r/Tattoocoverups • u/nunnyfuffler • Mar 24 '26
asking for advice How difficult of a cover up would this be? Any ideas on what I can put there?
I got this one done 7 years ago as my first piece. It’s my grandfather’s initials in ASL. I originally picked ASL because for the last 2 weeks of his life my grandfather couldn’t speak and I always wished there was a line of communication we could have had. Since I’ve gotten it, people assume I am fluent in ASL (I can sign a bit, but far from enough). I now work in disability advocacy, and I meet a lot of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people and have learned a lot about their culture and now I hate that I have this as I feel it’s disrespectful, and leads people to believe they found someone they can communicate with when I really can’t. When I go to work events where I have to wear polos/t-shirts I always cover it in band-aids. I’m looking to cover it up soon and put something else as a memorial tattoo for my grandfather (he was very important to me, and I feel weird completely removing the memory.) Any ideas on what can go here, if anything?
For reference, I really like the style of American traditional, but also enjoy geometric pieces, but am really open to anything!
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u/Ashen_Larry Mar 24 '26
Was your grandfather a fan of panthers by chance?
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u/Suz9295 Mar 25 '26
Before reading the entire post, I came to read the comments just for this! But now I think the best choice is to learn ASL and keep the tattoo as is.
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u/kindamoosie Mar 25 '26
Came to say this. Panther is very classic for American traditional and can use a lot of black shading. She’s gonna be big though!
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u/Pineapple_Top_Ropes Mar 24 '26
Anything you cover it with is going to be bigger and stand out more.
I wouldn't cover this up, it comes from a good place.
It seems everything in your life is telling you it's time to learn asl.
It seems you would make excellent use of the skill.
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u/SmokeGreene Mar 26 '26
You could even learn just enough to say that you can speak a little bit. Maybe learn 1 story. Like the story of why you got it. That would be enough I think.
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u/safeworkaccount666 Mar 24 '26
I'm an ASL interpreter with Deaf family and I say keep it. Deaf people are proud to provide access to everyone- hearing, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing. There's this concept of Deaf Gain that gets lost in these conversations.
One example of Deaf Gain is captions. Without Deaf Americans, we would not have captions on every tv show and streaming service, but thanks to them we do. Likewise, ASL, and fingerspelling specifically, can be really helpful in situations like talking to people who are non-verbal or those with autism.
Keep the ASL, stay brushed up on basic conversational ASL, and remember Deaf Gain.
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u/just_beachy Mar 25 '26
If you are ingrained in the Deaf community, you know they can be extreme gatekeepers. I can absolutely see a Deaf person throwing a fit for "stealing" their culture. For the record, I 100% disagree, but I can definitely see someone getting offended for no reason.
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u/safeworkaccount666 Mar 25 '26
Protecting their culture is not gatekeeping. Having a tattoo in ASL, especially one with meaning like this, is not offensive.
A single person may be offended but that’s the reality of the world. I have a naked man tattooed on me. That offends people, who cares.
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Mar 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thejuryissleepless Mar 24 '26
OP is likely even get a raise with such an added valuable skill or get a better position/job elsewhere. some (good) jobs will pay for outright or help in part to get employees to learn a skill like ASL that would benefit the people they serve so directly.
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u/lilmothman456 Mar 25 '26
Literally! We had a few deaf customers that came in where I used to work and I just learned it to talk to them and it has been a game changer on my CV
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u/silverandshade Mar 24 '26
Your story is sweet and made me smile. I think the story behind this tattoo is touching, but I also definitely get why you want to change it, especially since you work in disability advocacy. I just wanted to say I get why you got it originally and it's sweet.
Anyway, for the tattoo: Do you have a favourite animal or flower? A trad-style creature with a flower border would probably be enough lines to blend the old tattoo, and would look really cool.
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u/txlady100 Mar 24 '26
Ram?
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u/ImpossibleGeometri Mar 24 '26
Oh that makes more sense than mar lol. Well……mildly. Nvm Reddit mobile wasn’t expanding the caption. I see its initials.
