Quoth mjr
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My late stepdad, for instance, had a woman and Chinese dragon covering his whole back. Putting it on his front would have looked very strange every time he bent over, whereas it looked wonderful on his back.
If I ever had the money, courage, and a job that didn't ban visible tattoos in the staff handbook I would get a very detailed owl with its wings spread across the back of my shoulders, with the head finishing at around the nape of my neck. Given how busty I am this would be impossible on my front, and wouldn't have the detail I'd like on my arms or legs.
Memorial tattoos, the ones you're most likely to want to be able to look at yourself, tend to be on the arms or over the heart (although a friend had her late mother's rosary tattooed around her ankle with the crucifix draped over the arch of her foot, which looks awesome).
People get tattoos for a lot of reasons; as a reminder of events/people in their lives, as artistic self-expression, to feel a part of something larger than themselves (in the case of branded tattoos) or simply on a drunken whim. Back tattoos are most likely to end up in the 2nd category.
Sorry for the lecture, but between my late stepdad, my late mum's biker friends and my own years in Goth culture I have a bit of an interest in the history behind and reasons why people get tattoos.
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