Some people take self expression a little to far!

I do not have tattoos and only one hole in my ears.And they are not for me but I only can say for my body. This young man is trying to find himself so to speak. I'm in my 50's but I'm not too old to remember finding myself by burning my bra,protesting the Viet Nam war,not wearing underware,smoking pot,luv ins,sitting on the courthouse steps in LasVegas in support of Angela Davis,marching day after day for a cause,doing acid and dancing on the beach all night, drinking myself silly,all night beach parties, and on and on.I'm lucky to be alive. Today I'm considered an upstanding citizen and I do the right things everyday or try to but I remember being pretty outrageous back when. That young man might be a nice guy or just another lost soul.Whichever it is he could probably use a smile.There is too much pain in this world and you never know what a smile will accomplish and chances are you'll never find out,but one thing for sure it can not hurt. I realize I'm not answering your question and I hope I have not Offended you.I just wanted to throw out another slant. Thanks Raydene

Okay, I'll try to explain this as best as I can. I am heavily tattooed and have a few piercings (nothing as extreme as a bic lighter mind you). For me, it's not only a form of self-expression, it's a way to display the art that I enjoy. I wear art (I think of the really good tattooists as artists) on my body, rather than hanging it on a wall. I would say that people who do it for shock value, to be cool, or to look tough are doing it for all the wrong reasons. I have had to deal with a lot of negativity from people who choose to judge me simply by looking at me and I have learned to deal with that by realizing that they are the ones who are losing out by not taking the time to really get to know me as I consider myself to be a good person (hope that doesn't come off as sounding too arrogant). BTW, I am 39 years old and "founf myself" quite some time ago.

That is a little overboard, okay a lot. I am not sure about the lighter. My tongue is pierced, but that was done on a drunken bet. And I have never made one of those again. I have had it pierced for about 9 years now.

I have three tattoos, one of them is my avatar, but I had some of the colors changed, one of them was just for fun, and my third is my daughters birth symbol inside a sun with some cherry blossoms around it. I think its a way of displaying art that I enjoy, in regard to the fairy one, or honoring someone important to me. I have all of mine hidden however, I believe that you should have body art in places that can be covered by clothing, as it is better when you are interviewing for a office job, or if, heaven forbid, you have to go to court for any reason. I like to look at other peoples tattoos and piercings, its just intriguing. I wouldn't be surprized if the guy in question works as a piercer or tattooist, they often practice on themselves to learn to tattoo correctly.

I think some people get a bit to decked to out but if they are sure that is how they want to look, I say go for it. It is important to think about the longterm though. 60 years from now there are going to be some odd looking residents in nursing homes.

People like us put tattoos/piercings on our bodies so we don't have to deal with people like you.

I've seen people who thinks body piercing and tattoos are acceptable and an art. I think it's outrageous! You have been given a body that is beautiful. But all they do is to abuse it! Isn't it a barbaric act? Self destruction? Then again, it's my personal opinion. Cheers! - Lyn

i have heard of people becoming addicted to tattoos. i have seen some beautiful tattoo work on people. i have exactly ZERO tattoos. my ears are pierced 3 in one and 2 in the other...just to be different when i was 17 and to shock my mom of course. i've also heard of people telling stories of experiences in their lives through the tattoos on their bodies. i have not however heard any significance for any piercings, no matter how many or where. though the bic lighter thru the earlobe, i'll just tell you that's called gauging (however it's spelled) they start with a little hole and gradually make it larger and larger. they like to play with putting different things in their ears. i never understood it and have known many young people who were either in the process of gauging their ears, or wanted to. all i ask them is if they are thinking of their own future at all because appearance IS important in the real world when interviewing no matter how they hate it, it's a fact.

My tattoo and piercing means a lot to me, after being married to a control freak and bully for nearly 20 years, I celebrated my freedom by having something done that I was forbidden to do!

My fiance and I both have tattoos and several piercings each, including stretched earlobes. Neither of us have our earlobes big enough for a Bic lighter, nor do we plan to. :) But like inked said earlier, it is a lot about using our bodies to display art. All of the tattoos we have except for my first one were done by the same artist, and we are already planning to get more work done by her when we go home for Christmas. She is able to take our ideas and turn them into beautiful pieces of art. I have an eventual plan to cover the majority of my upper arms and back that will involve having portions of famous works of art tattooed. In that case, my tattoos will be recognizable artwork, and I hope that it will help people who see my heavily tattooed body understand that it is about art. :)