Not Your Body

Not Your Body

Stories of people and their ink

Not Your Body November 2017 Preliminary capstone Words and imagery by Nicole Tinker

Meet 6 strangers who are nothing alike except for one thing they are all tattooed. Learn about their stories from growing up to the negative experiences they have encountered due to their body art. As part of my preliminary capstone for my graduating project, I explore these 6 stories to see if society has changed in terms of their associations with tattooed individuals.

“‘I hate people with tattoos’ and I said, ‘You know what?

That’s funny because I didn’t ask for your opinion.’”

Kaylie & Madison Meet Kaylie and Madison, two friends who share a love for tattoos. Kaylie, 21, is completing a double major in English and History while Madison, 23, is front desk and guest manager at a well known Toronto tattoo shop. In her spare time, Kaylie works part time at a tea shop and says she likes to read books and you guessed it - get tattoos.

What was your first experience with tattoos? When you viewed these tattoos what came to mind?

K: My first memory of anybody with a tattoo was my stepdad when I was four. My biological parents didn’t have any at the time. It was always part of him so I didn’t see them as weird.

M: My Opa had a tattoo. He got it when he worked at a coal mine and it was not a legitimate tattoo – he didn’t get it in a studio or anything, his buddy did it on him and he did one on his buddy. We always joke, “What the hell did his buddy get?” because my Opa was not an artist. It was a lady swinging around a pole and she originally was going to have pubic hair and be completely naked but he got spooked so they did weird line shading to make it look like a bathing suit but it didn’t really cover the pubic hair they had done. So that was the tattoo he had – he got it as like a, “I’m so cool, I work in a coal mine”.

When you saw that tattoo, what were your first thoughts?

M: I was a child so I didn’t really pay that much attention, it didn’t really make much of a difference.

Growing up, what did you think about it?

M: I thought it was funny and there was a good story about something goofy that he did. Apparently he regretted it forever.

K: I also find it interesting as children how we just see [tattoos] as part of somebody. As a kid I didn’t see them as necessarily weird or bad, it was just a part of somebody. Even kids now don’t seem too weirded out by it.

Were you raised to see tattoos in a certain light? Did your parents or close relatives have tattoos? Were you raised in a tattoo friendly environment or was it not really talked about?

K: I lived with my mom and my stepdad growing up and they weren’t a not tattoo friendly environment, my stepdad had them. My mom got them later, she just has small ones. I got my first tattoo with my mom, she has a matching one with me so it can’t be that bad. But then my dad and my step mom are actually pretty against them and that was the opposite environment because they were not supporting of it. It’s a little bit of both.

M: My parents were just like, “Oh, you shouldn’t get tattoos” but they were never super adamant about it. They just thought of it as something I’ll regret later, which is something that I think most people with tattoos – I was baby sitting and my neighbors were asking what I was up to and I told them I was working at a tattoo studio and they started telling me about all these people they know who regret their tattoos.

What was your first tattoo? When did you know you wanted to get it? Was there a meaning behind it?

K: I got my first tattoo with my mom – she has the matching one to me. I was 17 so she signed for me; obviously she was supportive of that one. It did have a meaning to me. I did probably want for first one to have a meaning to me but after that I just get them for fun. The first one was a good test period and at that point if I did decide I didn’t like them then I would have this special one and it wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

M: My first tattoo was in my inner arm. I did hardly any research on tattoos; I just needed somewhere that did white ink. It’s script and it’s a line from a Metric song that I really like.

It wasn’t super visible so my parents didn’t see it; But also that spot on my body I have a little scar from when I was younger in the hospital and I got a PICC line which is basically an IV line that goes through a vein all the way up to your heart. The white ink sort of looks like a scar so it matches with the scar.

“I just get them for fun.”

Around how many tattoos do you have?

K: I have 9.

M: I think I have 20-something.

After your first tattoo, did you receive any negative feedback from close family and friends/strangers?

K: Not really strangers since it’s tiny and on my ankle. My dad and step mom were pretty mad about it but I think they were mad that my mom signed for me when I was 17. They are still pretty bitter to this day even though I have 8 more now.

