Some associate it with passion, art, rebellion, delinquency, self-expression among a host of others.
No doubt a tattoo is perhaps the most controversial thing you could do to your skin, and people especially ladies with tattoos are subjected to a lot of reactions ranging from indifference, dislike, to even hatred on one hand and extreme admiration on the other.
Ghanagong.com set out to find out from some Ghanaians what they make of ladies who wear tattoos.
Here are some of the comments…enjoy the read and don’t forget to add yours at the bottom of this article.
Alberta Bimpong/Cosmetic Consultant
People associate it with prostitution. I personally don’t mind because it can be done in a tasteful manner. Some tattoos are cool. I think it’s about how the person wears the tattoos. A small tattoo placed right is pleasant but not littering your body with ink.
Georgina/Procurement Assistant
It may be good elsewhere but bad within the Ghanaian contest. I personally don’t have a difficulty with people who wear tattoos.
Ebenezer Henaku Jr/Banker
For me, a person with tattoo is a passionate person.. I mean you really have to be passionate about something to tattoo it on your skin. But I believe that the content of the art on the skin is what will form a vivid opinion of you to me.
Abigail Adjei/Midwife
I think it’s a signal they are call girls or have been really bad. They may have been in bad company or overindulged. I don’t mind being close to a lady who wears tattoos provided they have changed for the better.
Selorm Prince/Businessman
I see such ladies to be very hard and life loving. I see them to be the chilling types that’ll find it difficult to stick to a man. I don’t consider them as a marriage material.
Edem Kwaku Courage/Businessman
A tattoo may mean different things based on the position and the tattoo image.
Julius Caesar Anadem/Journalist
They mostly come across as people who are extremist fashionistas. Tattoos are someway but, sometimes when you get close to the person and get their reasons for their tattoos…..hmmm some are interesting and fascinating.
Michael Ofosu-Afriyie/Journalist
I have always seen those wearing tattoos as weird people. Though I know this culture of painting the body exists in the Americas especially the United States and Mexico I feel it is weird.
Growing up I never saw Ghanaians being fanciful in that but from the early 90s I have seen men boldly display same on their bodies. Lately, I have seen the ladies take over the craze and anytime I see them I interpret it to mean either the ladies are hot or wayward.
Nigel Addo Carey/Fitness Coach
I think such a person is for sexual satisfaction and not marriage material.
Ellen Opia Papabi/Nurse
The youth love tattoos… it depicts how “badass” you are. People make temporary and permanent ones to suit occasions
Stephanie Aboagyewaa/Student
A tattoo can be a representation of one’s story or pains. There’s no need for anyone to be uncomfortable with someone based on her tattoo. It can be a very personal thing.
What do you think about this piece? Share your comment in the comment thread and share the story using the social media buttons above. Thank you.
I love people with tattoos
They make good company as there’s always a story attached to their body markings/tattoos
Culture plays a huge role everyone’s life. Like Georgina said, it’s cool in the other part of the world but not in Ghana. It may not only speak bad about the person, but can go a long way to deny him/her a dream job.
Different people different opinions about tattooing but whatever one does he/she should be mindful about the cultural practices, norms, ethics, dos and don’ts within the community or society he/she finds himself/herself. Others do it under peer pressure and some as responding to certain organisational culture practices. It is circumstantial evidence that some women lost their marriages the very first day of their because of it positioning on their private parts. Some questions those husbands who fell victims asked were:
who did it for them – male or female ?
what prompted or necessitated for the tattoo?
what kind of life were those women involved before the marriage?
My question is does it matter in this life journey as a woman or man to negatively raise eyebrows about your own life as you one day appear before the Judgement Seat of God to answer questions about how you lead your life on earth with your body, which is a temple of God?
I think ladies wear tattoos to show how passionate they feel about something or someone. Personally saw one on a led lady from Bangladesh.. she had the inscription of her ed husband’s on her arm. There has been a divorce and she is paying over £500 to get it off.. she feels bitter now. She would have thought twice if she could turn back the hands of time
Well, I don’t personally hold anything against people with tattoos. But in out part of the world(Africa specifically Ghana), it’s seen as an unacceptable practice hence I don’t see myself going in for it anytime soon.
I attended a workshop recently and the mother organization sent down reps all the way from Denmark to supervise what’s happening. One of the reps was covered all over with tattoos, but that didn’t make the company reject him but he actually played a very good role in the organization. I said to myself, if this was my country, you will simply be tagged as a thief, weed smoker or drug dealer.
I believe as a country we still have a very long way to go before such practice can be accepted in our societies.
If tattoo was supposed to be on your body nature would have put it there, and it’s not only tattoos we decorate ourselves with there are many other things. Most of us are just attention seekers.
Being raised in the US I know my perceptions of tattoos are different from those being raised in Ghana. Though I wouldn’t get one they don’t bother me with the exception of those that are on the face and neck. Why do that to yourself? I get to know the person before making any judgements. One of my coworkers has one all the way down his arm. He’s a nice guy and isn’t a thug.