Apologies for my recent absence, instead of deciding to take some time away from the internets as I sometimes do I simply had a very busy weekend. It was good though! <3
 |
Just chillin' after work >.<
All the cool kids are wearing cats now, dontchaknow... |
Has anyone else in the UK noticed the fuss our newspapers have been making about the ladies at Ascot showing their tattoos? The Daily Mail considered that a tattooed woman being seen in public (shock. horror.) was actually worthy of being front page news... not once, but twice. :-/ Tattooed women are not just in circuses nowadays, y'know...
Let's bear in mind that tattoos - and piercings - are not even mentioned in the dress regulations at this prestigious event (although a Mail columnist, Jenni Murray, exclaims that tattooed racegoers are 'defiantly flouting the rules' - woman, don't talk such rubbish), so why our tabloids are taking it upon themselves to presumptously highlight women who, for some STRANGE reason, don't feel that their body art should be covered when in public, I really have no idea.
A journalist in another publication took it a step further with the following comments:
As Tumblr user
Deathisforever commented on this pointless and rude piece, "This is incredibly offensive and discriminatory. I cannot believe this was printed in a paper in this day and age. If you replaced the subject of tattoos with weight, sex or race it’d be totally unacceptable to voice these views in national news."
Jenni Murray also wrote a piece for the Mail last Saturday entitled, "What is it about modern women and tattoos?" Sadly I can't find this article online, but my 'favourite' quote was, "I was saddened to see that even so seemingly confident and successful a young woman should feel the need to mutilate herself."
I find this attitude maddening. Does Ms. Murray also consider hair dye to be a mutilation of the natural form or is her condescension only reserved for things she cannot personally understand or appreciate, much like the journalist who wrote the snippet above?
Frankly, journalists and whoever else can discuss and disparage body modifications as much as they please, but it isn't going to deter people - of any gender - who wish to have them. I don't personally get on my high horse and complain about women who choose to have rhinoplasty or whatever because what other women do to their own bodies is none of my business and certainly not for me to be rude about in a national broadsheet.
If your opinion is that you don't like tattoos, OK, fair enough, but surprisingly there are people out there who a) don't share your views and b) sometimes get a little tired of being marginalised as 'trampy' or 'uneducated' in a national forum on the basis of a personal choice which has absolutely no relevance or in fact
anything to do with anyone else.
When looking for snippets from these newspapers to share here, I did, however, also find
this excellent article, which for me sums up my view on the entire subject very neatly in its final sentence: "The only difference between people like me with tattoos, and people like the Daily Mail readers quoted above, is that I won’t judge you for NOT having them."
Simply put, I could wander down the street berating others for scruffy beards, poor haircuts, wearing Crocs or anything else that doesn't appeal to my personal standards. But I don't, because (like Deathisforever) I was brought up to hold fast to the adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." OK, so this doesn't necessarily always apply in journalism, but surely it's appallingly tasteless behaviour to stand up and bash other women for what they choose to do with their own bodies.
You don't have to like it. You don't need to. Because it's not your body, and therefore, not your business.