Body Anomaly Tattoos

More people than you realize have some condition that makes their physical bodies different from the majority. Many try to hide those differences out of self-consciousness, even though the anomaly might be something you'd never notice anyway. Then there are some who celebrate their differences with a clever tattoo that provokes smiles and puts people at ease.

Amputee Tattoos

Something tells me that this tattoo of a shark on what's left of this man's arm was inspired by the shape of the stump rather than the reason for the amputation. Still, how cool it must be for him to let people assume that's how he lost the arm!

One little piggy is missing in action here, but not the tattoo owner's sense of humor.

A motorcycle accident in 1997 left Alan Macias with a non-functional arm which he eventually had amputated. He now has a eye-catching "cut along dotted line" tattoo on his stump.

Australian tattoo artist Brad Bako created this tattoo he calls The Digit. One giant finger replaces five small ones.

Mastectomy Tattoos

After mastectomies due to breast cancer, some women opt not to undergo reconstruction surgery. Instead of hiding their experience, a few decide to celebrate it by tattooing a beautiful and/or significant design on their chests. Some links in this section may be considered NSFW. This photo shows cancer survivors Marcia Rasner and Pam Huntley with their tattoos. More examples can be seen here and here.

Tattoo artist Pat Fish posted some examples of women who had nipples tattooed on after surgery in lieu of reconstruction, including Beth who loved the nipple tattoo so much that she had her entire breasts adorned eventually.

Syndactyly

Syndactyly is a condition where two or more fingers or toes are fused. Heather got this dotted line tattoo on her toes as "a sarcastic way of embracing my "˜deformity.'"

Baldness

Going bald? There are a couple of ways you can use a tattoo to deal with baldness. The British company HiStyl uses tattooing as a way to disguise baldness, Tattooed hair follicles will make you look like your head is recently shaved instead of hairless.

The alternative is to use your sense of humor to embrace the growing bald spot, as in this classic image. It takes a certain amount of self-confidence to accentuate a body anomaly instead of hiding it, but the rewards include respect -- and smiles!