I don’t get it.
Preface: I am catching up on videos of Charlie Kirk on college campuses. I didn’t watch them before. He was amazing.
However, as I see in these videos… what’s with all the girls with face hardware? And the mostly cringeworthy boys?
They have either a ring through the side of a nostril. Or both. Or through the nasal septum. Disgusting.
The bridge of the NOSE?
WHAT IS THAT?!?
Is it just narcissism? Immaturity? Both? Something more pathological? Something darker? Is this some sort of demonic Eastern religion thing?
I honestly do not know.
However, in one of my favorite books, Leviticus:
19:28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
But Ezekiel:
16:11 And I decked you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms, and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
Okay… I know that teens and college kids will dress a little strangely and adopt odd hair cuts and express strong opinions on things of which they haven’t a clue. That’s perennial and we can be patient.
It used to be that they grew out of it pretty quickly. I’m now sure about now. You readers will know more about that from your observations in your families, etc.
To any women out there reading this… lots of ink and face hardware is ugly and it makes you look like a walking time bomb. If that’s your goal then hey, …. …. No, it’s still ugly.
It’s like a pre-emptive strike on prospective mates: Howdy! I’m unstable and self-fixated.
And another thing.
An exorcist friend of mine once told me that some, if not a lot, of tattoo ink has been cursed by satanists/witches.
Put THAT under your skin … demon infested ink, like a fortuna in your body… and smoke it.
To contrast, when I had my house’s interior painted, I anointed every wall with the Oil of Catechumens, the oil for exorcisms, in the sign of the Cross. Those crosses are now sealed under the paint on every wall of my house. I put blessed medals into the uncovered electrical outlets, etc.
Put possibly cursed ink, “paint”, under your skin?
I pushed back at my exorcist friend a little and I countered with the example of people who get pilgrimage tats when they go to Jerusalem. He was having nothing of it. We didn’t get to the example of men of, say, a combat unit who’ve been together in thick and thin, getting their unit insignia inked as a group.
It’s possible that, depending on many factors, tattoos are morally neutral. I’m about 80-20 on that.
Of course, demon-ink doesn’t care why you are doing it….
I want to drive this home: tat ink can be cursed and it goes into your body.
A good idea?
“But Father! But Father!”, you sleeve-inked, nose-ringed Jesuits are gleeping, “This can be a profound self-expression to an ever-colder and more distant world under siege by developed nations and patriarchy. With unrefusable …. un… you know… climate change and stuff, we need unhinged… er… unhampered self-expression to pick up the pieces of brokenness as we search for the truthness of gender fluidities and multiplicities because… YOU HATE VATICAN II!”
Vatican II is silent on the matter.
Yeah? What is the acceptable percentage of risk that your ink might be cursed?
50%? 45% 40% … etc?
UPDATE:
And another thing….
“Slobcore” is actually a fashion trend embraced by Generation Z as a boost to their ‘mental health’ by rejecting ‘perfectionism’. I would argue that dressing sloppy is disrespectful and erodes self-worth. A 2015 study found that formal attire boosts confidence and abstract… https://t.co/nNwJvy37Or
— Father V (@father_rmv) September 16, 2025
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I know of a priest who does deliverance ministry and has been called upon to decommission tattoos. There is a whole process to doing that.
Recently a lovely young lady, dressed nicely, but had a nose ring. One older lady quietly took her aside and mentioned to her that the ring was part of the ‘woke’ agenda and was unbecoming and surely she did not want that. The young lady was at Mass.
I got a single tattoo on my upper left arm in my early Navy days. Was a bit peer-pressured into it, but I had a design in mind I was contemplating for a year or more up to that point, so I had given it some careful thought beforehand.
Nowadays, I don’t really regret getting it, although I definitely wouldn’t get it again if I was given the choice. While the symbolism behind the design still means a lot to me, and I’ve even found it to take on a special meaning as it relates to my faith, the truth is it really only detracts from the beauty of what God had already made.
This had some interesting info on the history of Christian tattoos
https://theconversation.com/tattooing-has-held-a-long-tradition-in-christianity-dating-back-to-jesus-crucifixion-223699
Something I have always wondered about: I have only ever seen “fortuna” (cursed object) mentioned on this blog. Where does this term come from? Is there some book on the theology of this sort of thing? Are you immune to this sort of thing if you’re in a state of grace? I have rather too many questions.
As a husband and father this really resonated with me. I do not recall ever looking at a tattooed woman and – regardless of her other attributes – thinking “wow… attractive”; since I was about 13 it has always been an instant turn-off. Other than e.g. a military or nautical tattoo on the bicep of a male veteran (the men of my father’s generation fought in WWII and Korea) which I perceived (as you mentioned above) as a mark of identity with their mission and solidarity with their comrades, or a single piercing of each of a woman’s earlobes, I have always wondered exactly what an individual with “body art” or unusual piercings is trying to communicate to the world about themselves. Chacun à son goût, I suppose, and I certainly don’t wish them any ill but – even absent the horrific possibilities raised by your exorcist friend – I do not think they’re doing themselves any favors by presenting themselves with such mutilations.
