Keeping up with the Von D's

emjay1971

Ok... I know this may be different that most of you... but I am hoping I can still relate to some of you.

My reason for weight loss is health-related... mostly. See... I am in an industry where what you look like... is the main purpose. Tattooing and body piercing. It's all about aesthetics. Have you watched LA Ink? Miami Ink? NY Ink? Etc... What do these females look like? Tattooed Barbies is what I call them... and they are real. They are not just for TV. Kat Von D was probably about 20 lbs heavier when she was on Miami Ink... then she lost it, and became the role model for tattooed barbies. Females in my industry are almost expected to fit this sexy, tattooed, short shirt wearing, fishnets and high heels image. It's insane.

I'm 40 years old, am 110 lbs (oh wait... 106 now!) overweight, and trying to keep up in this world. I can't change my age... wouldn't want to... and I will never wear short skirts and fishnets, but I would like to not be the opposite of what people expect. I honestly feel like I would be even more successful if I fit more into the image. Trust me, I am not one to follow trends, and try to "fit" into anything (except a size 12 haha), but when it comes to business, I try to do everything I can to be successful.

Does anyone else feel this stress? Of an image they feel the expected to uphold? Add me as a friend if you do!

DontStopB_Leakin

Ugh. I completely get it. I don't have to live up to the whole "tattooed barbie" standard, but I still understand the pressure to look like all the skinny, airbrushed b!tches on TV.

It's all ridiculous.

RunAlyndaRun

Even though I'm not in that industry...or any industry other than chasing kids and changing diapers, I get the feeling of trying to "keep up". I think it's our societal norm these days and it completely sucks!

I do have to ask though...if you weigh 106, how tall are you? I'm just being super nosy:-) LOL Oh and my oldest daughter would LOVE your tats! She just got her first one for her 20th birthday. She's super artsy and plans to get others along the way.

emjay1971

I meant 106 lbs overweight. I haven't been 106 lbs since I think 7th grade

WickedPixie1

Forget Kat Von D...she might be a talented gal, but she comes across as just another hollywood double negative to me.
Bettie Page is the one! She had curves and wasn't trying to be paper thin and she was seriously hot!
I've worked with a lot of guys and they all like curves. When it came to really thin girls, the comments were usually pretty nasty.

I'm 40, got the tats, had the piercings, so I'm definitely not in it for the fashion show! I'm aiming for Bettie Page in jeans and a tee shirt!

cmriverside

There's only one you :flowerforyou: Just do you....Kat VonD does Kat VonD.

If you are a talented artist, it doesn't matter if you are super skinny or not. I think her success is mostly due to her amazing black and white portraits. I'll bet most male tattoo artists don't like where she has forced them to go artistically, either. Her style is inimitable, both personally and artistically.

Most of us mere humans never get the kind of fame- and with that - headaches she has.

SailorJerrysRum

It cool to hear someone else notice this. I'm 22, heavily tattooed and want to eventually be a tattoo artist. I've been to tattoo conventions and noticed that the Barbie artist have the longest lines and have posters that features themselves in sexy clothes instead of their work portfolio. This is a recent trend I've been told, and trends come and go so don't worry about it.

dovek11

I do not feel the need to keep up with anyone. But I understand your thought process. I would like to argue something with you though... if I may... another perspective....
I hope to be hott and firm again. However, at 51 and what my body has been through, Barbie doll isn't going to happen. Firm may not even happen.
But a tat is going to happen!!!!! LOL
To be honest with you, I want a tramp stamp. Don't care what anyone else thinks about it either!
I was in a tat salon, looking for ideas and there was this wisp of a thing, not Barbie, but a stick creature doing tat's.
While I would be more comfy with a woman doing my tat, than a man......NOT THIS WOMAN. Maybe I am a little judgmental the 'other way'? I don't think so. I just think I would rather have a woman with curves touch my curvy flabby body than some little stick. I guess I want someone who relates to ME putting a needle in me.
I'd pick you over her any day, even though she could be on the cover of some magazine since she is just the right size.