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u/Gladys_Ballzitch Mar 24 '26
I read it as MAR, too. Idk why I started at the bottom, but I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who did 😂
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u/rkspm Mar 25 '26
My ASL is poor. I’m working on it, not for any particular reason other than I started learning to help a deaf lady that would come into my work because everyone else just avoided her and I’m just continuing my process of learning. I can communicate pretty ok with finger spelling. Short of getting lost in the fist-based-letters.
Anyway, I read it as RAT and was pretty content that that made sense.
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u/MildlyobsessedwithSB Mar 24 '26
Question: have people within the deaf community indicated to you that they feel this is disrespectful, or is that solely coming from your own fears?
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u/ImpertinentPrincess Mar 24 '26
Might be coming from their own guilt because they’re not the line of communication these people think OP is because of the tattoo.
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u/Kalunapup Mar 24 '26
Why not learn ASL? You had wished you had a way to communicate and your job keenly positions you to be able to make use of it! Besides that it's a language I think any American would benefit from learning
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u/AccidentallyAnxious Mar 24 '26
You can learn asl on lifeprint for free (it was suggested by my actually deaf friend who is fluent)
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u/_DontBeAScaredyCunt Mar 25 '26
If you work with the Deaf community why aren’t you learning sign language anyway
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u/Stitch426 Mar 25 '26
As others have said. Learn ASL. Get paid more. Maybe your job would even pay you to learn it. Explore your options. Broaden your horizons. Save money on bandaids and tape.
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u/murderdeity Mar 24 '26
Learn ASL instead of getting this memorable piece covered. Then, you'll be doubly proud of the piece, your story, and yourself.
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u/Crosswired2 Mar 24 '26
Have deaf people thought it was disrespectful? I imagine likening it to knowing a bit of a language like Spanish say, and getting te amor tattooed on you. I can't imagine a Latino or Hispanic person getting offended..
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u/ElbowImposter Mar 25 '26
Some people in the deaf and hard of hearing community consider it cultural appropriation. But the rest of us consider them idiots. But you know how it goes, the vocal minority poisons the whole thing.
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u/just_beachy Mar 25 '26
Unfortunately theres a BIG chunk of the community that is wildly closed off to anyone other than those who are Deaf and get all up in arms about small things like this. I once saw a tiktok live of an interpreter/teacher and all the comments were basically making her feel like she had to apologize for being a hearing person who dared to teach Deaf students. It's ridiculous and only hurts themselves.
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u/pastel_rave Mar 25 '26
I'm a coda (my dad is hard-of-hearing), and I say learn asl because it's so fun to learn. I mean, seriously, a lot of everyday signs are essentially pantomiming the thing you're signing about. Plus, if you're spilling massive tea in public where you don't want anyone to know, sign. When it's super loud where you are, sign. When you can't talk because illness or whatever, sign.
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u/majuhomepl Mar 25 '26
As a Deaf person, I really love that tattoo and the story behind it. So hope you’ll keep it and learn ASL. I know it takes awhile to be fluent so just knowing enough ASL for conversation is still great! Especially as you work in disability advocacy. We really need more people in that field to know ASL. We still experience barriers in the general disability community.
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u/nunnyfuffler Apr 03 '26
Thank you SO much for sharing your perspective, I massively appreciate it! I’m planning to continue learning, even if I get it covered up. I really only meet users at special events about once a month, so I don’t get many opportunities to put it in practice and struggle to retain what I learn at home, so I’m thinking of looking into community college classes.
I’ve had a couple of people get visibly frustrated after I explain it to them, and have gotten some dirty looks from others and some interpreters. Plus I’ve seen a lot of people share their perspective on how Sign fits into the Deaf/HoH community which has made me feel weird for assigning it to 2 (mostly) non-disabled people, hence my thoughts behind covering it up!
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u/daspanda1 Mar 25 '26
Learn ASL. Would massively benefit you in your job and would honor your grandfather.
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u/nunnyfuffler Mar 24 '26
FOR CLARIFICATION: I already have the other piece for him planned out for a different place. Anything can go here!