Lesson I have given to my grandchildren. If you want a good paying job then get rid of face hardware, bad haircuts and unnatural colors.
“Oh Papa they don’t care about that nowadays!”
I went online to companies whom they like and asked for images of Staff…. No visible tats, face hardware or crazy hair.
Silence from grandchildren.
Silence is golden
I think tattoos should be illegal. Or at least the always visible ones, hands, face, neck etc. There isn’t much else you can do that will make you permanently unemployable. And the reason is it’s still recognized as being highly antisocial despite increased popularity.
Father, at the risk of appearing disrespectful, I ask where have you been? Out here in the great southwest this is what greets you at any medical facility [it hasn’t worked its way up to the doctors yet — only support staff (that I can tell)], the supermarket, the car dealership…
I’ve had to practice keeping my jaw from dropping.
Years back when I was with the Trappists we had an ancient beautiful brother of German origin whose family immigrated to Brooklyn after WWI. When WWII came upon the planet, but before his monastic life, Brother got himself a huge tattoo of the American flag across his chest. In his last days we novices had the privileged of assisting him and we came across his display of patriotism. It was quite the laugh…but he did not appreciate it. Now he without doubt enjoys participating in the Heavenly Choir. I miss him.
What I have found shocking is how many people have tattoos. It used to feel like it was few and far between. Now, they are everywhere. No longer the “biker” crowd. Everywhere, all walks of life. Imagine grandma comes over with her sleeve tattoos? I find most tattoos to be super lame. I really enjoy the Asian letters on white guys!
there are five ladies in the schola where i sing. i’d guess they range in age from about 17-35. the middle three have tattoos that i have seen – arms and feet (ouch!). this seems like a battle highly difficult to win.
As a young man seeking marriage in the future, few things are as (physically) unattractive on women as tattoos, piercings, and (yes, I’m adding one which usually complements the other two) hair dyed unnatural colors.
People say that you shouldn’t judge people based on outward appearances, but the way people choose to style themselves and what they choose to do with their body often times deeply reflects who they are inside. Tattoos, piercings, and the like are generally not signs of a healthy interior life.
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@TradCathMale
You said it! I’m thankful for pink and blue hair dye, they serve as warning signs to e.g. my teenagers and twentysomethings against “unsuitable alliances” but are more easily reversible if maturity finally ripens!
I yearn for the days when the “normative” act of rebellion amongst young men was to grow their hair long ;-)
My experience teaching in universities for several decades is that there is a correlation between insecurity and having extensive tattoos or “hardware”. It’s not so apparent for small quantities, but my students with lots of one or the other or both whom I’ve gotten to know tend to have particularly difficult home lives.
I can’t say if there is a causal relationship, as my purpose is mostly to know how best to talk with my students in the short term. Occasionally I have had longer interactions with a student, but those are rare.
I hardily recommend the link posted by B. I will just add to it that one of my daughters told me that in the Balkans Christian infants were often tattooed with a cross on their forehead lest the child be kidnapped by Turks and then raised as a Muslim. On the lighter side, one of my nieces once had a little gem in the side of her nose. (She was just starting law school when I saw it.) I was somewhat shocked that my brother would put up with it. Apparently she told him it was just a pimple. It is no longer there, however. I wonder if she used clearasil.
One Sunday morning as I was driving an hour to Mass I had the car radio on, and most of the ads were for treatment of “Tattoo Regret,” which I suspect is a common subject on hungover Sunday mornings.
Re. Kanji tattoos: Last year I had a delightful discussion of them with a Japanese friend. She (who attended Catholic kindergarten) couldn’t stop laughing as she translated the ones we found pictured online. Things like “baka,” which means “idiot.” My favorite was the one that means “mens room.”
Tattoos are held in very low regard in Japan, because they signify membership in yakuza, the Japanese mob. For that reason, people with tattoos are not allowed in public baths or in onsen.
Eventually it will become unfashionable. I think investing in tattoo removing companies might be a good idea.
Never liked tattoos on women or anywhere visible on men like hands and face.
Having said that, when I finally visit Jerusalem I will be getting a small cross on my wrist.
I vacationed on the beaches of Sardinia a few months ago, and it was truly heart-breaking to notice so many otherwise beautiful young women who’ve defaced their bodies with hideous tattoos. As a heterosexual male, I can honestly say that I have never in my life seen any woman whose appearance was improved by her tattoo(s).
When/if tattoos fall out of vogue. Will laser tattoo parlours make an absolute killing?
I don’t mean the excess pain endured by removal of body art of said individuals.
Asking for a friend.