Everybody else thought it was fine.

M: No one saw it since it was white ink so my parents didn’t even see it for the longest time. They didn’t even know I had tattoos until I got a big sternum piece of a bat. I was sitting in a crop top casually on the couch and it had been maybe 6 or 7 months since I got it and my mom just walked past and it was a little bit showing and she was like, “Is that a tattoo?” and I was like “Yeah, I guess so.” I wasn’t intentionally hiding it from her so she was like “Okay”. She didn’t really care so much.

K: Yeah when I get mine I don’t tell my dad and my stepmom and then see how long it takes them to notice. Usually it’s a really long time so then when they pull the “Everyone is going to see it and know”, I’m like “You’ve lived with me for 6 months and didn’t know.”

Do you parents/close relatives know about your tattoos?

Did you hide it at first?

K: I didn’t tell my dad or step mom at first when I got my very first one and now I just don’t tell them because I know they won’t be happy.

M: My other relatives other than my parents don’t even say anything. I don’t know if they ignore or don’t say anything.

K: My family is pretty chill, usually my grandparents will be like “That’s really cute”.

M: Yeah, I feel like my grandparents don’t care.

Do you believe any of your tattoos categorize you into a group?

K: I have a “male tears” tattoo and I think that one will get me a little bit grouped. A lot of other people comment on that one.

That’s definitely one where people go, “You hate men” and I’m like, “No, that’s not the point.” I do have a horror themed leg and I think that people sometimes thinks that makes me a little weird.

M: I do have my Junji Ito [manga horror artist] arm that I’m working on and I don’t know if that really groups me since not a lot of people know of Junji Ito so it’s not – I guess it would.

So I guess manga horror groups.

Do all of your tattoos have a personal meaning? Do you believe that tattoos can just be body art?

K: Definitely not all of mine have a deep meaning. Usually it’s just something that I like combined with just liking a piece of art. I have a bat eating a peach which is objectively just a picture but also it’s my favourite animal and my favourite fruit so it’s a little personal but also I just liked the artist and the art.

I do have two by Madison, so that’s personal. They are mostly just body art for me.

M: Same for me, they visually look good. When someone comes in for a consultation – I had someone ask me if one of the artists at my shop’s previous neo-traditional Asian stencils on the wall had a certain meaning. I was like, “I don’t know”.

It’s really hard to say between one piece and another. They might have a personal meaning for the client and they might even have a personal meaning to the artist but they probably don’t. It was just very strange to me because not everything has to have a meaning. A painting by Pablo Picasso can just look good, it doesn’t have to have a deep background.

K: I did just get on the weekend a tattoo of May flowers, which are the provincial flower of Nova Scotia where I’m from, so I guess that one is pretty personal.

Have you ever noticed yourself conforming to a certain environment/social setting?

K: Sometimes when I first get a tattoo I cover it up for a while.

Sometimes at a family function but definitely at a job interview but I don’t think it’s purposely to cover my tattoos but more how I dress for a job interview. It just happens naturally. I guess I would probably cover them up if it was a big corporate interview but for the most part I just think it happens naturally.

M: I feel like my piercings – the fact that my ears are spaced leads people to believe that I probably have tattoos. I don’t purposefully cover them up but I like to wear tights with a skirt. I just like wearing more clothes than less clothes.

Have you ever had an experience either positive/ negative that stemmed from having tattoos?

K: You get compliments and comments on them. I get a lot at work especially with my male tears tattoo. People think it’s funny and we’ll talk about it. I like that it’s a conversation starter. It’s cool when people ask you about advice about picking an artist or healing.

M: I was sitting in my dentist’s office one time and I think that she saw that I had tattoos and got up and left. She sat down and then looked side ways at me and then she stood up and moved.

“It’s a conversation starter”

K: I definitely get it in the summer in shorts and all my leg tattoos are showing. Old people will stare at me in the subway – that’s pretty common. Very rarely it will be someone younger and if it is you can almost always tell that they are just trying to find what it is.

