, Carolina explains. She continues: “After that I said fuck it and if they have a problem, then it’s not the right place for me. I felt very confused, because I didn’t understand why this question was at the same level as my education.”

Eugenia Sapountzi

© Carol Väljaots

A similar quote came from a local girl: “I think a lot of places here in Greece would ask me to cover my tattoos - Actually they wouldn’t hire me, which I feel is a form of discrimination because it has nothing to do with my intelligence or being unprofessional.”

I recently had a situation where I was referred to as a “girl from the jail” and I think it’s time to move on from this stereotype. History is in the past and like with everything, we must shake our thoughts and be more open-minded. For most people, tattoos really make them more confident about themselves, can help with mental health, makes us more unique and like my friend, who is a tattoo artist in Estonia said: “A good tattoo that highlights your personality is like a stylish haircut, or a stunning suit, which you feel great wearing.” We should normalize that. Or what you think?