When Billie magazine's editor, Terry Graff, invited me to
write an article about my tattoo research for an upcoming issue I was thrilled
(as the cliché goes). One, I was
stoked to discover that the Atlantic region had a dedicated arts magazine and
two, I was being asked to write about a cherished topic–tattoo culture. What gave me a little pause was that
the thematic focus of the issue was women artists in the region. Correspondingly, I was to write about
women tattoo artists and women's tattoos.
I tend to shy away from gender-based analysis on most topics
and I don't even refer to myself as a feminist. Tattoo culture has been heavily sexualized in popular
opinion, I believe, largely because it is associated with the body and to a
lesser degree because it was historically seen as behaviour that belonged on
the margins of society–the land of bikers and their "bad girls". We can all hope that the day of
"the tramp stamp" is over.
Anyhow, I was concerned about reinforcing or perpetuating stereotypes and
I was uncomfortable.
Precisely because of my discomfort with the topic I decided
that I needed to "think my way through" this issue as opposed to
dismissing it as irrelevant.
Admittedly, tattoo culture has entered mainstream society but the troubling
consequence is that it is often regarded as an ill-considered fashion
statement–something you regret "when you are old and wrinkled". Furthermore, none of the women subjects
I had interviewed over the past four years had led me to believe they did it
for reasons that were specific to their gender.
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| Gerti's memorial tattoo. Photo by Ned Pratt . |
Memorializing the loss of a loved one–parent, partner, child
and even pets; marking an accomplishment or rite of passage such as graduation,
the first trip to Europe or a battle with cancer; indicating professional
affiliation or membership in a group; a passionate interest from popular
culture such as song lyrics or comics–all of the most common narratives behind
tattoos are shared by individuals regardless of where they are on the gender
spectrum. What was left to say?
I took the question to both female and male tattoo
artists. It turns out, that the
long-term historical answer was that we didn't have female tattoo artists in
Newfoundland and Labrador with more than ten years experience. The best-known female artist is the
province is Laura Casey who operates Lady Lo's Custom Tattoo Studio with the
help of two female apprentices that she has trained. Interestingly, Casey's clients are roughly 50-50 in terms of
gender and none of the ones I interviewed selected Casey on the basis of
gender. It was her professionalism
in terms of customer service and the quality of her artwork. Dave Munro who operates the longest
running tattoo studio in St. John's has trained two female apprentices as
well. So, we have a come a long
way from tattooing being a macho preserve but the trend is young and still growing.
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| Jessica's Vidal Sassoon tattoo. Photo by Ned Pratt. |
The most significant societal trend I observed in terms of
women's tattoos is that they marked a growing sense of agency. It was about women owning their own bodies,
getting tattooed for themselves. I
spoke with women about their tattoos that were prompted by health crisis and
body image challenges. Also, young
Inuit women have reintroduced tattooing to their visual culture that had
largely been wiped out by missionary contact. Far from superficial fashion…no wonder my original tattoo
project is called More Than Skin Deep.