M: I get a lot of comments at the dentist office but that is also because my uncle is my dentist. All of the people who work there have known me since I was a small child so they will mention it.

Would you consider yourself to be a part of a deviant culture (departing from usual or accepted social standards)? Do you think any of your tattoos could link you to a deviant culture?

K: I think so. If people see a skull on my leg, they have a minute of “Oh, I thought you were 12.” I definitely get the male tears a lot - that one is going to be under fire a lot. Also, a lot of older people will give me lectures about. Not younger people but older people definitely think I’m not a good person sometimes because of it, not that it would make a difference.

M: I get a lot of weird compliments on my Kirie piece from Uzumaki. She’s a lady on my arm but she has 4 eyes so she’s supposed to be kind of spooky. This middle-aged lady said, “That’s really beautiful, is that you?” I thought it was weird.

Sometimes kids will see it and be like, “Why does she have 4 eyes?” They will think that it’s creepy or they will just move on.

K: I’ve had a good 10 people say they liked my male tears tattoo.

“I grew up with people having tattoos were associated with gangs, violence, drugs, alcoholism and they hate the government.�

Buddha Meet Buddha - a man as friendly as him name. Currently working on his autobiography and coffee table book, this 57 year old had lots to share about his own temple - his body.

What was your first experience with tattoos? When you viewed those tattoos, what came to mind?

At the time, I was very young and I was very gay. I got a 2-inch unicorn at a tattoo shop on Queen St. Hardwood floors, there was garbage, the tattooist was a very large white male with a gret beard, leather vest, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looked like he was out of a biker club. The shop was not the greatest compared to today’s shops. I went in to have this little unicorn tattooed on my ass and it was $32 plus $10 because he had to lock the door. This was scary and there was a counter across the front and I had to lay across it, there was nothing like today. I was more scared afterwards because after I left I was thinking about the health reasons but by then it was too late. I think I was about 22 years old.

Were you raised to see tattoos in a certain light? Do any parents/close relatives have tattoos?

I believe that one of my uncles had one on his chest but I can’t remember too much because it has been a long time since I have been around my family. I grew up with people coming around our place and they had tattoos and I always thought that people with tattoos were drug dealers, in a gang or in the Army so I thought that meant bad people got them.

After you got your first tattoo did you receive negative feedback from anyone?

I didn’t tell anybody because I didn’t want anybody to know it was a unicorn. Even my loud friends didn’t know. People know now because I tell the story when I do public speaking about the comparison of where tattooing was in the late 80s and 90s compared to today. Mostly I get great feedback from people, sometime it’s a smile and approval nod of the head, some people are very curious about whether or not it hurt and where did it hurt the most. It is very rare that I get a negative response and when I do I address it very firmly and make it clear.

Do your parents/close relatives know about your tattoos?

When I moved down to Toronto I had told my parents and my brother and sister about them and they did not seem to mind at all. Of course my mother did not like the idea and my dad said, “If it makes you happy and you’re not hurting anyone then all the power to you.” But at that time I only had the unicorn and the UPC code. Later came the big ones and also Facebook started so I shared pictures of my tattoos online and then the family found out. The only one who really knew about the first two tattoos was my brother and my brother didn’t care – he said if it makes you happy and says who you are then do it; and besides I did not really care about what others thoughts about what I do.

Does he have any?

For the first time 2 years ago, he came to visit and we went to get his first tattoo. He understood what it’s like to get a tattoo, what it’s like to think about it, and where to go. I took him to a shop that was not good and then took him to a shop that was really good and showed him the comparison. I took him to somebody I knew.

Do you believe that any of your tattoos would categorize you into a group?

No and yes. The tattoos that I have are considered as a tribal group where their tats are designed specifically for them, so it’s original art work and no one person will have the same tattoos.

These types of people get them for maybe a right of passage, or to mark something in the life, or they want to decorate their body taking ownership and they can have a very deep meaning to them. For me I wanted something different and that was designed specifically for me. I also wanted to break a couple of social taboos. One of them was that men do not get tattoos of naked men on them and out where everyone can see them.