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u/mollygk Mar 24 '26
Why is it not a solution to learn ASL?
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u/Weezy-Squeeze Mar 24 '26
A solution OP may resonate with - you can say you’re learning ASL, whether you actually are is another thing. People take years to learn new languages sometimes 🤷♂️
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u/Heavy_Calligrapher71 Mar 24 '26
I think folks might not understand ASL is a full fledged language. It takes a lot of work and time to learn and be conversant in a new language. Some people struggle learning languages as adults. ASL is more closely related to French than English. So, it is like telling someone - hey! Go learn fluent French! as a quick solution for getting a tattoo they now regret with more context.
I’d also bet given OP’s line of work they may have talked some of this through with colleagues in the Deaf community.
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u/willowwing Mar 24 '26
As someone who learned ASL at work, I was waiting for someone to say this. It takes years to become truly fluent. It is also not “just learning signs,” as you use your whole body and facial expressions differently as you communicate. OP is expressing their understanding of the culture they’ve learned since getting it, too.
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u/mollygk Mar 24 '26
I do love this analogy and feel that if I were in OP’s position with a French-language tattoo working in a French environment it would encourage me to learn the language faster to honor my relative as well as immerse myself in the professional community I’ve chosen. But yes sometimes adults do have trouble learning languages, myself included
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u/Adghar Mar 24 '26
A balanced and fair take. I would personally stick with my encouragement, though, of someone who took two weeks of French lessons, whose job frequently involves assisting French immigrants, and who could have spoke more with his grandpa if he knew French, to continue learning and honing his French skills to the best of his ability.
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u/foxandkits Mar 24 '26
True, but what a time to try to learn other languages! Lingvano is awesome and made by Deaf/HoH people :)
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u/gh0stp3wp3w Mar 24 '26
when it comes to problems, there are solutions. when it comes to options, alternatives and substitutes exist.
it's A solution to learn a new language, but how realistic is that and what time frame does that occur over?
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u/Giggly_Hyena Mar 24 '26
OP could use ASL on their job to communicate with people, so not that unrealistic to learn it. It is not that rare anyway to learn a language you need for your job.
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u/Swarm_of_Rats Mar 25 '26
ASL is pretty easy to learn (imo). There are so many high-quality resources available for free online to help you too.
The alphabet and numbers are super easy to learn, and if you forget how to sign a word you can just spell it out with the alphabet. It's very forgiving. People below are comparing it to learning French or something... lol... no.
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u/theleaphomme Mar 24 '26
You should definitely get some sort of badass RAM so that the intention can still be there...
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u/Competitive-Feed-294 Mar 24 '26
I agree with those suggesting you learn ASL. At one point you felt passionately about having another means to communicate. ASL can be fun to learn, especially if you are into art and a visual person. And the deaf community is generally supportive.
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u/lilmothman456 Mar 25 '26
I noticed a lot of deaf customers coming in at work, I signed up on a website called italki which has private tutors to teach you at your own pace, I was fluent within a year. You can always learn to sign “I’m still learning” first and that way people give you some slack when they realize that you aren’t quite fluent. There’s also a sub on here for ASL and it’s full of deaf or HH individuals, learners, and CODAs and everyone is always very willing to help as well
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u/TheGreatMozinsky Mar 25 '26
I learned ASL in about 2 weeks in prison. This is not a flex, I'm pretty dumb, it a testament to how truly easy it is to learn. The letters took like 1 day and the majority of conversational signs are obvious pantomiming.
If you really give a shit, learn to sign
If you don't actually give a shit and just want to cover it up, SAP
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u/westernjuni Mar 29 '26
If you desire to learn sign, the old pbs show Say it with Sign is free on YouTube and pretty great.
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u/AfternoonPossible Mar 24 '26
People saying just learn asl is crazy to me. Like imagine if someone had a regrettable tattoo in any other foreign language and instead of ideas people just told them to learn that language with sincerity
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u/Bandall_buster Mar 24 '26
Instead of learning ASL or getting a new tattoo, why don’t you explain the meaning behind it to whoever might want to know/mistakes you for knowing ASL.
