Greta Bauer

Stamped in Time: The Progression and Importance of Women's Impact in the Tattoo Industry

Introduction

Tattoos and their meanings have captivated society for thousands of years among different cultures and civilizations worldwide. Although associated with manliness and roughness, no one has influenced the tattoo industry and ensured popularity more than women. Throughout the mid-19th and 20th centuries, women used tattoos as reflected symbols for their changing landscapes and senses of self, while constantly fighting a double standard from men similarly inked. The sexual revolution and women’s movement shed new light on how a woman can make decisions for herself and her body without the influence of men, an attitude which men have tried to dampen but continue to fail today. Even the once-powerful, turned-humiliating lower back tattoo – dubbed the “tramp stamp” – is being reclaimed by progressive women today admiring its sexy and strong position. Figures from the Prince of Wales to Dennis Rodman have sported tattoos, but women right beside them gave tattoos their meaningful and unapologetic nature. The complicated and intricate history of tattoos has been highlighted by their male wearers and artists, but women have had just as much of an impact, if not more, of bringing tattoos to the mainstage. 

Brief Tattoo Timeline

Relationships between tattoos found in various regions and cultures are vast. The earliest record of tattoos was found in 1991 with the discovery of Ötzi, the mummified body of a man who lived in modern-day Italy around 3300 BCE. The “iceman” had over 50 dots and dashes of soot embedded in his skin, believed to be an early method of acupuncture. (1) Across the globe, indigenous Pacific tribes saw tattoos as intricate art representing a rite of passage or power and status. In the Western world, sailors in the late 18th century came home with collections of tattoos from their exotic travels. (2) Visibility of tattoos continued to rise with the popularity of the traveling circus and “freak shows” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with tattoo artists setting up permanent shops in cities around North America and Europe. (3) Following both world wars, tattoos became more patriotic and romantic, as a statement of pride or to mark a significant action, place, or person.

Tattoos continued to rise in mainstream culture throughout the later half of the 20th century with the hippie movement, rockstar supremacy, and grunge scenes. (4) Modern day tattoos peak in popularity and visibility, with a 2006 study showing that one-third of Americans aged 18-29 have tattoos, which allow “people to broadcast to the world what they are all about. Others call it a sign of rebellion or a rite of passage.” (5) Although tattoos are increasingly seen as a form of expression, tattoos and their wearers – particularly women – have been stigmatized for generations.

Women and Tattoos: Pre-Sexual Revolution

As far back as the history of tattoos reaches, women have been at the forefront of the art. Female Egyptian mummies show symbols of deities on their skin (6), and indigenous women chose tattoos as symbols of beauty. (7) In one of the most dramatic pushes for tattoo visibility, traveling shows and circuses in the late 1800s and early 1900s featured tattooed people, especially women, in their lineups. Although women with tattoos were deemed as unattractive by societal standards, the feelings of danger and scandal associated with seeing these women piqued the curiosity of customers. One of the most photographed tattooed women was Betty Broadbent, who was billed as “the youngest tattooed woman in the world”. (8) She had tattoos of Pancho Villa, Charles Lindbergh, and a rendition of the Madonna and Child painting. Early circus women like Broadbent were stark opposites to their Victorian era counterparts who were expected to cover their skin and maintain purity. Their tattooed followers aligned themselves with the early 20th century idea “rejecting the Victorian archetype of the repressed and demure woman,” and began pushing for women’s rights. (10)

Before circus women thrilled their audiences with body art, wealthy Brits sported dainty tattoos on their skin. Small tattoos were seen as a sign of royalty and status – King Edward VII was tattooed in 1862 when he was still the Prince of Wales, and Winston Churchill's mother had a snake on her wrist. (10) American high society soon followed, with a 1897 issue of The New York World estimating that 75% of upper-class women were tattooed. (11) After the turn of the century, American suffragettes spoke out against the soft and submissive wife stereotype that had been expected of women for generations. They got tattoos as acts of rebellion against social norms, serving as a permanent symbol that change was within reach and emphasized that a woman should have autonomy over herself. (12) After World War 1, as movies and radio dominated popular culture, the circus and traveling shows fell out of favor, coinciding with the fall of popularity in tattoos on women. (13) However, when America entered World War 2, male tattoo artists left to fight, so women began opening their own tattoo parlors, which became popular for female clients who preferred the softer touch and comfort of a same-sex artist. (14) They developed their own styles, many of which were more feminine than the Americana art that male counterparts were drawing, allowing women to choose a “dainty” tattoo that could be hidden if necessary. (15)