You never hear of a guy getting a guy tattoo out in the open. I also wanted to show people that just because I have a tattooed face and head that it does not represent bad or evil people. I’m stepping over the boundary and saying “No, that’s not the way it is anymore.” When I tell them about my volunteering and fundraising and about my Buddhist practice it changes the way they think about people like me and the next time they see someone with tats on their face and head that they may be a really nice person. I know a great number of people who are wonderful to know.

Do all/any of your tattoos have a personal meaning? Do you believe tattoos can just be meaning art?

Absolutely – all of them do. I was taught by my tattooist at the time that you just don’t get them for decorations. It has got to say something about you, it has to mean something about you – not too you – but about you. Before he even started, he would ask what it would mean to you. That’s where I was led in terms of getting tattoos.

Do you ever notice yourself conforming to a certain environment/social setting?

Absolutely not. If it’s on your face and your head – you can’t hide it. There are out there and even the ones that show penises, I still don’t cover them. The only time I cover them is if there are children around. That’s not because they’re bad but because of what they are taught at home.

Have you ever had experiences that were either positive/ negative that stemmed from having tattoos?

I was at a coffee shop on Yonge St. having a coffee outside minding my own business and I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there was this old lady – she must have been around 80 years old and she said “I hate tattoos. I despise them, my husband had them and he died with them. But yours are beautiful, I can’t believe you did that on your head and face, that is so beautiful.” We kept on talking and she said, “This has really changed my perception” and I told her that she grew up thinking tattooed people were bad but just because it’s a tattoo and with a bad person. She walked away happy and I walked away happy.

The other positive story is that I was at Ikea in my wheelchair and there was a mother and a little girl – maybe 5 or 6 years old – a couple tables down. She kept looking at me and I ignored her for a bit and I looked over a couple times and I could see that she was making her way over to get a closer look. I looked over at her mom to get her approval and she smiled and nodded yes. She got closer to the next table over and I finally said “Hi, what are you looking at?” She pointed to my head so I invited her over and again, looked at the mother and got the approval.

On my footrest on my wheelchair, I offered her to stand up and take a closer look. She was touching my head, and I could feel her scratching the tattoo to see if it would come off. She then asked me why I would do that. I told her, “My body is mine and I have the right to do whatever I want and decorate my body”. I told her that at Christmas time, you decorate a tree and you celebrate something. I told her that my tattoo was like Christmas all the time and I decorated myself for a different meaning. Her eyes got even bigger. I tried to keep my explanations to her age – that was another good experience.

Each time, I always make sure there is education in it.

“My body is mine and I have the right to do whatever I want�

The negative one, we were at a party and I could see this guy and his girlfriend looking at me. People always look at me, when you have this stuff on your face and head, you can’t help but notice people looking at you. He kept looking over and his girlfriend was getting him to stop. He gave me a deeper evil eye, and I went straight up to him and went, “Do you have a problem with me?” He said, “I hate people with tattoos”, and I said “You know what? That’s funny because I didn’t ask you for your opinion.” I then turned and walked away and he learned his lesson and left. That’s how I deal with that, I didn’t ask for his permission or opinion.

It’s like 150 good to maybe 1 bad experience. 150 is just minimum, it’s a lot more all the time.

Would you consider yourself to be part of a deviant culture or deviant past? Do you think any of your tattoos could link you to a deviant culture?

No. Going back to deviant – I broke the first rule: Men don’t get tattoos of naked men on themselves. I could be considered deviant because I went to the extreme by having my head and the sides of my face tattooed. They are Tibetan Mandela wheels and a lot of the decorations are from temples from around the world that I put onto my temple – my body. I guess you could say that it’s deviant; it’s a very shady area for me. I don’t see it as deviant because I decorated my face and head with a tattoo that represents me and my beliefs.

If you could pick your favourite tattoo, what would it be?