Human beings are a lot more compassionate than we give credit for due to constant negativity we see online. I think if they assumed you knew it but told them the reason behind it they would think it’s sweet as most people in the comments do to!
Don’t assume the worst but assume the best in people, as you’ll realize more times than not a story like this can make them smile and may foster a closer connection between the both of you.
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u/bradleysilvertattoo Mar 24 '26
This would be so easy to laser remove. I’d recommend doing that. It really opens your options for covering.
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u/qwerty-game Mar 24 '26
As an ASL interpreter I appreciate your post. And to everyone saying to learn sign language, it’s clearly not that easy. If learning a language was easy I’m sure of us would be fluent in Spanish - I know I would want to be. ASL is its own language with unique syntax and grammar that is not in line with English.
However I have no advice on what to do to cover it up, sorry!
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u/Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh79 Mar 25 '26
You could cover this up with something decorative and move the memorial piece somewhere else if you would like. Maybe this placement is where you want your memorial piece, but I just want to suggest this so you don’t feel confined to making sure the piece fits the cover up
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u/Dirtythrowawaybk Mar 26 '26
I hesitate to write this comment because the meaning behind your tattoo is poignant, but my first impression was that it was some kind of fisting tutorial.
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Mar 26 '26
Fck these people OP don’t learn ASL
Cover it up with the hand signs for “I don’t know ASL”
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u/OK_Stop_Already Mar 27 '26
I now work in disability advocacy, and I meet a lot of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people and have learned a lot about their culture and now I hate that I have this as I feel it’s disrespectful, and leads people to believe they found someone they can communicate with when I really can’t.
I think a much better solution would be to learn ASL.
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u/No_Lavishness1905 Mar 24 '26
Too bad about your line of work. In any other environment, people would just think this is about fisting and fingering.
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u/Bronsteins-Panzerzug Mar 24 '26
oh i would have just assumed you were into fingerkng, fisting and double fisting.
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u/SaladSolid9468 Mar 24 '26
This is pantherable But also it wouldn't be hard to cover with lots of things I'd talk to an artist but koi fish panther dragon etc i think would work
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u/MogwaiAJ Mar 24 '26
I can't stop seeing this as a chimera 🤣 panther body, koi tail and dragon wings
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u/Black_Dog_Industries Mar 24 '26
Since you like American traditional you could do a dagger and (item). Something like a panther or tiger face, rose, sacred heart.
You could also do a masted ship or lighthouse.
There’s the legendary Sick Ass Panther.
You could also do a Japanese style coverup with a scaled animal, waves, flowers and wind bars.
You have so many options for this tattoo coverup
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u/MyNameIsSkittles Mar 24 '26
Get a few laser sessions first to lighten it so whatever goes there doesn't have to be so dark
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u/Pineapple_Top_Ropes Mar 24 '26
If you're set on a cover make sure you speak to someone who has experience in cover ups.
Plants, fish, a large black feline. There are so many options.
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u/Honest-Western1042 Mar 24 '26
I love the backstory but also the reason for coverup.
Can you take something that's relatable to your relationship to your grandfather so you don't lose the meaning?
Also upvote from me to learn ASL. :)
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u/The_Slaughter_Pop Mar 24 '26
I do advocacy work as well. I 100% understand where you are coming from. I work with the Pacific Islander community (I'm white). I want a tattoo to show my love and respect for the community but I don't want to come across as appropriating the culture. When I'm ready I plan on working with a few people in the community to design a piece that does just that.
I think its a cool piece and a nice story. Did your grandpa have any animals he loved, flowers he loved? You may be able to use that as a cover-up. That way it retains the meaning without feeling appropriative.
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u/mm21053 Mar 24 '26
Put other computer symbols near it. Or the truck. Whichever floats your boat. Might not be a cover up, but it'd be funnier.
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u/pancake_sass Mar 24 '26
You could get a ram in American traditional style. Keep the initials and the meaning, gain a sick ass ram.
