Simplified Speech #238 – Would you get a tattoo?

Hello, it's Andrew here and welcome back to Simplified Speech, the QUP series for intermediate-level English learners, which features clear, natural and easy to understand English conversations between native speakers. I'm joined today by my co-host Indiana, and we have a really interesting conversation for you. We're going to be talking all about tattoos, and to be honest, I was kind of shocked when I realized that we haven't covered this topic on Qlubs before, considering how popular tattoos are these days. But before we get to the conversation, I want to let you know that if you're serious about improving your English fluency, becoming a Qlubs member is the best way to do it. You'll get our helpful study guides and interactive transcripts, plus access to our weekly speaking classes where you can practice with our expert teachers. To sign up and start improving today, just visit qlubs.com. And guys, since tattoos can be a bit of a controversial topic, we really want to hear your personal opinion on them. The best place to share your thoughts with us is on our discord community. The link to join the conversation is in the description. Okay, it's time to welcome Indiana into the conversation and begin. So let's do that now. Here we go. Enjoy. Hey, Indiana, how's it going? Hey, I'm good, Andrew. What's going on? Not too much. Indiana, just another Qlubs recording session here, but as always, I'm excited to be back. And we have a very interesting topic. And one that I'm kind of shocked that we haven't talked about here on Qlubs before, because this is something that is really, really popular and something that you see everywhere, or at least in many parts of the Western world, but I think in other countries as well, this is like a super, super popular thing. Maybe even you could say one of the most popular art forms. I don't know, that's a question that I don't know the answer to per se, but I think maybe. And that is tattoos. Today, we're going to talk about tattoos. And Indiana, maybe I'll start the conversation off, just by asking, do you have any tattoos? I shockingly, these days, among my circles, I do not have any tattoos, but I think almost everybody, among my friends, have at least one. So yeah, I do not have any. How about you, Andrew? Yeah, I am also a tattooless and also that is really unique. I'm thinking of some of my friends, some of my closest friends don't have tattoos. But Indiana, I think you and I, we have a similar background in, you know, our interests and what we grew up with in terms of like music, being music lovers and going to concerts and hanging out in scenes with people who love music. And I don't know, they kind of go hand in hand, right tattoos and rock and roll. And even me too, I grew up playing in bands and yeah, I think everybody, all of my friends that are connected to music or rock and roll, they have tons of tattoos, but I was kind of the odd duck that just for whatever reason, never really went down that path. And so yeah, no tattoos, but I guess Indiana, why if all of your friends have tattoos and you don't, was there any specific reason why you decided not to get any? That's such a tough question. I think there's probably many reasons. I've never personally felt so strongly connected with an image or the idea of putting something on my body as like a symbol. I've never cared about something so much that I felt like I really want this to be in my arm or my back to represent me or something like that. But also it sounds incredibly painful and it's very expensive too. So I don't know, I don't know if I could handle, yeah, sitting in a chair and having a tattoo artist, putting a needle in my arm for hours and hours, it sounds excruciating honestly. So I've never been drawn to it that much, but I've seen a lot of really beautiful tattoos. They look great on a lot of people, but yeah, it's never been something I was drawn towards. But yeah, Andrew, you've been in bands, like you said, we've both been in these music scenes and like, you know, kind of artsy friends, right? Why do you think you've never been drawn to getting a tattoo? I don't want to say that I've never been drawn to it because I think I am drawn to it to an extent. And I think probably someday I will get a tattoo. It's like something that I, yeah, maybe similar leads to you. I've never felt like really passionate about some cause. Like some people have really deep meanings for their tattoos, right? They're like, oh, I'm going to get this tattoo to commemorate something. Like maybe you lost your pets or, you know, you lost a family member. Sometimes you have a tattoo that kind of helps you remember that pet or that family member or you have something connected to your country or your religion or something like that. I don't have anything that I'd want to represent on my body that has that deep meaning. And yeah, also a lot of people try and create this deep meaning, right? It's like it's got to have something very symbolic, very connected to some part of your life. And I just don't have anything like that. I also think like when I look at old pictures of myself, I'm always like, oh, what was I thinking? Why was I wearing that color? Why did I choose to wear those pants? And so if I look at old pictures of myself and I'm a little bit embarrassed about my fashion choices, well, then I think probably if I had that mindset back then and I got a tattoo, then now I would, you know, think back about that and regret that tattoo choice as well. So maybe those are the reasons