I would have to say, even though my head is a statement, the ones on my calves are a combination of 6 years of fundraising that my tattooist has added to each year. I ended up with 3 tattoos on one calf, and 3 on the other. I also have a UPC (universal product code) code on my calf where the numbers are my birthday. I did that because I saw an article about how people view each other sexually as meat. They had this big UPC code across their face, chest, and arms and I decided I wanted something like that. I have calves of steel and I decided I wanted a UPC code. This one artist, Daemon Rowenchild, has done 8 out of my 12 tattoos now.

Are you planning to get more?

It’s a disease – once you start, you can’t stop. Anybody who gets a tattoo will tell you the same thing. Even the pain that they can be sometimes, you just have to remind yourself that pain is superficial. When I started with the big tattoos, I didn’t realize until the second tattoo I got that I was going to continue. I got a second man, then I got the idea that I wanted to represent the 4 elements because I’m Native and Buddhist. I wanted 4 men, each one representing each element and then I got on my ass, the size of my hand, the sun and the moon. The moon is the one that covered up the unicorn.

“It’s a disease once you start, you can’t stop.”

Randalin Meet Randalin - the name was a birthday gift to herself meaning a viking queen. This 40 year old has an impressive resume; she is currently a social service worker specializing in concurrent disorders (mental health presenting with addiction issues). She also specializes in harm reduction and is a personal support worker specializing in Alzheimer’s and palliative care.

On top of that, she is also a peer support specialist meaning that she counsels people from lived experience. Even more amazing - she used to be an embalmer, which most people would call a mortician.

Around how many tattoos do you have?

It’s hard to quantify. I never intended to get this many, but depending on how you want to quantify it – at least 60% of my body. I’ve probably been tattooed several hundred times and if we are talking hours – hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours.

What was your first experience with tattoos? When you viewed those tattoos, what came to mind?

I can pin point exactly the first moment that I saw a tattoo.

I was born in 1977 and throughout the 80s and 90s I used to go downtown with my dad all the time. We would go record shopping on Yonge St. and I remember it was a day late in 1980; so I was about 4 years old. I was downtown at Sam The Record Man with my dad and I saw a group of goths and punks standing outside and there was this beautiful woman with long black hair and she was wearing a leopard coat, black lipstick – basically what I look like now. She had tattoos and her friends had tattoos; and I remember going up to her and tugging on her jacket and going, “Oh my god, I want to look just like you when I grow up.”

At the same time, my father collected National Geographics so I was very interested from an early age learning about other cultures and specifically body modification. I began reading about scarifications and brandings, neck stretching, ear stretching – and I’ve had a keen interest in it ever since then.

Were you raised to see tattoos in a certain light? Did you grow up with close family who had them?

Most of my family lives in the US; I’m a duel citizen. My brother and I were born here. I only recently met a lot of my family in the US and they are all completely covered with tattoos. One of my uncles is a tattoo artist, so it turns out I’m not really the black sheep out of the family. Growing up, I got my first tattoo at 14 and I had to hide them until I was about 18 because my mom used to say, “Tattoos are only for 2 types of people: Whores and sailors”. She instilled that notion in me and said, “If you ever get a tattoo, I’m going to personally rip it off.” It was something that I had to hide but now, fast forward 26 years from my first tattoo, and my mom is super proud of them and she shows people pictures of them. As soon as I got her name tattooed, she kind of let up a bit.

What was your first tattoo? What was the process behind it?

I always new that I wanted to be tattooed and I wanted it done as soon as possible. When I was 14 years old, in Scarborough where I grew up, some of my friends actually made a tattoo gun out of a Walkman battery, pen, and guitar string. I just wanted a couple of cat paw prints, I thought it would be cute.

I put it right beside the pubic area so no one could see it. In the end, I only actually got one little tiny paw prints and it still looks just as good today. The same day I ended up also getting a huge 6 inch tribal piece on my hip. It wasn’t super planned, but I don’t regret it at all.

“Tattoos are only for 2 types of people: whores and sailors�

After your first tattoo, did you receive any negative feedback from close family/friends?