I like to image what (pretty much) everyone out in the wild would look like without tattoos, piercings, and an average of about 50 unnecessary pounds. The world would look AND BEHAVE so much differently. It’s not the “extras” that make a person “bad”, it’s the decisions that got them there. Their priorities are warped.
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When asked what is the best tattoo, my standard reply is no tattoo. I find them off putting, especially in the opposite sex. It is not merely about aesthetics, I just don’t think they don’t really say anything good about the interior life of a person, at least at the moment of getting one. I’m not a fan of piercings either (some are beyond hideous), for the same reasons. But at least hardware can be easily disposed of, most of the time. I think concerns of ink and hardware being cursed are valid, especially when one takes into account the nature of the subcultures that extoll them.
Father, you might consider posting a column explaining how one gets the paint to stick to the wall after the wall has had the oil applied.
Even the least offensive little tattoos remind me of graffiti, spray painted on ancient temples. How much graffiti would you tolerate on the walls of your parish church? How much would you like to see on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?
St. Paul told us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
And how does a tattoo compare to the “indelible mark” of Baptism or Confirmation? It seems to be a parody of Catholc theology.
Tattoos seem to combine the sins of vanity and imprudence with an appalling physical ugliness.
In “Margaritaville” Jimmy Buffett sang of the typical scenario that resulted in a tattoo for beach bums and drunken sailors. Inebriation.
Don’t know the reason
Stayed here all season
Nothing to show but this brand-new tattoo
But it’s a real beauty
A Mexican cutie
How it got here, I haven’t a clue.
This is more understandable than the more “sober” reasons given for the latest fad for defacing the body.
I have a Chi Rho cross on the inside of left ankle. I had it done when I was 28, a year after I was baptized into the Church. No regrets. I’m in my mid-40s now and am considering getting another tattoo, something with memento mori/memento vivere. And it isn’t just to remind me that death comes for all of us but to also remember to live and not despair of the life circumstances the Lord has permitted, which I assure you, does cause me to despair.
My tattoo hasn’t prevented me from obtaining a job in a respected law firm in my city because I don’t show it off. And regarding tattoos making a person look unattractive. Most men don’t consider me to be attractive, with or without the tattoo. So in that respect I’m not losing out on anything having a tattoo.
The tattoos and “hardware” remind me of being a teenager in the 1960’s. Then everyone claimed that haircut and facial hair (for men), clothing choices, etc. were expressions of one’s individuality except everyone ended up making the exact same choices as everyone else. Truly individualistic people were ridiculed because they weren’t like everyone else. Such were my teenage years and apparently still true today.
Also, the phenomena of tattoos and hardware started with Gen X as I was advised ten years ago not to “judge” these when a person was interviewing for a job where I worked.
Try to picture Our Lady with tattoos, nose rings, and/or tongue studs. No? Then you shouldn’t have them, either.
I have to agree, excepting military camaraderie, I see a tattoo & piercing as a sign of poor interior life as others have mentioned. Or some hole from childhood longing to be filled.
And yes it is everywhere. None are attractive.
I’m sad when I see someone at Mass with one. Is the sign of the sacraments, dressing modestly or making the sign of the cross or wearing a visible crucifix or scapular not enough of a witness and reminder of who we are as Catholics?
If you ask me, graphic t-shirts in public are already a bridge too far.
Where’s the LIKE button when you need one???
I would also point out that the inks are almost ENTIRELY unregulated in the United States, so you literally have NO idea what chemicals are going into your body, for life. It blows my mind how many people refused to get the Covid vaccine “‘cuz mun mRNA,” but will put ink with literally-only-God-knows-what in their skin??? Hypocritical and hideous. I literally have in my Catholic Match profile that I am not open to contact with any man with ANY tats or piercings. I don’t want someone who thinks that’s OK adopting a child with me.
I remember reading a blog post by a rad-trad with a take-no-prisoners style, who seemed to imply that if you had tattoos you were going to hell. He noted that these were once the preserve of low life such as sailors. His pharisaical scorn almost made me a champion of the tattooed for a while, before reverting to my usual antagonism to tats and piercings.
Tats are rare among men where I live and even rarer among women, and I cannot fathom the current fad in the West for these things. Strand me on a desert island for a year with ten supermodels, and if they all had tats, my wife could rest easy.
“How was the island, dear?”
“I was so lonely- only a volleyball named Wilson for company. Of course there were ten supermodels stranded there too but they all had tattoos so I kept well away.”
When I am King, we will make the following laws:
Women may have ONE piercing in each ear.
Men may wear one earring if they are pirates, gypsies or poets. (See the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare.)
Sailors may have one tattoo on each forearm, Popeye-style.
As a Kiwi, I will tolerate the traditional facial moko, if the wearer is prepared to undergo the traditional process: chisels, pigment made of soot and fat, as well as elaborate rituals and restrictions surrounding the lengthy and painful procedure.
All other tattoos and piercings will be strictly forbidden. I will regulate tats and piercings as North Korea regulates haircuts.