My name is Ólöf and I am the founder of Tattooed Tramps. I am a 4th year Communication Design student at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Tattoos are a large part of my life. A few years back someone told me my artwork would look good as tattoos and that I should consider pursuing that. I have tattoos and I am a woman. More than once people have asked me what my tattoos mean, why I have this one or that one. On my ankle I have a tattoo of a vagina, the drawing is from Tove Lo’s album Lady Wood. I was later asked “What are your kids going to think about that??” ... I could spend hours explaining why I am not having kids but that isn’t the point here. Why the fuck do you care what my future never to be born children will think about a tattoo of a vagina on my ankle? If anything they will just be well educated and not ashamed of their body parts. What I choose to do to or with my body shouldn’t concern anyone but me. It is honestly a guilty pleasure of mine to tell people about this tattoo and see their reaction. It is a nice way to filter out people I don’t want around me. Luckily I haven’t had many problems with it.
My reason for taking on this project is that I am sick and tired of people trying to control and criticize my body and my choices involving my body. My goal is to shine a light on the perception of women in our society and the implication that what a woman chooses to do with or to her body is for someone else. I will achieve this by looking at the problem through the lens of tattoos. To get you more involved, or aware of the problem space I want to offer a couple of examples. As women it often feels like our bodies are just a free for all, people can comment on them or disagree with them, as if a woman’s body concerns anyone but herself. Makeup - Don’t wear too much makeup but also don’t let anyone see your tired face or your acne. Wear it so it looks natural. Pedicure is another thing. I remember seeing posts about people saying that long nails aren’t attractive, but at the end of the day if the woman likes it you shouldn’t care. Women will also receive comments on their hair, their clothes, their sex life. None of which affect anyone but them. Tattoos are the main focus of my project. Tattoos have a stigma around them, and through my research I discovered that women are judged more harshly. They are labelled promiscuous, dishonest, untrustworthy, someone you shouldn’t date. People think you don’t respect your body and as a result they don’t either. There has always been this idea that if you have tattoos that you want someone to see them, which isn’t the case. Just because I have a tattoo doesn’t give you permission to touch me or ask me about it. Some of my tattoos are really personal and others not so much. I feel you get criticized if your tattoo has too much meaning and if it doesn’t have a deep meaning people give you shit for that too. I am tired of justifying my actions and choices revolving around my body. My body my choice. Get fucked.
Best regards,
A Tattooed Tramp