Tattooed in Indonesia

It's hard having tattoos and living in Indonesia, and it used to be worse. If you are a "bule" (BOO-lay=foreigner), it's fine. If you are a celebrity, it's fine also. But if you looked Indonesian, talked Indonesian, if nobody knows who the hell you are, and you have tattoos crawling out of your sleeve or your collar, it is NOT fine. Strangers will give you looks all the time. Looks that say, "who the fuck is this creep?", or, "better watch out for my purse", or, "get the hell away from my kids, you punk!". They will harass you with their freakshow glances and prejudiced eyes. 

I don't mean to be rude and try to stir things up, but most of the people that give me weird looks are Muslim women. If you've been to a Muslim country, you would know who they are. Women with hair dresses. 

I swear, one time, I was standing in an ATM line. It was a long one. in front of me was this middle aged woman wearing a head dress, with her young son. They were in front of me, in line, but THEY WERE FACING ME AND STARING AT ME! For quite some time, too. It was really really awkward. She had this look in her face that said, "I know something's gonna happen pretty soon. I bet this boy is up to no good!"

Seriously, she was there judging me with her eyes, giving her son a good example of being impolite, staring me down as if I was ready to do something criminal

Another time, I was also in a line. This time for groceries. Some little kids were running around. One kid, a boy, came up really close to me and started pointing at my sleeve tattoo. I'm usually good with kids so I smiled back at him. As soon as I smiled, his mother came and pulled him away, saying "Don't go near that bad man!"

Hmmmm....

It's not always like that. I didn't mean to give off the wrong impression on Indonesia and its people. Those two incidents happened when I was living in Bandung, West Java. Where local culture is still thick. Most people lived simple lives, and most are not so open minded. 

When I moved back to Jakarta, things have started to cool down, and I don't think I have gotten the same looks I got before a lot. The looks that I got here were more curious and inquisitive. Not harassing or judging. Maybe because Jakarta is more "westernized" and its people more open minded. Probably also because the tattoo trend is continuously growing here. A lot of people are more forward in their curiosity and asked me plainly about my tattoo, which is fine. I love my tattoos and I am proud of them and what I do, so yes, I welcome questions and I will answer them with a light heart. As long as those questions aren't provocative or prejudiced. 

So, what is it like being a heavily tattooed Indonesian and living here?

1. you will definitely stand out

2. depending on where you are and who you are around, you might get stared at

3. you might get associated with thugs

actually it's not that bad, once you get used to it.