that I haven't done it yet. But yeah, I don't want to say that I never will because I think more and more as I get older, I care less and less. And also I think, yeah, it might just be kind of fun. And even if I don't have some deep meaning associated with it, I think tattoo artists have really, I don't know if it's like they've always been good and I just never noticed. Or I think perhaps social media in Instagram really helps spread tattoo culture. And so I started seeing on my Instagram feed these really cool artists and like, I thought, I don't have to be creative. I don't have to think of my own idea. I can just turn, you know, myself over to the artist and be like, you're an amazing artist. You are the creative one. Just make something cool. And yeah, maybe I'll do it that way. I'm not sure. But yeah, I haven't ruled it out completely. Have you ruled it out completely? Indiana, are you like no tattoos for life or maybe you're a little bit open-minded to it one day? I think I've ruled it out completely. There's no shade. There's no disrespect to people who have had who have gotten tattoos. But just for me personally, like I like how my arms and legs look as they are. Like I don't feel that urge to put something on them. Personally, I don't, I don't think it's necessary. I have a few piercings in my ear, which I think are cool and creative looking and they're kind of interesting. But yeah, I've never, I probably won't ever get a tattoo. And I was thinking too, you know, I would love to go back to Japan one day. And it's kind of a crazy reason not to get a tattoo. But because, you know, I'm probably only going to go to Japan so many times in my life. But if there are a lot of onsen and hot springs where if you have a tattoo visible on your body, like you're not allowed in, the cause of a long cultural association with tattoos and like being a part of gangs that Yakuza. So I mean, those those those rules, they may end up changing over time. But I really want to go to an onsen in the hot spring. So I don't want to, yeah, lose that chance by having a tattoo. Well, Indiana, I was just at an onsen when I visited Japan. I went to two different ones. And in both of the onsen that I went to, I went to one public one that was outside in the forest. It was amazing. And I also went to one in my hotel. And in both of them, I saw people with tattoos. So I'm not sure if it's changing. I also, I don't, I don't know if they were foreigners or Japanese. It's kind of hard for me to tell. But, you know, I could see maybe some foreigners breaking the rules and Japanese people not breaking the rules. Maybe that was the case. But anyways, they got in and they were enjoying the onsen and they had tattoos. And I thought the same thing. I thought it was a no-no to do, but I saw some people in there with them. So yeah, maybe, maybe you can get the best of both worlds. But yeah, I've heard that as well. No tattoos in those places in Japan. Speaking of countries, Indiana, here in Korea, where I live now, tattoos have exploded in popularity. When I first came to Korea, tattoos were almost like they didn't even exist. Like they had never been invented. I didn't see anyone with tattoos at all. And just like you are saying, like in Japan, there's this connotation of tattooed people being gangsters. I think also in Korea, there was that image that if you had a tattoo, maybe you were a bad guy or a gangster connected to something like that. But I don't know. For whatever reason, tattoos just became really, really trendy, really, really popular. And now you see them all over the place. You see tons of kids with tattoos. And like, very, very visible tattoos too, like on their neck or on their face. And yeah, there's also a lot of interesting tattoo artists from Korea. Again, I don't know. Maybe this is just because where I am and my algorithm feeding me these on social media. But it seems like there's a lot of really innovative and creative tattoo artists here as well. And interestingly enough, technically, tattooing is illegal in Korea. And so all of these tattoo artists that are so popular and all of these younger folks that are getting the tattoos, technically, they're breaking the law. Technically, it's illegal. But it's like in that gray zone, I guess, where nobody's really, you know, arresting tattoo artists or shutting down tattoo parlors. But yeah, here in Korea, super, super popular. What about in the USA? Can you tell us a little bit about tattoo culture in the USA? Absolutely. I just see them everywhere. I think, you know, a long time ago, like, I mean, you're saying with Korean Japan, there's a specific connotation or association with probably being a gangster or something like that from a long time ago. And in the US, I think tattoos used to be counter culture. They used to be something that like only a select group of people would do. But these days, I think just everybody and their mother has a tattoo, you know, you see them everywhere. And even 10 years ago, I think you would hear advice, you know, like, oh, don't get a tattoo on a certain part of your body. Because if you work in a professional field and you're expected to dress a certain way, like business wear. And then you see tattoos on your body, like, your boss just won't accept that. You won't get hired. You won't move up the ladder. But I don't really think that's true or helpful advice anymore. I think tattoos, piercings are generally completely accepted. Maybe tattoos on certain parts of your body, maybe face tattoos, tattoos right on your face, facial tattoos. Maybe