Just sayin'....

emjay1971

Forget Kat Von D...she might be a talented gal, but she comes across as just another hollywood double negative to me.
Bettie Page is the one! She had curves and wasn't trying to be paper thin and she was seriously hot!
I've worked with a lot of guys and they all like curves. When it came to really thin girls, the comments were usually pretty nasty.

I'm 40, got the tats, had the piercings, so I'm definitely not in it for the fashion show! I'm aiming for Bettie Page in jeans and a tee shirt!

I feel the same about her... I don't even respect her, maybe for her talent, but not as a person.

I love Marilyn, Bettie, and the REAL women!

emjay1971

It cool to hear someone else notice this. I'm 22, heavily tattooed and want to eventually be a tattoo artist. I've been to tattoo conventions and noticed that the Barbie artist have the longest lines and have posters that features themselves in sexy clothes instead of their work portfolio. This is a recent trend I've been told, and trends come and go so don't worry about it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices. I struggle everyday to produce the best artwork I can. And to see these Barbies with the long lines, and I am waaaay better than them, artistically. That may be what matters to me, that my artistic skill is above them, but to the "general public", they want to be closer to the type of artists they see on TV and Facebook. So my chubby self is left out. Business is business, and making money is part of my business, and if losing some weight makes me more money... then hey, I'm down. It may not be "right", but it's the way it is.

emjay1971

I do not feel the need to keep up with anyone. But I understand your thought process. I would like to argue something with you though... if I may... another perspective....
I hope to be hott and firm again. However, at 51 and what my body has been through, Barbie doll isn't going to happen. Firm may not even happen.
But a tat is going to happen!!!!! LOL
To be honest with you, I want a tramp stamp. Don't care what anyone else thinks about it either!

I was in a tat salon, looking for ideas and there was this wisp of a thing, not Barbie, but a stick creature doing tat's.
While I would be more comfy with a woman doing my tat, than a man......NOT THIS WOMAN. Maybe I am a little judgmental the 'other way'? I don't think so. I just think I would rather have a woman with curves touch my curvy flabby body than some little stick. I guess I want someone who relates to ME putting a needle in me.
I'd pick you over her any day, even though she could be on the cover of some magazine since she is just the right size.

Just sayin'....

Most of my clientele is female. Probably because of this reason... and because my personal style is more relative to females. But I can do skulls and flames and guy stuff too... lol...

I totally understand what you are saying, and it makes perfect sense. But unfortunately "curvy" girls are not enough of the population to pay my bills LOL.

emjay1971

So, I think I may have been a little misunderstood. I don't want to look like Kat Von D... I have no desire to be a stick. I have been overweight since I hit puberty... that's around 27 years... My body will never look like her's, or the other Barbies. I've fluctuated in weight by 60 - 80 lbs a few times, and had some children 20 years ago... it's not pretty LOL... All I want is to look good in a pair of jeans (size 14 would be great!) and a nice snug t shirt without my rolls LOL...

10 years ago I may have thought I could look like them, or probably even wanted to... but in my maturing, I have lost that unreachable dream. I am realistic.

I just to be sexy, and even though I have a steady boyfriend, I still want to be able to attract the male clientele. My BF understands this, as he is an tattoo artist too, and he has women who come to get tattooed by him, because they just want to be around him (of course, he is SUPER cute lol). I'm OK with this, because it is part of our business, and making money.

It's actually a shame that the world has come to such things... above all I would like people to appreciate my art, and nothing else.

svetadoll

Yep definitely. I'm an adult entry fashion student.... say no more.... I'm 220lb in a world of 100lb divas (male and female mind you)... so i understand the pressure. I definitely dont want to be like them... god no!... but i dont want to be looked over and ignored because of my size. I cant make the same contacts, be in the same circles, have the same opportunities or be invited to the same events if i don't look like i'm serious about what i want to do. And i can't look serious if i cant pull off the image i want. I dont want to be stick thin... i want to be healthy and fierce. Strong. No bull****. And of course fashionable as hell!!! I cant do that at a size 20. Simple as that.

So yeah, i feel you.

