Still taboo? Woman shares some of the odd remarks she gets for her tattoos
“You not scared pain meh?”
While sporting tattoos have become more trendy among the youth over the years, there are still those from the older generations that find it unsettling, according to one Singaporean woman.
In a video, the TikTok user @buffbaby88, who goes by the name Jeynelle, shared some comments people have made to her about her tattoos.
Jeynelle, who has multiple tattoos on her body, including her right arm, said the comments she has received have never been outrightly mean, but she has nevertheless had to learn to live with the attention.
She shared that once when she was at a camera store, a man asked her in Chinese: “You youngsters have tattoos not scared pain meh?”
When he probed further about whether getting the tattoos were painful, Jeynelle said that it was. Hearing this, the man then asked, “huh? Then why you still do?”
On another occasion, in a private-hire car, the driver asked her if she needed to cover up. Jeynelle was wearing a spaghetti-strap top at the time, thus exposing her tattoos fully.
“When I asked what he meant, he then turned to me and said, ‘oh no lah, the weather very cold’," – this, despite soaring temperatures in recent times.
@buffbaby88 ♬ original sound - buff baby
Speaking to MS News, Jeynelle said others have also passed disturbing remarks, such as questions about why she chose to “ruin” her body with tattoos.
Jeynelle said that as she grew up in a conservative family, she understands the stigma associated with tattoos. But she also feels that body art is “a way of expression” and provides “a sense of identity” for people.
Her parents, who were shocked when she got her first tattoo, have also come to accept it as a part of her identity.
Her experiences with strangers haven’t all been negative; some people have complimented her body art. Jeynelle said a girl once walked past her in the toilet and said her tattoos were really cool.
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