those are still a bit shocking to some people or might cause some problems with employment or like client facing jobs. But mostly, no, I think they're so common. And yeah, everybody has one. It's kind of cool to see all this art popping up everywhere. And people expressing themselves. But it's certainly not counter culture anymore. I think there's a difference also between a visible tattoo and one that you can kind of hide. I think, you know, I was talking about maybe getting a tattoo in the future. I don't think I'd ever put it like on my neck. Or even on my arms, where if I were wearing a short sleeve shirt, that it would show, I think I'd put it somewhere where I could always cover it up if I needed to. So there is a difference. There is a line, I think, between people who just get one that they can cover up and people who put it so that they, you know, are showing the world about it. And I think, yeah, I'd be in the cover-up camp. In Canada, to bring things to my country here, I think it's similar to the states. I like that expression that you used. Everyone in their mom has a tattoo these days. And yeah, it just means they're really, really, really common, right? So yeah, I think, same as the USA, Canada has a very dynamic tattoo culture and super popular. And I'm just thinking of the people I know. And it's, it's almost like, if you're under, let's say, 50 years old, then you'd almost be in the minority if you didn't have a tattoo. That's how it seems. I agree. I would say it's almost like 75% of people, maybe not that high, maybe 70, 30, 70% of people have them and 30% don't, I don't know, but it's so common that it feels like, maybe most people do, at least have one tattoo. Yes. But also, you know, I have heard from my friends, this is going off on a bit of a tangent, but they say that once they got their first tattoo and they guess that initial fear and then initial sort of like unknown part of getting a tattoo passed, they just got so into it and they kept going back to the artist they liked and they got more and more tattoos. And one of my friends has sleeves and tattoos on her hands. And so sleeves are when a tattoo covers like various tattoos cover all up your forearm, your upper arm. And it's, it looks like a shirt sleeve. It's, it's, there's so much of your skin covered with tattoos. And she always goes back to the same artist, and she really, really likes her style. So all that is to say, yeah, I definitely, probably, I would think more than half of people have at least one, but so many people have just gone and gotten more and more and more like they get really into getting tattooed. Yeah, it's probably one of those things that can be quite addicting, I think. So maybe I'll have to be careful about that. Once you start, you can't stop. Who knows? Yeah. Speaking of sleeves, there are different expressions and terms that we have for various tattoos in English. And Indiana, we're not the best representatives of this, but maybe we could walk our listeners through some of the different kinds of tattoos that we have in English. So as you mentioned, a sleeve is usually on your arms, right? And just like a shirt sleeve covers your arm, a tattoo sleeve covers your arm and tattoos, right? Sometimes it can be one big image, but usually it's various smaller images that are working together to create that effect of having your whole arm covered. What are some other kind of tattoos that you know about Indiana? Well, this isn't on a specific part of the body, but there are tattoos that look pretty simplistic. And honestly, they might not even be used with a gun, but just like a needle and ink, like not a tattoo gun, not some professional fancy equipment, but something you could even do like in a basement, right? A stick-in-poke tattoos. These are the DIY, do-it-yourself draw design, a little, a little simple design on your hand kind of tattoo. And I know a lot of people with stick-in-poke tattoos. Yeah, this was, at least when I was in high school and university, this was super popular kind of tattoo in music scenes. All of my friends would stick-in-poke each other kind of DIY. Just take like a sewing needle and some India ink and just make your own design. And usually the result looks pretty crappy, to be honest. It doesn't age well. It doesn't age well. So there's stick-in-poke tattoos, which have that more like DIY, do-it-yourself, kind of punk almost, right? Like kind of, yeah, very, very shabby, very, you know, unprofessional looking. And then there's also hand-poked tattoos. And I think maybe you would go to a real legit tattoo artist for a hand-poked tattoo, but again, they're using their hand instead of a tattoo gun. So I think that's the difference between a hand-poked tattoo and a regular tattoo. And then stick-in-poke is very amateur. Usually not a professional artist. What else? There's different genres, right? There's like a minimalist tattoo, minimalistic tattoo. There are lettering tattoos. So if you have words instead of an image, that would be lettering. Or maybe script. Script, yeah. I know these days, I think this is a trend that I've seen and heard of and that is a blacked out tattoo, blacked out. Yeah. Do you know what that is? Is that when like instead of sort of a design, it's really just sort of like a cuff or a long block of ink. Like it's just completely covering up your skin. There's no natural skin there. It's all just ink for some continuous segment. Is that the what you're talking about? Yeah. So instead of having an image, you would just have it all black or all, I probably choose