SailorJerrysRum

It's actually a shame that the world has come to such things... above all I would like people to appreciate my art, and nothing else.

The great thing is, whatever clients you get because they did research instead of thinking with their, uh, eyes will be loyal forever.
One of my favorite artist is Amy Black, and she has a 2 year waiting list due to talent and not showing leg. She rules. I feel like with time people will realize how silly this whole thing is. I don't pick my dentists based on how 'hot' he is, I just want the person who is most expierence and will do the job well the first time around.
And something I noticed is males have this problem too. Now 18 year old girls getting their first tattoo is expecting their artist to look like Dan Smith, and that's pretty sad. If only they saw the grandpappy's of tattooing with their beer-guts and nicotine soak teeth, haha,

chubby_checkers

Fortunately, the standard in my industry is glasses, tweed skirts, cats, and sensible shoes (I'm a librarian :happy: ). It really stinks that everyone is judged on impossible beauty standards so just do what makes you happy and healthy. Tell all of the tattoo barbies to piss off.

grrrlface

I understand, I'm a hairdresser. When I was training at 16 it was all skinny, blonde (real and fake), ditzy types. I didn't fit in at all! It's changed a lot now in the few years, a lot more alternative types, like me. Still feel the pressure to be skinny though! I work in a industry that is expected to work hard and with that the skinny image is usually associated as we're rushed off our feet all day!

As for Kat Von D, she's got a talent but she sucks as a person. I hate those shows too! Don't worry about the media portrayal of yourindustry, I know in reality it is nowhere near as glamourous as it is made out! You do you and don't listen to anyone who compares you to another! :-)

emjay1971

Thank all of you! I've tried to talk to friends about this before and they all think I'm crazy... so it's good to know there's other crazy people out there, too. LOL =D

I feel so much better.

LollipopViolet

I so get it. I'm currently looking for a job, and I don't even apply to a lot of clothing shops because they are all filled with skinny mini staff members, and I've had information from one inside source that a certain department store won't place you on one of its counters if your weight isn't in proportion to your height or you're obviously overweight, like I am.

Ditto what I was once considering: becoming a flight attendant. Again, they want your weight in proportion to your height and i'm 5 foot 2 and currently 181 pounds. Fortunately, in a way, my eyesight actually disqualifies me from working in that industry.

I just wish people would see my personality, not my weight. I want to start a photography business, but again I know I can't until my weight is under control.

emjay1971

I so get it. I'm currently looking for a job, and I don't even apply to a lot of clothing shops because they are all filled with skinny mini staff members, and I've had information from one inside source that a certain department store won't place you on one of its counters if your weight isn't in proportion to your height or you're obviously overweight, like I am.

Ditto what I was once considering: becoming a flight attendant. Again, they want your weight in proportion to your height and i'm 5 foot 2 and currently 181 pounds. Fortunately, in a way, my eyesight actually disqualifies me from working in that industry.

I just wish people would see my personality, not my weight. I want to start a photography business, but again I know I can't until my weight is under control.

I can't believe it's still OK to discriminate like this... grrrrrrr!

mfoulkebrown

It cool to hear someone else notice this. I'm 22, heavily tattooed and want to eventually be a tattoo artist. I've been to tattoo conventions and noticed that the Barbie artist have the longest lines and have posters that features themselves in sexy clothes instead of their work portfolio. This is a recent trend I've been told, and trends come and go so don't worry about it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices. I struggle everyday to produce the best artwork I can. And to see these Barbies with the long lines, and I am waaaay better than them, artistically. That may be what matters to me, that my artistic skill is above them, but to the "general public", they want to be closer to the type of artists they see on TV and Facebook. So my chubby self is left out. Business is business, and making money is part of my business, and if losing some weight makes me more money... then hey, I'm down. It may not be "right", but it's the way it is.

I can't even BEGIN to understand people who think like that, especially with a tattoo! I mean, it's gonna be on your body for the rest of your life! Who gives a **** about what the person looks like that puts in on you. You'll be with them for a few hours, but your tat will be forever.

I'm hoping to get another one soon and I haven't even looked at what the artists look like, only at their work.