Here is a quote from another armed forces member about the symbolism of the nautical star among the gay community: "This "gay symbol" is a load of hooey that someone made up VERY recently. The nautical star tattoo has been around nearly as long as tattooing itself. The late Celts (or early Irish, depending on your view of World History) were said to have been the first to have the tattoos, although evidence of it being used on ships in Spain has been found pre-dating the Irish claim. As a Marine, it's a very commonplace symbol amongst us if we have been part of a Boat Raid company, red for port, green for starboard on varying parts of the body. On ship, I saw about a million different variations on the Sailors I was was serving with, obviously harking back to the sailor roots."

Here is a quote from a punk rocker and his feelings about the symbolism of the tattoo: "what idiots..even the military boys dont know what it really means....JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW!!!!!it was used by OLD sailors.. and the symbol represents North on a Map ...and it is the North Star the sailors would use it as a baring to get home....you can find it on Really really old maps and old navy vessels... Punk Rock.. well we use it because we can and because Sailor Jerry made the coolest tattoos who started putting them on everyone.. my grandfather even had one thus being used as a traditional icon"

It just goes to show that when the same powerful symbol is used over and over again over decades of time it can taken on very different meanings for different groups. So all of those that you see sporting a nautical star tattoo might not all have the same interpretation of its symbolism.

So do you have a nautical star tattoo or think about getting one in the future? Which meaning of the symbol will you get the nautical star for? As long as you know what the symbolism behind the star is for and you have gotten it for the right reason to either support the lesbian movement or as a symbol to finding your way!

How to Prepare Yourself Before Getting Your Tattoo by Gerry Restrivera

Getting a tattoo is not as simple as giving permission to an artist to draw and prick their needles into your skin. A tattoo is a permanent mark in you skin that you will be wearing for a long time and you should do some serious thinking before getting your tattoo. Although there are procedures now to erase a tattoo, it is expensive and painful and of course you have to avoid going through this process as much as possible.

      
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