The goal of tattooing was never beauty. The goal was change. From the scarified Nubian priests of 2000 BC, to the tattooed acolytes of the Cybele cults of ancient Rome, to the moko scars of modern Maori, humans have tattooed themselves as a way of offering up bodies in partial sacrifice, enduring the physical pain of embellishment and emerging changed beings.

Despite the ominous admonition of Leviticus 19:28, which forbade the marking of one's flesh, tattoo had become a rite of passage shared by millions of people in this modern age - everyone from clean-cut teenagers to hard core drug users to suburban housewives.

The act of tattooing one's skin is a transformative declaration of power, an announcement to the world: I am in control of my own flesh. The intoxicating feeling of control derived from physical transformation had addicted millions to flesh-altering practices... cosmetic surgery, body piercing, bodybuilding, and steroids. . . even bulimia and transgendering. The human spirit craves mastery over its carnal shell.

Extracted from http://www.healvine.com/2016/09/whats-goal-of-tattooing.html?m=1

.

In as much as I admire it on people's body I will never have them on my body.