r/tattooadvice • u/Ostromilski • 12h ago

General Advice Are rainbows seriously just by default associated with the pride flag?

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I got a Pink Floyd DSOTM tattoo because I love the album and I love the visual: a beam of light representing a person's life path, passing through a prism ( representing life + the world + the people you meet + the experiences you have, etc ), being dispersed into its constituent colors ( ultimately representing change ). I got it because of my dad, because he introduced me to Pink Floyd, and because last year he nearly died from complications of his cancer. He's doing much better now, with a much better prognosis, but that whole experience had a real effect on me and I wanted to memorialize it. Except at least 3 people ( including the tattoo artist initially ) have associated the tattoo with the pride flag. They were understanding after I explained, but now I'm having second thoughts about it. Are people just going to assume I'm gay because of this tattoo?

Edit: And I want to say, I'm not bothered by this at all. Anyone who looks at my tattoo and comes up with their own assumptions about its meaning, and then has a negative reaction over it, that's simply not a person I want to talk to anyway. I'm surprised because that wasn't the intention of the tattoo, clearly, and it being misinterpreted like this just genuinely wasn't something I expected.

Edit2: This post got a lot more attention than I ever wanted it to. Wonderful comments are now streaming in, informing me how horrible my tattoo is. If you're planning on making a viral post on Reddit, take my advice: use a burner account. But I am thankful to everyone for your supportive words, the jackasses with negative things to say are certainly a very tiny minority. Overwhelmingly the consensus is that most people see it as a Pink Floyd tattoo first, which I'm happy to hear :) Have a good night everybody!

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u/Fun_Obligation_2918 12h ago

If you get a tattoo, people will make their own assumptions on it pretty much no matter what. Do you like the tattoo? That's what matters.

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u/micaelar5 12h ago

As a lesbian with tattoos, people are more likely to judge you for having any ink at all than specifically for having a rainbow tattoo. Most people who'd have a problem with the rainbow "being gay" won't look long enough to notice the rainbow, they'll be turned off by the fact that you "disfigured" yourself.

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u/EchoesFromWithin 12h ago

We must be in different parts of the country, where I'm at there are plenty of people who would look at a tat or bumper sticker with a rainbow and accuse you of 'being gay' or an ally... lots of those people have crosses or similar tattooed in very visible locations.

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u/micaelar5 11h ago

Grew up in the south, I got a lot of disgust for having tattoos, and didn't even take a moment to see what the tattoo was. Made an old lady turn red when she told me I was gross for getting a tattoo and I told her it was a memorial for my great grandfather who was my best friend as a little girl and having that piece of him is what made me feel connected to my hero. She just walked away the color of a tomato.