Does a tramp stamp make you a tramp?

There seems to be a whole lot of controversy regarding tramp stamps. For those of you who do not know what they are, they are tattoos chicks get on their lower backs. They are called tramp stamps because they imply the girl is a little more "free" than your average "good" girl. What BS.

I don't quite understand the stereotype the tramp stamp implies. Men who get tattoos on their forearms are not automatically labeled meatheads, and a chick with a tat on her ankle is not automatically considered loose. So why does the lower back say so much more?

I have two tattoos. One on the back of my right shoulder, and the other is the good ol "tramp stamp." I thought long and hard about my first tattoo. Wanted it since I was 15. Made myself wait til I was 30 before I would let myself get it. I figured that if I still wanted it at 30, it would probably not be a fleeting fancy.

So at 30, for my birthday, I got my first tattoo. I settled. I did not get what I had always wanted because my husband did not like the idea. I also had it put somewhere I did not originally want it.

I highly recommend that if you want a tattoo, do not settle. Get what you want, where you want it, otherwise you will regret it.

Needless to say my husband is not a fan of my tattoos and does not understand my desire for ink, even though I have gotten both (well, technically I have 3 tattoos but one was modified which is why I say only have 2) in the time frame I have been with my husband. And I want another one. Well, another 2 really. He doesn't know that part yet. He thinks I only want one more.

They say ink is addictive and I for one can attest to the accuracy of that statement. For me it represents my individuality, my independence, my uniqueness, and my defiance. In a weird sort of way, in my my mind, it symbolizes who I am, and not who I think I should be. For some people ink is nothing more than a decoration, or a mood at a particular moment. For others it's much deeper. And even though the tattoo itself may not be symbolic, the reasons behind it are; like in my case.

So I am curious - which of you have ink? Or are you of the mindset that it says something negative about the person who has it?

And if you do have a tattoo, does it mean something? Or was it an impulse?

What do you think?