Woman Laughs at Her Brother's Idea for a Memorial Tattoo Because It Looks Like a ‘Nautical Penis’

Mar. 15, 2025

Man getting a tattoo (stock image).Photo:Getty/fStop

Getty/fStop

A woman is catching heat on Reddit aftermocking her brother’s tattoo tribute for his late best friend.

In aposton the site’s “Am I the A——” forum, the woman wrote that her brother, 30, lost his best friend from childhood this past year.

“Apparently, whenever they got drunk together, they would joke about gettingmatching tattoos,” the Redditor began, adding, “So my brother wants to get a memorial tattoo."

“He sent me a picture of his initial design. They were both into sailing so the tattoo is going to have two life rings attached with a long rope that has a knot in the bottom part to symbolize how close they were," she continued.

However, the woman detailed that she immediately noticed a potential major design flaw with the ink idea. “I just saw anautical themed penis,” she wrote.

Man getting tattoo from a tattoo artist (stock image).Getty/Westend61

Getty/Westend61

According to the woman, her brother is now upset with her based on her reaction to the tattoo.

”When I laughed and asked him if he was serious he got really mad at me and now won’t respond to my texts," she wrote.

The Redditor added that her husband “agrees that it does look kind of like a penis but says I could have kept my mouth shut since I know how important this is to my brother.”

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”There were much more tactful ways to alert him to a phallic shape in the design without (from his perspective) making a mockery of his grief,” one person wrote. “And you were texting so there was literally no reason for him to ever know that your initial reaction was laughter/disbelief. You owe him an apology.”

Man and woman in a disagreement (stock image).Xavier Lorenzo/Getty

Xavier Lorenzo/Getty

“Honesty without tact is cruelty,” said another, as one more wrote, “This is one of those times when you say you love the idea, but suggest you two continue brainstorming the perfect tattoo. If you workshop it a bit I bet you could have helped coax things in a better direction.”

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The outpouring of opinions prompted the original poster to share that she understood she should’ve handled the situation differently, and she detailed that she hassince apologizedto their brother.

“Thank you to everyone who has responded,” the woman wrote in the update. “I see I was definitely [the a——] and could have gone about it another way."

She added, “I texted my brother an apology when I woke up. He seemed to understand that I was just coming from a place of concern. He didn’t tell me if he was going to keep on with this design or change it but I will try to be supportive no matter what.”

source: people.com