Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Art

OG Ink Queens… Vintage Tattoo Photography Part II

For the first time in modern Western history, women have surpassed men in the tattoo department. It’s estimated that today 23% of American women have tattoos, compared to 19% of men. For my generation, this isn’t really shocking news – pretty much every woman I know has at least one tattoo. And there is a long history of women being tattooed and tattoo artists over the past 150 years. Aboriginal women have tattooed themselves and others for millennia, with the tattoos symbolizing their transition to womanhood and ability to nurture and procreate; but modern mainstream society has had a disturbing tendency to see women with tattoos as less attractive and more promiscuous. In the 1800s, most of the tattooed women in the US were circus performers, who generated income for freak shows by displaying their full-body tattoos. Tattoos continued to be seen as freaky for the most part, something to be hidden, with a few exceptions – women like Betty Broadbent, Pam Nash, Cindy Ray, and Mildred Hull, among others, became famous around the world for their tattoos as well as tattoo artistry, but they were by far the exception to the rule of what was appropriate for female behavior.

I love looking at vintage photos of tattooed women because while I still feel like there are damaging stereotypes applied to women if they choose to present themselves in a way that’s deviant from the norm, despite the popularity of tattoos among women, it reminds me that these ancestors forged a path for me and my tattooed sisters through far worse circumstances. So here’s a collection of stunning queens that could put most dudes today to shame with their ink!

Written By

Meghan MacRae grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but spent many years living in the remote woods. Living in the shadow of grizzly bears, cougars and the other predators of the wilderness taught her about the dark side of nature, and taught her to accept her place in nature's order as their prey. She is co-founder of CVLT Nation.

“DREAMLESS"
“Lev
“BMM"
Sentient 51423

You May Also Like

Art

Burlesque is something I’ve always appreciated; one of my best friends danced burlesque for years, so I found myself in the front row of...

History

Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer was one of the most impactful crime documentary series I’ve ever watched. It’s a simple reframing that completely...

Bizarre

Coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, affects approximately 1 in 10 adults in the US. I don’t suffer from this phobia, but I do...

History

Women have always made up the minority of arrests, with arrest rates ranging from 16% in 1980 to 27% in 2014. Between the 1930s...

Copyright © 2020 CVLT Nation.