your color, but I think black is the most popular. And I think some people do this as a cover-up. Maybe they have a tattoo that they regret. And I guess getting a tattoo removed, as far as I know, is pretty painful and expensive to have it removed with a laser. And you know, if you have a sleeve, for example, that suddenly you regret and you don't want that sleeve anymore, that could be almost impossible to remove with a laser. So what some people do instead is they just turn it all black. So you'll have like your whole arm being blacked out looking like that black ink. Yeah, it's kind of a unique look. And I don't know, are there any other tattoos? What about tribal, tribal tattoo? If I got a tattoo, I think I'd have to go with a tribal tattoo just because it's kind of, you know, like how trends and fads go in circles, right, in cycles. Tribal tattoos were really big in the 90s. And now I think we're at that point again where they're kind of hip and cool. It would be sort of sweet to have a tribal tattoo. What does that mean? What's a tribal tattoo? In my mind, I'm just picturing certain geometric patterns, what do I say? Not necessarily geometric, maybe some organic patterns too, but sort of these rings of a certain pattern on maybe your bicep. And it kind of meant to reflect maybe like indigenous art or something like that. I'm honestly, I think maybe I was born a little too late. I have not seen a lot of tribal tattoos. Or like a Celtic, Celtic tattoo or sometimes like a barbed wire, right? That was another popular one from the 90s, a dolphin. Those kind of 90s tattoos are sort of back again. That's probably, yeah, I don't know, I'd probably regret getting one of those because, yeah, this is what like tattoos go in cycles and fads as well. And that's kind of the thing that's scary about them is that what's cool today is probably not going to be cool in the future. And so, yeah, you could get stuck with a tattoo that dates you to a certain period, right? Like, I know when I was in university, swallows were really cool. And a lot of my friends got a swallow tattoo. But now if you see that tattoo, you're like, okay, I know when you grew up, I know when you were pretending to be cool, like, I around 2007, 2006, you probably got that tattoo. So yeah, it's kind of funny, but those are some of the various different styles and types of tattoos. Yeah, perhaps we should let go of our self-consciousness and just go for something we want to go for. Yeah, don't get a tattoo because it's trendy. Yeah, if you really love the art, you're really like the style. Then for you, it'll be timeless. But yeah, maybe for other people, it'll look really out of style. But yeah, go for something if you're going to get a tattoo, guess something you really into and who cares what everybody else thinks. Yeah, I love that. That's a great point, right? Don't do it to be cool. Just do it because you love it. And then you'll never regret it. And I also have to say, I love that we can get tattoos. I love that we can express ourselves in this way. I think it's really cool. Even if I see somebody with a bunch of tattoos and I think, uh, that's, you know, why would you do that to yourself? Maybe that's the first thought that I have. But then after I think, wow, it's awesome that we have this freedom to express ourselves and it's awesome that we can live our life this way. And so whenever I do see a person with a bunch of tattoos like that, I think it's pretty sweet. Like, I like being in a place where we can do that if we want to. And if we don't want to, whatever, but yeah, I think it's better to have that kind of positive mindset, right? Where we're thinking, yeah, we're free to do what we want. And that's, that's really cool to me, I think. I mean, at the end of the day, it's your body. You can put the art on it that you want to. And it's your choice. Go for it. I wonder if anybody out there has a Q-lips tattoo. That would be pretty intense. If you have a Q-lips tattoo out there, let us know. I'd love to see it. That would be awesome. Uh, I think that would be great. Super fan. Super fan. Maybe you'd be like a one of one in the world if you got a Q-lips tattoo. I love it. Anyways, guys, on that note, I think we should wrap things up here. So thank you for listening all the way to the end. We hope that you found this lesson helpful and educational for building your English fluency. This is kind of a controversial topic. It's really case-by-case individual by individual. Some people love tattoos. Other people hate them. Some countries have a dynamic and diverse tattoo culture. Other countries have no tattoo culture. So we'd love to hear what it's like in your neck of the woods where you live and what your opinion about tattoos is and the best place to share your opinion with Indiana and with me and our entire Q-lips community is on our Discord server. So our Discord server is the place where Q-lips listeners hang out and we chat with each other and practice our English together. And you can join our Discord community for free just by clicking the link that is in the description for this episode. And also don't forget, there's a helpful study guide and an interactive transcript, a quiz, and other practice exercises for this episode available to all Q-lips members. If you'd like to sign up and become a Q-lips member, then just visit our website, Qlips.com. You can sign up and become a member today. Alright guys, that's it for us for now, but we'll be back soon with another brand new Q-lips episode and we'll talk to you then. Goodbye. Get you later.