Monday, June 24, 2019

Tattoos On Men--Love Them? Hate Them? Indifferent?





Tattoos are very popular now, with men and women, young and old. How do you feel about tattoos on men? On anyone, for that matter?

Several years ago I decided I wanted a small, classy tattoo on my ankle. Many of my female co-workers had them. When I announced this to my family, my father-in-law blew a gasket. I was shocked at how angry and appalled he was for a woman to get a tattoo. He was close to ninety then, a generation to whom tattoos were reserved for sailors and lowlifes.

I certainly wouldn’t let my father-in-law’s attitude stop me. To see if I’d like having a tattoo, I got a temporary one on my ankle and wore it for about a week. I hated it, absolutely hated having that “thing” on my ankle. My feelings surprised me. Needless to say, I didn’t get my tattoo.

I like most tattoos on others, but tasteful ones, strategically placed. I don’t like seeing them all over a person’s body. Lady Gaga has several, but the one that gives me pause is on the underside of her upper arm. Does she have any idea what that tattoo will look like when she’s older and has upper arm flab that flaps in the breeze? Tattoos should be placed on those body parts that don’t turn to fat, like ankles or forearms.

A well-placed and creative tattoo on a man can be very sexy. You’ll see from these pictures here just how sexy. I like giving tattoos to my romance heroes, but only if the artwork has meaning for them. In my short story Love Potion, my hero Jonathan has a tattoo of a snake on his arm. That snake is to remind him to be careful who he trusts because two people he loved betrayed him in the past.




In my novel, A Groom for Christmas, Love On a Dare Book 1, Jake has a tattoo of a falcon on his arm. In high school his nickname was The Falcon. He has the tattoo to remind him of how shabbily the close-minded townsfolk treated his family. He’s back to exact his revenge, only things don’t go as he planned.






My latest hero sporting a tattoo is Josh Tanner, hero of Josh’s Salvation, Redemption Book 4. Josh is a badass undercover agent working to bring down a California drug king. I hadn’t planned on giving him a tattoo, but a reader suggested I do his story and give him a tattoo.



How about you? In general, how do you feel about men having tattoos? Do you like romance heroes with tattoos?

Buy Links: 

Love Potion


A Groom for Christmas (Love On a Dare Book 1)


Josh's Salvation (Redemption Book 4)




 



3 comments:

  1. I'm not a big tattoo fan, although I admit that some are indeed stunning. I worry about the health implications, as I think some autoimmune diseases may be linked to reactions to the ink. Fortunately, I have no issue with them on my fictional heroes and heroines and have been fascinated by the paranormal stories that have tattoos which can manifest physically.

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  2. Hi, Elf, thanks for posting. Tattoos that manifest physically is intriguing. Maybe I'll write a story with a shifter who has a physical tattoo.

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  3. Plot bunnies, lol. I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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