A Mothership Gay Dating member with tattoos
Whether gay or straight, tattoos have become increasingly popular, and some guys carry them really well. As ancient tribal markings, rites of passage, signs of gang affiliation, pure artistry, fashion accessories or deep meaningful statements, many gay men find tattoos a homoerotic delight. Anyone getting one for the first time prompts a mini-celebration in the tattoo parlour as they become one of the inked fraternity. For gay men it means joining a brotherhood within the exclusive brotherhood we already are.
One of the most famous books ever written, Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851), has the unforgettable scene where the narrator Ishmael has to share a room and a bed for the night with Queequeg, a South Sea Island harpooner, who is covered in elaborate native tattoos all over his face and body:
“Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequeg’s arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife…..though I tried to move his arm - unhook his bridegroom clasp - he still hugged me tightly, as though nought but death should part us twain.”
Melville (whose last work was about the handsome young sailor Billy Budd), makes much of the profusion of strange tattoos covering the islander’s arm, which he can hardly distinguish from the busy pattern of the conterpane. Many a gay reader must have felt the erotic charge of Ishmael’s account.
What always fascinates me is the special meaning gay men may attach to their tattoos; not those done with little thought, or to mimic those admired on other guys’ bodies, but those carried out after much deliberation. Two gay guys described to me what their body art means to them. One says:
“Mine’s the Gary Numan logo. His music and lyrics have helped ne through many a bad time since 1979 when he had his first hit, so it’s not a design I’ll get tired of. I couldn’t think of anything better or more meaningful for me.”
Another describes having a bleeding heart of Christ with an arrow, to which he intends adding the Holy Grail with wine in it, explaining:
“I’m just taking the piss out of my Catholic background. It has actually a deeper meaning, and this is for friends to know.”
He proposes to have a secret tattoo done on his head, before letting his hair grow back over it. What that one means will be his alone to know.
A tattooed gay couple from Mothership
Up to about the 1970s,western tattoos were often associated with guys who had been in the forces, or prison, and with the less educated, antisocial rougher set. Then they became more acceptable, fashionable, or anti-fashion in punk circles, but less esoteric. Writer Paul Burston makes the point that nowadays, while being a sexual turn-on, they are “only as transgressive as the company you keep.” A further cause of this dilution is that many more women are sporting fleshly artwork than ever before, which somehow detracts from the image of real men who have endured the painful process of being inked.
Having said that, it appears that there are serious proposals to introduce a professional tattoo service in Scotland’s jails. About half the prison population there (and this is probably reflected in the UK as a whole) are tattooed, many illegally through improvised devices within prisons. Resourceful inmates are doing their own art using dyes, guitar strings, cigarette lighters, pens and glue, causing a rash of Hepatitis C infections. The proposal springs from the responsibility of the service to care for prisoners properly.
From gay men in the street to gay prisoners, then, there would seem to be a continuation of the tattoo’s import being that of a semi-secret code, a symbol of protest or solidarity, or of (as in the gary numan logo example) a comforting talisman rooted in past experiences. This could equally apply to heterosexual tats as well.
So if tattoos are only skin deep, their meaningfulness depends on recognition and the shared approval (overt or covert) of others, including the uninked. Tattoos on straight men can be equally erotic and a turn-on for gay men - in the end, in both cases, it’s how the art enhances an already fanciable bloke.
Modern inks are far superior in quality to those of old, which often become faded blue blotches on older men. The colours are more varied, vibrant and resist the sun. What really makes my head turn are the remarkable multi-coloured sleeves you see on some guys, somehow much more potent than individual tattoos.
Which brings me back to the image of Ishmael waking up and marvelling at the beauty of Queequeg’s strong, fully tattooed arm holding him close in the morning light. If you’ve experienced something similar with a lover, you’ll know just how wonderful that feels.
By John Hartley
(c) Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved.