Not so much from friends, most of my friends grew up with me in the goth scene in the 90s so tattoos are a very acceptable thing to that group of people. At first, my mom wasn’t very happy. My brother and I are completely opposite. Him and his wife have been vocal about not approving of the way that I look. It was mostly negative feedback from strangers back in the day. I would be walking down the street and somebody would just yell, “fucking freak” or “fucking weirdo”. I’ve noticed that it has changed a lot of the years – how the public reacts.

Do you believe that any of your tattoos would categorize you into a certain group?

My tattoos are extremely varied in what they are; it’s a balance between colour and black work. I think it’s very difficult to categorize me into one specific category. I would say that some of them have a very gothic tinge to them. A lot of them are cultural; different gods and goddesses. The most prominent work that I have has to do with Norse mythology; Icelandic magic, the Icelandic language which I’ve been studying. I’ve been going in a much more Nordic direction and most of my future tattoos – I’ve been saving my back for a specific piece.

Do all your tattoos have a personal meaning? Do you believe tattoos can just be for body art?

With tattoos and myself, It’s one of 2 things: I either come up with an idea that I think is amazing and I need to get it done that day, or they’re tattoos that I’ve thought of for a long time. I really own about 2 or 3 that are purely aesthetic – For example, the tribal on my legs are supposed to go with the contours of my body. Those are just purely for looks, no meaning behind them whatsoever. The other 98% of my tattoos not only have a meaning but most of them have 2 or 3 meanings stuck together into one.

I believe that absolutely they can just be for art. I have met people who just wanted to be covered in tattoos, didn’t care what they were. I believe they can just be for art, but for me a lot of mine are symbols of protection. They are things that mark certain periods of my life, certain experiences. Whenever I travel I also get a tattoo, so whenever I have gone overseas, I’ve gotten tattooed.

Have you ever noticed yourself conforming to a certain environment/social setting?

Not so much these days because social service work is a profession where it’s actually an advantage to have tattoos since your clients find you more relatable.

As a social service worker, I’ve never had to feel that I had to cover my tattoos – I’ve actually gone out of my way to show more of them. In certain jobs I’ve had in the past; for example being a personal support worker, all of my clients were older adults, many of them over 80 years old. I did get a bit of razzing from some of my clients. The only really negative experience I had as a personal support worker was working with holocaust victims. For a lot of them, they have the tattoo on their arm; that would be triggering for them so I couldn’t work with those specific clients. The only other job that it was an issue was in funeral services because being a funeral director or embalmer is one of the last super conservative jobs out there and you can not have any visible tattoos showing. At the time, I didn’t have any tattoos on my face or hands and I was aware that once I tattooed my face and hands that I would never would be able to go back into that business.

Would you consider yourself, or in the past, be a part of a deviant culture? Do any of your tattoos link you to a deviant culture?

I have tattoos on my face of Nordic symbols and those symbols have been misinterpreted by folks as meaning something else.

I’ve gotten a negative reaction from that, I also have some Pagan tattoos so I have gotten a negative reaction due to those.

As far as deviant culture, back when I first started getting tattoos; I was in the goth and fetish scene. Certainly, the fetish scene at the time was seen as a more deviant culture than it is today. I don’t have any specifically fetish linked tattoos but I personally never saw it as deviant.

What is your favourite tattoo?

Usually the most recent tattoo that I’ve gotten. Right now, some of my favourite tattoos are actually some of my smallest tattoos. I would say that my favourite right now would be the Nordic symbol on my face, beside my right eye. It’s done in a very special way where it means something completely different when you look at it as opposed to when I look at it.

The name for the rune is “jera” which means year. It symbolizes peace, harvest and harmony in your life but I have the tattoo purposefully inverted so when you look at it, it means strife and calamity; it kind of means to stay away from me. When I look at in a mirror, it’s facing the right way around. No one else knows what it means but me.

Any last thoughts?

It’s becoming, and I’m glad to see this in my lifetime, not only completely socially acceptable to have tattoos but it’s more welcome in various careers and it’s become more accepted. I just noticed a big difference from 20 years ago when I had very large visible tattoos to now; whereas back then, most of it was negative attention – people calling you names, staring at you.

