Within Western Culture, tattooing has only really taken off in the last 100 years. Making it’s mark in circuses and on board sailing ships, tattooing began as a back alley trade and has since become a multi-million dollar mainstream industry. It is the tattooers, both male and female, who made the tattoo industry what it is today and expanded this artform into something that is more than just skin and ink. Today, the tattoo industry is not only comprised of artists and collectors, but hit TV shows like Ink Master and LA Ink, tattoo magazines and blogs, and of course, the ever expanding tattoo modeling world.
Tattoo modeling goes back to when women first started to get tattooed in America, during an age where freak shows and burlesque performances were all the rage. Believe it or not, but throughout the early part of the 20th century, spectators would travel from around the country to observe tattooed female performers like Nora Hildebrandt, Betty Broadbent, and Maud Wagner. These women opened doors for tattooed women everywhere, proving that they could be both tattooed and beautiful at the same time. Since then, tattoo modeling has grown as tattoos and women with tattoos become more accepted in our society. Today we see tattoo models at conventions, on the cover of magazines, and on the dashboard of our Instagrams. Yet despite the growing popularity of tattoo modeling, it is still safe to say that it is branded for a largely male audience.
While styles of tattooing have developed and become more intricate throughout the years, the goal and approach that tattoo modeling takes is still similar to that of its early origins. Tattooing modeling exists to play out a fantasy, brazenly putting forward sexy and very often scantily clad tattooed women for the world to appreciate and behold. Now I do not think that there is anything wrong with people buying into the tattoo modeling industry and for women to put their bodies and their ink out there for men (and women) to appreciate, yet it is sad that in 2016 the industry has had little growth since in 1920s and 1930s. Sure new technology has been employed, such as the international online subscriber phenomenon that is SuicideGirls, yet tattoo modeling only really shows one side of tattooed women. Their sexy side.
Of course it is important to recognize that in order for a model to show off their tattoos, they in turn have to expose some skin but what is the reasoning behind allowing our image to be singularly exploited for the interest of a man? Especially seeing as this is the most popular and accessible way that people see tattooed women in media in their daily lives.
I am not asking for women to cover themselves up or stop submitting photosets to SuicideGirls in hopes that they may be featured on the website, but we cannot deny that the tattoo modeling industry promotes the stereotype that tattooed women are a promiscuous breed. Where are the tattooed supermodels? Why is it that these are the only tattooed women that we see on our screens on a daily basis? I am sick of people expecting this kind of an image from every tattooed woman out there, as if we have nothing else to offer besides inked tits and ass. I know that I myself have fallen privy this gross misunderstanding of my own physical self-expression and I am getting a little tired of being asked at college parties if I am SuicideGirl and where they can find naked pictures of me online. It’s getting old guys, it’s time for a little bit more diversity in the world of tattoo modeling.
Yes, tattooed women are hot and sexy and we deserve to show how confident that we are with the ink that we wear on our bodies and our ability to flip the bird to society’s narrow minded conception of female beauty, but we deserve to see a little bit more variety. There are ways of showing off the ink on our bodies in ways that aren’t solely sexy and we deserve to be seen in another light. We are tired of the back handed compliments that guys throw our way on the streets and think that it’s about time that the modeling industry paid us a little bit more respect. Being a tattooed women is so much more than being sexually available to a man and I wish that the tattoo industry would start realizing that we are more complex than the standards that they are holding us to. We deserve better and it’s time that we start proving that a tattooed woman is worth more than her sexuality.