More than a hundred years after the first tattooed lady made her appearance, people continue to be in awe of ladies who ink
Back in the day, when women showing even a bit of skin were considered indecent, the tattooed lady was a sideshow freak. Traveling with carnivals and circuses, they became objects to be gawked at, marveled at, and sometimes, even ridiculed.
In her book The Tattooed Lady: A History, Amelia Klum Osterud described these ladies as being "remarkable and courageous", that in a time in American history when women remained impoverished due to lack of education and no career options, they opted to "get tattooed and go on the road [allowing them] to achieve things that few others, especially working class women, could even imagine."
Granted, these women are indeed remarkable for daring to defy society's standards but it doesn’t discount the fact that they also helped perpetuate the myth that women with tattoos are a curiosity; at worst, a nameless sector of society that thrive better underground, or a tolerated irregularity, at best. Case in point: The last known tattooed lady retired from working in a carnival at the ripe old age of 82 in the year 1995, more than hundred years after the first tattooed lady was paraded at a carnival.
“I still do get dirty looks when people see me with all my tattoos. Usually, sinasabi nila, mukhang galing preso, drug addict, or parang whore daw,” said Jean Lopez, tattoo enthusiast and head of local online community, Sexy Filipina with Tattoos (SFT). “Pero wala, deadma lang. We are what we are. Our tattoos are a form of art, of self-expression. It’s our passion to use our bodies to showcase the talent of our best tattoo artists,” she shrugged. “Kaya nga sila artists, eh!”
Full article appeared in Playboy Philippines January-February 2016 International Issue
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