@JilltheTooth You must have seen hundreds of people with tattoos on their backs. You must have seen thousands of cars with bumper stickers. Do you wonder at all of this?
Usually messages are for other people (art is a message). You must have some impression when you see these things. Is it really just confusion? Don’t you tell yourself some kind of story about it? The problem with symbolic messages is that you don’t know whether you want to know what the person sending the message meant, or if what you get from it is good enough. I say that in the absence of clear instructions from the sender, what you get out of it is what it means.
With respect to tattoos, I’ve heard many people here say that tattoos are for themselves. For tattoos on someone’s back, I just don’t believe it. What do you get out of it? You can imagine the image. Maybe you like getting needled. But the artist could be putting any sort of crap on your back for all you know. If it’s for yourself, it wouldn’t matter what was back there. But if you care what other people say about it, then it’s not just for yourself. What about “tramp stamps?”
With respect to your tattoos, I am surprised you have any. When did you get them? How many are there? How often do you look at them?