Even though I’m very heavily tattooed, I don’t actually like a lot of attention. I look, dress, and get these just for me. But now, it’s a lot of positive attention. I very rarely get a negative reaction out of somebody, most people are very curious and they just want to know what they mean and why I got them.

Often when I see somebody looking at me, I’ll just ask them if they want to ask me a question. Children especially – absolutely love it.

“When I dream, I do not have a single tattoo and when I wake up, I am so goddamn relieved that they are all still there.�

Maythe Meet Maythe - a 24 year old who works at a non-profit organization, where they advocate on behalf of documentary makers across the country. She is trained as an anthropologist and archeologist and has around 15 tattoos.

What was your first experience with tattoos? When you viewed those tattoos, what came to mind?

I remember seeing them as a kid when I was really little. I grew up in Korea and it was just a bunch of gang members with giant back tattoos of dragons and tigers getting arrested. Back then, I very implicitly associated tattoos with violence and crimes.

My parents very much still hold that view but I grew out of it once I learned more about tattoo culture and what it means to create art on someone’s body, and the amount of artistry and work that go into creating individual tattoos. I guess my first encounter was very scary, a negative experience, but it has changed rapidly since then.

Were you raised to see tattoos in a certain light? Did any of your parents/close relatives have any?

I don’t think that any of my family members do – most of them still live in Korea and still hold traditional Korean values and think that its desecrating to your body that your parents gave you. I don’t think they would ever consider getting a tattoo, and still definitely see them in a negative light.

“I very implicitly associated tattoos with violence and crime�

What was your first tattoo? What was the back story on it?

I think I decided I wanted a tattoo when I was around 16. In my teenage years when I was looking at tattoos online and people around started getting more tattoos and I thought that it could be beautiful and brings out your own aesthetic – especially if you’re working with an artist to choose what you want and get it drawn for your body and fit your skin tone. My tattoos are just a part of my body now. I don’t have a specific story behind my very first tattoo other than that I wanted a beautiful tattoo that’s drawn for me. It is actually quite big, covering my thigh with gardenia and pear blossoms.

After your first tattoo did you receive any negative feedback from close family or friends?

I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t live with them and we rarely see each other. I went to visit them and we went swimming and my mom was like, “Oh my god!”. She didn’t explicitly give me negative feedback but she just commented on how big it was and was asking if it hurt.

Do you believe any of your tattoos would categorize you into a certain group?

I don’t think so – all my tattoos are nature themed. It’s mostly just of things I love, like animals and plants. I don’t have a deep personal story behind every single one of my tattoos.

Do you believe tattoos can just be for art?

I think they can absolutely just be for art; Although, I think it’s been a really contentious topic - there are a lot of people, even those who are really heavily tattooed, who think that there has to be a deep meaning behind every tattoo. I think that’s a bit pretentious.

Have you ever noticed yourself conforming to a certain environment/social setting?

Yes - mostly for job interviews. Even if they market themselves as a liberal, open environment, I’m still kind of wary about openly showing my tattoos. Summer interviews are very difficult. It’s not easy especially given that I’m only 24 and that I don’t have years and years of career experience behind me. I don’t already have my foot in the door, so I feel compelled to hide my tattoos to be on the safe side. Once I get the job, I don’t hide my tattoos.

Have you ever had any positive/negative experiences that stemmed from having tattoos?

I don’t think any stranger has ever been mean to me, in fact alot of them compliment me on my ink. I think a lot of it came from my parents, they are both medical doctors and tell me that I can get hepatitis from getting tattooed. We’ve fought about health issues surrounding tattoos a lot. They are trying to be more accepting, because they probably know that I’m not going to stop getting tattooed.

Would you consider yourself to be a part of a deviant culture or have had a deviant past? Do any of your tattoos link you to a deviant culture?

