What Being A Tattooed Lady Taught Me About Feminism

The post “What Being Tattooed Lady Taught Me About Feminism,” was written in collaboration with The Kitten Life on my experiences being a woman with tattoos. You can check out the excerpt below, or read the full post here.

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“You look so trashy/dirty/weird/sexy/slutty with those tattoos”

Female bodies have been placed on a platform for unsolicited public commentary since the beginning of time. This is intensified even more for a woman with tattoos, or any kind of physical appearance that deviates from what is seen as “normal” or “feminine.” The rubbing of pregnant bellies, the “you need to smile sweetie,” the cat calling, the “why’d you have to ruin your body?” remarks are all interruptions and intrusions into a female’s space that happen on an almost daily basis (ask your girlfriend/sister/mother/wife/cousin/daughter/niece for confirmation of this).

I often wonder if the people who do those things ever think about self-actualization; about their higher selves; about goodwill to all mankind; the golden rule. I wonder about the conception they have about their space in the world. I wonder about their definition of freedom. About purpose.

And then I stop thinking about it and instead think about gratitude! How grateful I am that I don’t have an inner pull towards passing judgements and feeling as though the bodies of others have anything to do with me!

“How are you ever going to get a job with those tattoos?”

If I took into account the opinions of others in terms of literally any choice I ever made in my life, I’d probably be confined to my bed with anxiety. I am fine with the fact that not everyone will like my tattoos. I am also fine with the fact that they might affect people’s first impression of me. I work in education and I accepted when I got my first tattoos that I may have been forfeiting some future employment opportunities. There’s absolutely a chance I may have! But I am currently very gainfully employed, so I guess I’ll just leave it to you to worry about my hypothetical job prospects.

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You can read the full post here.

Graphic designed by Nicole Durocher.