Women and Tattoos: During/Post-Sexual Revolution

During the late 1960s and 1970s, the birth control pill became a catalyst for the sexual revolution movement and ushered in a sense of freedom for women and their bodies. Many women were inspired to take down misogynistic ideals about markings in society, such as tattoos. As the social and political climates changed in the 1960s, attitudes of tattooing shifted dramatically and negatively. There was an increase of public awareness of tattoos especially in gang culture and the underworld of crime. (16) Members of the LGBTQ+ community also used tattoos as forms of communication and signaling one’s queerness, which was not accepted by mainstream society. (17) Veterans and sailors who once paraded around with their tattoos were grouped with criminals and seemingly low-life homosexuals, and tattooing was not just seen as wrong, but dirty and dangerous. Some progressive women, however, saw the strong and aggressive connotation that tattoos showed at the time and “newly empowered women in this period started using tattoos to reflect their changing sense of self.” (18) 

The sexual revolution and concurrent hippie movement encouraged people to care less what others thought, and therefore the tattoo industry saw a surge of business, even though stereotypes of tattoos were still prevalent. (19) In April of 1970, Janis Joplin uncovered her tattoo to photographers, becoming one of the first celebrities to unashamedly and publicly show off a tattoo. Joplin’s influence “reflected a change in perceptions associated with tattoos,” and taught people to continue to shift their attitudes. (20) Being in a small minority of women in the rock and roll scene at the time, Joplin shared her care-free nature and sexuality with the world to be accepted in her own field. Female fans admired Joplin’s “confidence and feminine rebellion,” and many adopted tattoos thanks to her. (21)

The “looking tough” façade of rock stars like Joplin saw women’s influence in the tattoo industry weigh increasingly heavier. (22) More women in higher professional roles got tattooed, as they became “freer…to follow whatever life-styles they pleased,” said a 1973 New York Times article. (23) The article interviewed tattooed women and notes that they don’t work for the circus, but included an attorney, a banker, a writer, and a mother. The women interviewed in the article said they have no regrets getting their tattoos, and a specialist in investment management research said that women are frankly “‘tired of explaining’” their tattoos to skeptics. (24)

The sexual revolution and subsequent rise of tattoos in the 1970s was halted by the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. (25) Clients, especially those frequenting shops known to serve gay men, stopped getting tattoos in worries of using a dirty needle. There was a backlash movement of women’s rights, as society built back up the idea of a perfect woman. The fitness bandwagon exploded, with gyms and diets popping up in every town and media outlet, and women worked out incessantly and became obsessed with how their bodies were perceived. (26) Plastic surgery also was popularized, creating a duality of body modifications – plastic surgery to fit in and tattoos to stand out. However, just as the rock and roll scene brought tattoos to the public eye in the seventies, the grunge and punk music stars inspired people to once again care less what others thought, and tattoos increased in the nineties. The 1990s seemingly ushered in a new meaning for tattoos – anyone could get them, for any reason. More older women got tattooed in the “name of self acceptance,” (27) finally getting the design they had wanted for years without the same repercussions. Using tattoos as cosmetics became popular, from tattooing permanent eyebrows to using tattoos to cover and beautify mastectomy scars. (28)

By the mid-nineties, tattoos were officially mainstream. Dennis Rodman was the first heavily tattooed NBA star, beginning a boom in sleeve tattoos seen around the league today (about 55% of players in the 2021-2022 had visible tattoos). (29) Originally inspired by the punk scene in London in the early nineties, Rodman saw body art as an “‘everyday thing,’” (30) and encouraged other players to get tattoos, even after being asked to stop by the NBA commissioner. Before exchanging wedding vows in 1995, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee got tattoos of each other’s names in lieu of rings. Mattel even released a special edition “Butterfly Art Barbie” in honor of Barbie’s 40th birthday in 1999, featuring Barbie with a lavender butterfly tattoo on her stomach. (31) 

Although tattoos had seemingly reached a breakthrough in societal attitudes, pro-life supporters were reigniting the issue of legal abortion in the late-nineties and were displeased with women having freedom over their bodies. Many conservatives threw jabs at women with tattoos, saying that they were hiding from “real problems” by getting skin art. (32) Just after Republican George W. Bush took presidential office, the Pro-Choice Public Education Project ran a series of ads “warning [people] of a dystopian future where Roe v Wade would be overturned.” (33) Tattoos became another example of “my body, my choice,” and pushed activists to tamper conservative abortion values. Shortly after this campaign, however, a certain type of body art inflated misogynistic views of women with this tattoo. 

