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As I might have mentioned (
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">) I got a tattoo recently
I’ve known I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages, but it’s taken a while for the idea for exactly *what* I wanted to crystallise
This is what I got
It is very *me*
#NationalComingOutDayhttps://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> seems a good day to explain why
CW:SH
I’ve known I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages, but it’s taken a while for the idea for exactly *what* I wanted to crystallise
This is what I got
It is very *me*
#NationalComingOutDay
CW:SH
) I got a tattoo recentlyI’ve known I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages, but it’s taken a while for the idea for exactly *what* I wanted to crystallise This is what I gotIt is very *me* #NationalComingOutDay https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> seems a good day to explain whyCW:SH" title="As I might have mentioned (https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">) I got a tattoo recentlyI’ve known I’ve wanted a tattoo for ages, but it’s taken a while for the idea for exactly *what* I wanted to crystallise This is what I gotIt is very *me* #NationalComingOutDay https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> seems a good day to explain whyCW:SH" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
A tattoo, like a scar, is a permanent mark on a body
Our scars tell stories ... I have one on my knee from a *spectacular* fall as a kid, one above my eye when my head slammed into a steel-rimmed steering wheel on a dodgem (80s safety standards!), my BCG scar on my arm
Our scars tell stories ... I have one on my knee from a *spectacular* fall as a kid, one above my eye when my head slammed into a steel-rimmed steering wheel on a dodgem (80s safety standards!), my BCG scar on my arm
I also have other scars
I knew I was “different” from the age of about 7; that I was “gay” by the time I was 11
I’ve written before about how damaging growing up in a toxic culture can be for LGBT+ kids https://twitter.com/i/events/1132727151407632385?s=21">https://twitter.com/i/events/...
I knew I was “different” from the age of about 7; that I was “gay” by the time I was 11
I’ve written before about how damaging growing up in a toxic culture can be for LGBT+ kids https://twitter.com/i/events/1132727151407632385?s=21">https://twitter.com/i/events/...
I came out, relatively, pretty late
For lots of reasons, I just couldn’t see a way to come out and be who I knew I was
In my late teens and early 20s especially, I couldn’t see any way to resolve the mental distress that caused
I hid it (fairly) well but inside I was hurting
For lots of reasons, I just couldn’t see a way to come out and be who I knew I was
In my late teens and early 20s especially, I couldn’t see any way to resolve the mental distress that caused
I hid it (fairly) well but inside I was hurting
LGBT+ people, and young people especially, are at https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬆️" title="Pfeil nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach oben">risk of self-harm and attempted suicide
Self-harm is often a way to try to transform mental hurt into something physical, because something physical feels better able to be controlled, like a controlled release from a dam
Self-harm is often a way to try to transform mental hurt into something physical, because something physical feels better able to be controlled, like a controlled release from a dam
risk of self-harm and attempted suicideSelf-harm is often a way to try to transform mental hurt into something physical, because something physical feels better able to be controlled, like a controlled release from a dam" title="LGBT+ people, and young people especially, are at https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬆️" title="Pfeil nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach oben">risk of self-harm and attempted suicideSelf-harm is often a way to try to transform mental hurt into something physical, because something physical feels better able to be controlled, like a controlled release from a dam" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Through my late teens and early 20s, I used self-harm as a way to get control of how I was feeling, how I was hurting
Parts of my body, my upper arms especially, are a patchwork of scars, each one telling a piece of the story of how suppressing who you are causes harm
Parts of my body, my upper arms especially, are a patchwork of scars, each one telling a piece of the story of how suppressing who you are causes harm
I had support from friends, some of them who knew my self-harm secret, but I couldn’t even tell any of them I was gay, that’s how scared and alone I felt
Their unstinting support without even really knowing *what* they were supporting was a huge part of what got me through
Their unstinting support without even really knowing *what* they were supporting was a huge part of what got me through
For years after I was ashamed of my scars, thinking they represented weakness
Over time I’ve come to understand they show the opposite; how I found strength to carry on when I could easily not have
They tell my story, written on my body
I’ve stopped actively covering them up
Over time I’ve come to understand they show the opposite; how I found strength to carry on when I could easily not have
They tell my story, written on my body
I’ve stopped actively covering them up
But those scars represent a time in my life when I was reacting, when I wasn’t able to be who I should have been, and was trying to force myself to be something I am not
So, I wanted a different story on my body, a positive “scar”, one that represented *all* of me ... a tattoo
So, I wanted a different story on my body, a positive “scar”, one that represented *all* of me ... a tattoo
I’ve used “thefourthcraw” as an online identity for as long as I’ve been on the Internet
It comes from a Scottish nursery rhyme - the fourth craw is the one who isn’t there, their identity defined by what is unseen, not what is seen
That’s always resonated with me
It comes from a Scottish nursery rhyme - the fourth craw is the one who isn’t there, their identity defined by what is unseen, not what is seen
That’s always resonated with me
Crows have always fascinated me, from Odin’s ravens representing wisdom, to Iain Banks’ book The Crow Road (where the crow represents death), to crows themselves, smart, full of attitude; the cats of the air basically
(That cover design definitely one of the design inspirations)
(That cover design definitely one of the design inspirations)
And I’ve spoken at length elsewhere about the symbolism packed into the https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏳️🌈" title="Regenbogen-Flagge" aria-label="Emoji: Regenbogen-Flagge"> flag https://twitter.com/i/events/1267713443366387712?s=21">https://twitter.com/i/events/...
(All of this of course is why, since I came out a few years ago, I’ve thrown so much of myself into trying to be a part of making things better for the next generation of queer kids like me
I don’t want anyone to have to feel like I did if I can help it) https://twitter.com/i/events/1270993253828046850?s=21">https://twitter.com/i/events/...
I don’t want anyone to have to feel like I did if I can help it) https://twitter.com/i/events/1270993253828046850?s=21">https://twitter.com/i/events/...
There’s also a nod in the tattoo design to the idea of the Phoenix - of rebirth from what once seemed an impossible situation
A tattoo - MY tattoo - for me is about taking all of that together and using it to change the narrative of what the marks on my body say about me, a conscious symbol of so many things that matter to me
Plus, you’ve got to admit, it looks REALLY awesomehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">
Plus, you’ve got to admit, it looks REALLY awesome
" title="A tattoo - MY tattoo - for me is about taking all of that together and using it to change the narrative of what the marks on my body say about me, a conscious symbol of so many things that matter to mePlus, you’ve got to admit, it looks REALLY awesome https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">">
" title="A tattoo - MY tattoo - for me is about taking all of that together and using it to change the narrative of what the marks on my body say about me, a conscious symbol of so many things that matter to mePlus, you’ve got to admit, it looks REALLY awesome https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">">
With thanks to Theresa Vendetta at Velvet Underground tattoo, who somehow managed to translate all of my ideas and thoughts into this design https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💕" title="Zwei Herzen" aria-label="Emoji: Zwei Herzen"> https://www.velvetundergroundtattoo.co.uk..."> https://www.velvetundergroundtattoo.co.uk...
More #NationalComingOutDay https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> content here: https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏳️🌈" title="Regenbogen-Flagge" aria-label="Emoji: Regenbogen-Flagge"> https://twitter.com/rainbownhsbadge/status/1315198742111432705">https://twitter.com/rainbownh...
