CalgaryJenn said:
Art and beauty are in the eye of the beholder...I suppose the women could ask, "Men, why do you ruin your hair by growing it into a mullet, or a crew cut, or by shaving it bald?"...
One difference between a hairstyle and a tattoo is permanence. I shaved my head and grew a goatee. Once. Now there is no sign of my ever having done that. Hair styles, clothing styles, makeup and jewelery styles come and go. What was cute or appropriate when you were twenty is often less so when you are sixty. Many tattoos are pleasing to the eye, cute, erotic, or wonderful conversation pieces. Clothing and hair styles can make similar statements. However, I wouldn't want to staple that hat to my head forever, or wear the same pair of fetching acid wash jeans or clam diggers into eternity. Do you really want the grandkids asking, "grandma, who's Sponge Bob Square Pants?" or worse, "Who's Arrowsmith?" or "why does your thigh say 'Steve Forever' when Grandpa's name is Bob?" or "why do you have a swear word written on you when you tell me not to write on my skin?" It's bad enough trying to take an old sailor seriously while looking at the topless hula girl on his forearm, let alone seeing an embarassing tattoo on your gramma!
That having been said, for those that already have tattoos, "to each his own." There are many fine, attractive, sexy tattoos out there, and it's your body. However, to those that do not yet have tattoos and are contemplating one, why not consider a temporary tattoo? You can still get the aesthetic benefits, and even get a different tattoo on the same spot later?
(I've considered this myself, but haven't seriously looked into it yet)