Lower Back Tattoos

Lower back tattoos can be dated back to ancient Egypt, as seen in several mummies discovered. Anthropologists hypothesized the mother, servants, and midwives involved with a birth had similar lower back tattoos as a way to harness power and “sympathetic magic,” in order to ease the pain of childbirth and increase the mother’s chance of survival. (34) The idea that tattoos may protect someone during childbirth lasted into the early 20th century. In a 1937 article, anthropologist Winifred Smeaton wrote that he met a midwife with a lower back tattoo “‘just above the buttocks’ as a fertility ritual to ensure childbearing.” (35) In the seventies there was a rise in lower back tattoos, as women could easily conceal them from society and lingering stigmas. (36) Popularity soared, however, in the mid-to-late nineties as tattoo magazines featured models with lower back ink. This coincided with the trend in low-rise jeans, creating new visibility and meaning of the tattoo for men, as they associated lower back tattoos with a “slutty sexuality.” (37) Jill Jordan, a renowned tattoo artist, coined the lower back tattoo as the “chick spot” and mentioned its flattering placement that “narrows your waist,” (38) but the tattoo is better known by its nickname given by perverted men: the tramp stamp. 

Although the image and placement of a tattoo tends to have personal meaning, especially for a woman, society assumes that women want to cater themselves to look more attractive to men, therefore lower back tattoos are “simultaneously sexualized and shamed.” (39) When Britney Spears arrived at the MTV Bash in 2003, she showed off her lower back tattoo of a fairy, and was instantly trolled and criticized by men and women alike. The tattoo became associated with her non-traditional lifestyle at the time, and soon a “tramp stamp” was only worn by “sluts”. (40) Popular media portrayed “tramp stamps” as negative and trashy, even when on a man. In the How I Met Your Mother episode “Wait For It,” Ted drunkenly gets a “tramp stamp” while going on a bender after a breakup and sleeping with a promiscuous character. All of his friends laugh at him, he freaks out, and viewers are taught that only someone with bad judgment would get a tattoo placed on their lower back. (41)

Furthermore, a 2007 study found that men rated women with lower back tattoos as generally less attractive, but more sexually promiscuous. Confederates either had a temporary lower back tattoo or were in the control group without one and laid on their stomach on a beach. Men approached the tattooed confederates more than the non tattooed ones and said that they had a greater likelihood to have sex on the first date with the tattooed confederates. (42) Even if men did not rate a woman as physically attractive, they saw her lower back tattoo and approached her because they associate “tramp stamps” with being “easy.” (43) Recently, women are trying to reclaim power from lower back tattoos and shame the attitudes that men have put on these women. Generation Z has been particularly vocal about changing the narrative of lower back tattoos from embarrassing to empowering. (44)

Conclusion

Women have been wearers, artists, advocates, and scapegoats of tattoos throughout the thousands of years of body ink history. Many women used their tattoos to make a living in the circus circuit of the 1800s, while their male counterparts could not generate much interest in their tattoos. Although tattoos were seen as taboo and blasphemous throughout the 20th century, women of high society sported small tattoos that were often covered but served as a meaningful symbol to them. During the women’s suffrage movement and both the sexual revolution of the 1920s and the 1960s, women used tattoos as a way to rebel against the patriarchal society attempting to regulate women and their rights. Influenced by hippie culture, rock and roll, and Janis Joplin, women from all walks of life got tattoos in the 1970s as signs of confidence and going against the grain. Popularity surged further in the nineties as women saw tattoo inspiration from spiritual trends, new grunge and punk scenes, and cultural icons. Women had to fight for no judgment about their tattoos around the turn of the 21st century due to conservative beliefs limiting a woman’s right to her body and misogynistic views of where tattoos should and should not be placed on a body. Currently, women are more likely to have tattoos than men, but oftentimes still have to cover them in ways their male counterparts do not. (45) Without the use of tattoos as an argument for women’s rights and freedoms, women today would not be able to sport their various tattoos publicly, and tattoos in general would still be considered taboo. 

Footnotes:

1. Olson, Amy. “A Brief History of Tattoos.” Wellcome Collection, April 13, 2010. https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/W9m2QxcAAF8AFvE5. 

2. Ibid.

3. Mifflin, Margot. Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2001, 17.

4. Ibid.

5. The Associated Press. “Tattoos Now Part of Mainstream Culture.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, June 10, 2006. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13245154. 

6.  Diaz, Adriana. “'Tramp Stamp' Tattoos Originated by Ancient Egyptians for Birth 'Magic'.” New York Post. New York Post, November 14, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/11/14/ancient-egyptian-women-wore-tramp-stamps-for-childbirth-magic/amp/. 

7. Olson. “A Brief History of Tattoos.” 

8. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 24

9. Springer, Claudia. Woman’s Art Journal 21, no. 1 (2000): 53–54. https://doi.org/10.2307/1358875. 

10. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 43

11. Ibid.

12. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 45

13. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 25

14. Sucese, Noël S. “Coloring In and Outside of the Lines: Experiences of Women in the US Tattoo Industry,” 2018. 

15. Ibid.

16. “Hidden Histories.” Episode. In the Life 19, no. 2004, January 2011. 

