Robin: Despite knowing all too well how incredibly painful getting a tattoo is, I'd still have to go with the dragon tattoo. A tattoo, even a really bad one, is explainable. The explanation may be humbling, but at least there may be a logical answer for the monstrosity.
"Hey Robin, that's quite the tattoo you've got there"
"Oh, tell me about it.....you should see the emotional scars that go along with it. Lesson learned, never drink moonshine made by someone named Billie Rae."
OR
"Wow, Robin, what's the story behind that wicked tat?"
"Didn't I tell you I used to roll with a Yakuza gang? It was a long time ago...before I met Jesus.'
The story, however fictional, could be used to create an aura of mystery and intrigue. Even in the rather conservative community of Abbotsford, a story of adventure and/or redemption can go a long way in improving your social status. When you get sick of questions and stares, there are unlimited 3/4 or full sleeve options out there.
Now, for the black choker...
I'm all for signature accessories but a choker isn't the kind of item that should be put into that category. It's just not a 'daily wear' item, like a watch, or tennis bracelet. Chokers for the most part aren't flattering, or particularly stylish (unless it's 1996 and you're wearing it with butterfly hair clips). Wearing a totally removable and unfashionable item every day reeks of crazy, and not past crazy like the tattoo. Even just thinking of it gives me the shivers. It reminds me of a short story I read where the female protagonist wore a ribbon around her neck all her life, and when they finally took it off her head fell off. I'd like to keep my head, and a little dignity...it's the tattoo life for me.
Cira: I think this question is one that is particularly relevant to both of us. It asks us to consider whether, given a difficult choice, we’d be willing to showcase our least desirable assets: for you, your neck, and for me, my arms.
As much as I would hate to draw more attention to my arms, I too would choose the dragon tattoo. Although I am by no means an erudite dragon scholar, I do happen to know that dragons are prominent figures in the mythological backgrounds that inform both Eastern and Western cultural traditions and that they are rife with symbolism and meaning. While in the West dragons are typically associated with ferocity and malice (take Tolkien’s Smaug for example), a little help from Wikepedia informed me that in the East, dragons are associated with positive attributes such as wisdom, benevolence, and fecundity—attributes associated with femininity, rendering the dragon tattoo an appropriate choice for either of us.
As for the choker: yes, I too am all for signature accessories, but the only remotely chokeresque accessories that are in vogue right now are those bejeweled bib necklaces, and I would never want to wear such a statement piece every single day!
Chokers remind me of a noose or a dog collar. Apparently they arrived on the fashion scene in the late nineteenth century, an era of which neither of us is particularly fond. They were meant to accentuate the slender part of a woman while drawing attention away from her “less admirable” assets.
Now that I think about it, dragons and chokers symbolize two very juxtaposed positions towards the feminine. While dragons (in the East anyway) celebrate female qualities, chokers are reminiscent of a time of when women were seen as secondary to men, a time when they were restricted to domesticity and a time when they were expected to suppress their sexuality.
So after much consideration, I have decided to take my place beside you on the dragon tattoo bandwagon. To be honest, a dragon tattoo no longer sounds like such a bad idea…
what? cira, you don't like your arms?
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