I guess straight people and lesbians also have meaningful tattoos, but since my practice focuses on gay men’s needs, I hear about tattoos in that context. They start talking about when they got them, and the emotional attachment they have to what feelings, experiences, and values their tattoos mean to them, and it becomes relevant to their therapy for whatever we are working on, such as self-esteem, relationships, philosophical/existential “outlook” on life, and dreams/goals. Their tattoos become topics of conversation, especially in summer months when guys are wearing short-sleeves, tank-tops, or shorts.
When I first opened my private practice in psychotherapy (and later added services in life/business coaching), I wouldn’t have predicted that, but I learned things over time about the feelings that so many guys share in common. In my private practice as a psychotherapist who specializes in working with gay men, it was a surprise to me when several years into my practice I noticed a pattern that gay men like to talk about how the tattoos they have hold special, even profound meaning for them. (This model is not necessarily gay, but gay men can imbue their tattoos with great meaning.)