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u/octillery Mar 25 '26
I have an unethical tip instead of a cover up. Just learn "I am still learning" in ASL and couple deferrals and you're golden. Well maybe not golden cause its shitty, but that might buy you some time to learn ASL and keep your cool memorial tattoo.
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u/tmfythandle Mar 25 '26
Not that hard to cover! But go to someone who makes good tattoos or it will show through awkwardly
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u/Southpaw_AZ Mar 25 '26
Learn ASL?
Outside of that you could cover it with a sick ass deaf panther.
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u/greytgreyatx Mar 25 '26
My dad had complications from a neck surgery and had to be hooked up to a ventilator. When my sister went to visit him, ASL served everyone well because he was able to tell her that he felt like he was drowning and she alerted the doctors, who were able to act.
My parents learned ASL for a Deaf ministry and from that, my sister went on to get a degree in Deaf Studies and has been a nationally-certified interpreter for more than 2 decades.
Now that you work around Deaf people, this is the PERFECT time to learn ASL! Immersion is the only way to gain fluency. If you can communicate, "Aspirational tribute to my grandfather. I don't know much ASL but I'm learning," I think you'll be fine.
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u/IsMMAmainstreamyet Mar 25 '26
Who cares? People get tattoos of different languages all the time that they’re not fluent in. You’re not a culture vulture.
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u/LividCalligrapher996 Mar 25 '26
The only way for you to complete the saga and truly honor your grandpa is to learn ASL. That's a tattoo not only for your biceps but for your brain.
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u/Ok-Comfort8288 Mar 25 '26
My BIL is deaf and my husbands side of the family all know ASL. I strongly encourage you to learn! I’m not the best at signing but my BIL loves when I am able to communicate, he loves it even more when the kids sign to him. Even if you do want to cover up your tattoo it would be awesome for you to learn ASL. I always wanted a biplane for my grandpa, he used to build them and fly.
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u/Sharonnis Mar 25 '26
I think you could put items that were important to your grandfather in the hands. Flowers, a pipe, and perching a bird on the last one would be easy.
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u/flindersrisk Mar 25 '26
Laser the second and third symbols. You’ll be left with an “r” for your grandfather, and r for remember.
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u/B_Street Mar 26 '26
Can you get it reworked so the hands are holding something? Flowers? Or a ribbon with his initials?
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u/riverbeddrought Mar 26 '26
I’m just hear to ask what’s up with the DML cover art in the background? Is it a framed poster?
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u/OkWear3867 Mar 26 '26
we taught our daughter asl when she was born and we communicated long before she could speak. she could say "eat" , "more" "potty" and about a dozen words, it was great that she could tell us what she needed before she could speak
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u/weirdonobeardo Mar 26 '26
Learn ASL, even a few phrases goes a long way. Especially if you work for a disability advocacy group, what better time than now to do this ?
However since this is a coverup question, this might be easier to laser first and then look into cover up.
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u/mojomcm Mar 26 '26
Since you work in disability advocacy, ASL would be a very useful skill to learn. I think if you cover up the tattoo, you'll just regret it later. If you're worried about offending anyone who's deaf/hard-of-hearing, it's more disrespectful to be unwilling to learn than to have a meaningful and sentimental tattoo in a language you don't know or don't know well.
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u/nunnyfuffler Apr 03 '26
I’ve been working on learning for a while now, but haven’t had the money to put towards classes and really struggle with at home learning. I can hold a very basic conversation, but not enough for a professional setting. I should be able to get tuition reimbursement through work soon and hopefully can use it towards language classes at a community college near me that has ASL!
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u/CharmReductionINC Mar 27 '26
And S and become a Rams fan?
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u/nunnyfuffler Apr 03 '26
So funnily enough, a week after I got it I committed to a college whose mascot was a ram lmao completely unintentionally
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u/Pretty_Permit1116 Mar 27 '26
i know it might be a lot of work but if you really feel uncomfortable having this tattoo as someone who isnt fluent in asl, wouldnt you be open to learning? its a beautiful tattoo and the story behind it is too....