17. Ibid.

18. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 54

19. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 66

20. Sucese, “Coloring In and Outside of the Lines”

21. Ibid.

22. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 71

23. “A Growing Number of Women Are Having Themselves Tattooed.” New York Times, March 4, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/04/archives/a-growing-number-of-women-are-having-themselves-tattooed.html 

24. Ibid.

25. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 72

26. Ibid.

27. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 83

28. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 87

29. DePaula, Nick. “Inked up: How NBA Players Embraced Tattoos and Changed the Game.” Andscape. Andscape, August 18, 2022. https://andscape.com/features/how-nba-players-embraced-tattoos-and-changed-the-game/.  

30. Ibid.

31. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 89

32. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 78

33. Esposito, Veronica. “'Think You Can Do What You Want with Your Body?': Vintage pro-Choice Ads – in Pictures.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, May 19, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/19/abortion-pro-choice-ads-1990s. 

34. Diaz. “'Tramp Stamp' Tattoos Originated by Ancient Egyptians for Birth 'Magic'.” 

35. Saint Thomas, Sophie. “An Ode to the Misunderstood Beauty of the Tramp Stamp.” VICE, August 25, 2017. https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbb5y3/an-ode-to-the-misunderstood-beauty-of-the-tramp-stamp.   

36. “A Growing Number of Women Are Having Themselves Tattooed.”

37. Saint Thomas. “An Ode to the Misunderstood Beauty of the Tramp Stamp.”

38. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 16

39. Saint Thomas. “An Ode to the Misunderstood Beauty of the Tramp Stamp.” 

40. Ibid.

41. Fryman, Pamela. “Wait for It.” Episode. How I Met Your Mother 3, no. 1. CBS, September 24, 2007.

42. Guéguen, Nicolas. “Effects of a Tattoo on Men’s Behavior and Attitudes towards Women: An Experimental Field Study.” Archives of Sexual Behavior 42, no. 8 (2013): 1517–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0104-2. 

43. Ibid.

44. Lefroy, Emily. “'Tramp Stamps' Are in Again and No Longer 'Trashy,' Influencers Say.” New York Post. New York Post, December 13, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/12/12/tramp-stamps-are-in-again-and-no-longer-trashy-influencers-say/. 

45. Mifflin, Bodies of Subversion, 146

Media:

Figure 1: Leeds, Jeff. “From the Archives:: A Tattoo Landmark Fades along with Long Beach's Naval Operations.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-col1-tattoo-landmark-fades-long-beach-19951020-story.html. 

Figure 2: Mifflin, Margot. Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2001.

Figure 3: Mifflin, Margot. Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2001.

Figure 4: Mifflin, Margot. Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2001.

Figure 5: Esposito, Veronica. “'Think You Can Do What You Want with Your Body?': Vintage pro-Choice Ads – in Pictures.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, May 19, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/19/abortion-pro-choice-ads-1990s. 

Figure 6: Kravitz, Jeff. MTV Bash - Carson Daly. June 28, 2003. Photograph. Getty Images.

Bibliography

“A Growing Number of Women Are Having Themselves Tattooed.” New York Times, March 4, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/04/archives/a-growing-number-of-women-are-having-themselves-tattooed.html 

The Associated Press. “Tattoos Now Part of Mainstream Culture.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, June 10, 2006. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13245154. 

DePaula, Nick. “Inked up: How NBA Players Embraced Tattoos and Changed the Game.” Andscape. Andscape, August 18, 2022. https://andscape.com/features/how-nba-players-embraced-tattoos-and-changed-the-game/. 

Diaz, Adriana. “'Tramp Stamp' Tattoos Originated by Ancient Egyptians for Birth 'Magic'.” New York Post. New York Post, November 14, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/11/14/ancient-egyptian-women-wore-tramp-stamps-for-childbirth-magic/amp/. 

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“Hidden Histories.” Episode. In the Life 19, no. 2004, January 2011. 

Kravitz, Jeff. MTV Bash - Carson Daly. June 28, 2003. Photograph. Getty Images.

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Lefroy, Emily. “'Tramp Stamps' Are in Again and No Longer 'Trashy,' Influencers Say.” New York Post. New York Post, December 13, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/12/12/tramp-stamps-are-in-again-and-no-longer-trashy-influencers-say/. 

Mifflin, Margot. Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse Books, 2001.

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Springer, Claudia. Woman’s Art Journal 21, no. 1 (2000): 53–54. https://doi.org/10.2307/1358875. 

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