Rihanna seems to be normalizing again just a month after she was assaulted allegedly at the hands of her then (current?) boyfriend Chris Brown back on February 8. We’ve heard of and seen Rihanna do a lot of things in the time since that incident occurred but this latest news could be the most telling. Rihanna enlisted the aid of her favorite tattoo artist, a man called BangBang, and had him give her a new tattoo. At first, she thought about getting the tattoos on the front of her shoulders but, in the end, opted for a single small tattoo on her right ribcage. Check out RiRi‘s new tattoo of a handgun:

Given her recent domestic assault, one might think Rihanna would be the last person who’d want to glamourise violence. But the 21-year-old made the unusual decision to have a handgun tattooed on her body this week. The singer, who has often been seen wearing a miniature gun pendant necklace, had the weapon etched across her ribcage. She visited Los Angeles based tattoo artist BangBang, who initially drew two guns on either side of the tops of her arms. But the singer decided against having the weapons inked on in such a prominent position because of her contract with make-up brand Cover Girl. BangBang wrote on his website: “I really wanted to put it here [on her arms]… She loved ‘em. But, Cover Girl wouldn’t have liked it much… and they pay the bills!” He continued: “Ended up doing it on her ribs.” Rihanna already has many other tattoos, including a collection of stars plunging down her back, a music note on her ankle and a Pisces sign behind her right ear. She also has a star inside her left ear, a Sanskrit prayer going down the hip, the word Shhh… down her index finger, and a tribal patter on her right hand. Rihanna has been keeping a reasonably low profile in recent times following her assault drama. She was allegedly beaten up by her boyfriend Chris Brown during a heated argument in his sports car the day before the Grammy Awards. The couple, who reconciled after the incident despite his domestic battery charges, are said to be on a break. Brown is expected to be back in court for an arraignment on April 6. Legal experts have claimed that the case against Brown could hinge on Rihanna’s co-operation. Her spokesperson has previously insisted that she will “do everything that the law requires her to do”.

It’s an interesting choice for a tattoo. I dunno that a handgun makes a nice design at all, seems really severe to me, but each person has their own reasons for their own tattoos. I wouldn’t necessarily infer too much from this particular tattoo … but, who knows? After the jump, check out one more photo of Rihanna at the tattoo parlor — the next pic shows her considering getting this gun tattoo inked on the front of her shoulders …

I have to say that I personally do not like her new tattoo. I don’t know that I would like a gun tattoo on anybody, let alone an artist like Rihanna. Again, I do not think that her choice of design means anything grand (ie. I don’t think she’s planning to shoot anybody) but there has to be some meaning in there. Mebbe she’s trying to feel powerful? Mebbe she’s trying to feel tough? Whatever the case may be, this handgun tattoo sends a far different message than her pretty star tattoos. Do you think it means anything? And if so, what?

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