I'm glad I came upon this thread, because I've been thinking about tattoos a lot lately. I absolutely hate them; I don't understand why anyone would do something like that to their bodies. Tattooing, like piercing, is a tribal custom for the love of God! I think it's stupid to even think about it.
Recently I asked a friend if she would ever consider getting a tattoo, after three seconds I said: "No way!" I couldn't believe she actually had to think about it. I could never get a tattoo, and I don't think it's a matter of preference or taste, tattoos are always a step backward, never forward.
Earlier kenstauffer said that the human body is beautiful naked. That's an understatement. The Human body is the most beautiful thing that exists. Howard Roark would never get a tattoo, why would he possibly want to? Are you kidding? This is hilarious. Would Howard Roark pierce his ears? Or his nipples maybe? Maybe after completing the Wynand building, he would have liked to urinate on it...?
How can none of you see this? Tattoing is anti-reason. Tattoos corrupt the beautiful purity of a human body, and hinder development personal development. I don't see why anyone truly commited to anything should need to brand themselves in such a manner. Like I said, it is anti-reason, even if it intends to celebrate it's full use.
Can you imagine Michelangelo's David with tattoos?
Also consider what it is that the pain experienced during tattooing implies: "Pleasure (in the widest sense of the term) is a metaphysical concomitant of life, the reward and consequence of successful action—just as pain is the insignia of failure, destruction, death."*
