Kelsey Coffey comments

I'm pretty heavily tattooed on my legs with beautiful artwork, and I live in Japan. I've had a mixture of reactions to my art. Mostly it's shock, or disgust from older men. Once an old man even came up to me at the bar, and told me in Japan it's disgusting for a woman to have tattoos, then he attacked my weight (I'm by no means heavy for a foreign woman). They don't know how to react to a woman who has control over their body, because they believe that a woman's body is for them.

I've had times when I was stopped on the street, and an old man pointed to my tattoos and said they were cool.

But the best has been when a young girl, working at a freshness burger, asked me if they were real tattoos, and when I said yes, she responded with amazement and awe.

Not everyone in Japan hates tattoos. Mainly it's the older generation who's afraid of change. The younger generation wants to express themselves, and I feel they should be allowed to, especially in this country where you're forced to conform.