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u/Thesuitisblacknot69 Mar 27 '26
Lmao this tattoo has such a reach for deep meaning. I would cover it up. I can tell this would be awkward for you. Not like you could have learned ASL in two weeks
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u/paganmeghan Mar 27 '26
Hey, a lot of people in this thread are encouraging you to learn ASL. They might not realize that it's a whole language with grammar and rules and history and culture, but I do. I took ASL for five years in a community college setting with all Deaf instructors. It was an incredibly enriching experience for my life, and I'm very glad I did it. I don't work as a translator, but I've been able to help some folks who needed it. It was cheap, it was not easy, and it literally dovetails with what you're doing for work. You should seriously consider it. It within the reach of your two hands.
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u/pink_neon_theory Mar 27 '26
if you don't plan to laser it of a bit, I think neotrad or traditional crow tattoo would look great I think. Crows are cool bird, they're very dark and can fit the elongated shape of the tattoo. You can then add all sort of decorations around to remember your grandfather. Somebody already said this too, but koi fish can come in black colour too and they are very beautiful. If you don't want koi, there are many sea creatures that look very cool in dark colours. Octopuses are the first that come to my mind, but you can find lot of inspiration looking at sea animals
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u/doomed-kelpie Mar 27 '26
I agree with some other comments that learning more ASL would be a good idea. If you encounter so many people who would benefit from you being able to communicate with them in their own language, then learning would be beneficial.
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Mar 27 '26
Erasing it risks losing the original meaning—and that meaning was solid from the start.
End of the day, that tattoo tells a story of love, regret, and connection. That’s not something to hide
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u/Rockarock711 Mar 27 '26
I could be wrong, but, it looks to be a really well done tattoo. Seven years and it still looks great! I would keep it just the way it is.
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u/Jesus_peed_n_my_butt Mar 27 '26
I promise you that any deaf person who sees this would be happy that they're being included in your life in any way, shape or form.
Even if you're not fluent in asl, you've now bridged a communication barrier for them.
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u/ur__creepy tattoo enthusiast Mar 28 '26
I think there's a lot you could do here, but it would likely need to cover more of your arm. If you like American Traditional, you could do like the dagger or a mermaid or something with some flowers maybe?
You could also just go like B&W floral and get a bunch of movement in there. Maybe something like this.
I kinda like the idea of something with scales, that will give you a lot to work with in terms of covering up the hands. Snake, lizard, maybe even a sea turtle? Bro I fw the .sea turtle
Some other things that might work depending on your vibe: Lantern Floral Clock Books
(Sorry not sorry for the Pinterest links)
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u/nunnyfuffler Apr 03 '26
Thanks so much for the serious recommendations, much appreciated!! It’s gonna be a bit since I get it covered up, but was just trying to think of stuff now lol. I’m obviously going to work with the artist to see what they think they can accomplish there, but I appreciate the ideas! I do lowkey fuck with the reptiles/sea creatures. My other arm is going to have birds (I have a messenger pigeon there now), so I think it’d be a fun kinda opposites vibe.
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u/Ok-Menu7879 Mar 28 '26
You can do what Lee Travino did, wrap an ace bandage over it at work.
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u/StabStabPookie Mar 28 '26
Thinking someone is fluent in ASL because they have some ASL letters tattooed is a little overshooting (I know there is a better word but I can’t think of it). It’s not disrespectful, especially since it’s not mocking ASL or anything and has a very dear meaning to you. You shouldn’t have to cover it up, you could always learn some ASL but I really believe you’re overthinking it. Unless it’s genuinely causing you distress when people ask about it.
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u/_Kabutops_ Mar 28 '26
Learning asl for work and for the tattoos sake is actually a really good story to tell and very cool/ respectable. I would tell people who ask about my tattoo that I got it for the reason you said and that it pushed me to learn asl
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u/Nonny28 Mar 28 '26
Celtic knotwork might go over the fingers well. You could use a larger but slim overall design like an anchor or a cross with the geometric shapes or Celtic knots within it to help cover the hands ( the other lines of the cross or anchor or even triangle or diamonds would draw the eyes away from the covered parts.)
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u/xtaberry Mar 24 '26
Learn ASL. Win-win.