I have a fox in bondage on my forearm – I’m involved in BDSM communities and wrote my master’s dissertation on BDSM sex toys. In a certain light, I guess that can count as deviant but deviant is such a vague umbrella term that encompasses literally anything that’s not normative - anything that upsets the status quo can be considered deviant, even things like attending a peaceful protest. It really has nothing to do with good or bad; it’s about normative and non-normative, which has less to do with morality and everything to do with power and politics. And even then, some people won’t see certain things as deviant whereas others will. For me, being involved in that community I know that those people are the most normal folks. They have 9-5 jobs, a lot of them have kids, a dog, and a house and live such a normal life outside of that sexual “deviance” that they share. Sure, a lot of people see it as deviant but I have a lot of trouble seeing it as deviant.

Favourite tattoo?

I have a black and grey realistic portrait of my cat on my sternum right over my heart, and he was my first pet I had by myself when I lived alone in Montreal. It gets cold and grey and he’s been such a great friend. He passed away and it was so traumatic. Getting his portrait tattooed on me helped me a lot getting over the grieving process.

“It’s more selfcensorship than what people tell me to do.”

Lora Meet Lora, a 28 year old currently in a law clerk program.

While studying, she also works part time at a parsons and waivers office.

Around how many tattoos do you have?

Maybe 12 – I have my hips done and I can’t tell if I count them as 1 or 2 and then half a sleeve.

What was your first experience with tattoos? When you viewed these tattoos what came to mind?

I don’t know if I can pin point it to a specific time but probably just family members – that would make sense. My uncle has a lot of tattoos, more than me. My step-aunt had tattoos. Since I was probably really young, I probably couldn’t pin point exactly what I thought but probably that I thought they were cool. I always thought my step-aunt was really cool and then the idea of having art that you keep on you.

Were you raised to see tattoos in a certain light? Do any parents/close relatives have tattoos?

My mom has a few, maybe 3 or 4. I don’t think I was raised to see them in any way. My mom had them so obviously she was okay with them. My grandmother really doesn’t like them, it’s everyone’s personal opinion and I just developed my own.

What was your first tattoo? What was the backstory behind it?

My first tattoo story is interesting because it was spare of the moment and a stick and poke because my friends were all doing them. I was 14 and we were bored and I just let them do whatever. It was on my knuckles, I’ve since had that removed.

It said “left” and right”, and I was just bored and everyone else was doing it and I liked tattoos in general. Now I understand why shops have an age minimum. I started removing it when I was 20. I knew that I wanted to get it done but removing them is even more expensive than getting them and you have to do multiple sessions. I was done at 21. I booked a package of 6 and probably cost close to $700. Also, the most painful thing I’ve ever done and would never do it again.

After you got your first tattoo did you receive negative feedback from anyone?

With that one, my grandmother was really not pleased because it was right on my hands and I couldn’t hide it – it’s one of the first things people see.

Do your parents/close relatives know about all your tattoos?

I don’t intentionally hide them anymore; there was a period when I knew that my grandmother didn’t like them so I kept my half sleeve from her for a while because that was the biggest one. When she saw it, she actually surprised me and said that she really liked it just because of what it was and how it was done. Now, I just get them and don’t necessarily mention it.

She said before that she doesn’t mind as long as I don’t people “The tattooed lady” – whatever that means.

Do you believe that any of your tattoos would categorize you into a group?

I do have a lyric tattoo for a certain band – I’m not sure about any of the other ones. I have more complicated feelings about my lyric tattoo now because the band, Brand New, has been my favourite band for 11 or 12 years. With the wake of what’s going on right now with celebrities being outed as predators, there has been allegations of the vocalist so now I’m feeling stressed out because it’s a hard thing to deal with. Something that helped you for so long kind of shatters your illusion – I’m still kind of processing that.

Do all/any of your tattoos have a personal meaning? Do you believe tattoos can just be meaning art?

I do believe that they can just be for body art, I feel like some of mine are just because I liked how they looked. I have one behind my ear that I got with one of my best friends who I met in middle school. It’s mostly just cute but we wanted to do it together so that it was linked to the other person.

I feel like my first professional tattoo had a bit of meaning – my mom actually paid for that one as a Christmas gift. It’s Betty Boop, I’ve been growing up with get cartoons and I always felt that I would eventually get one that had to do with her. I think most of my others are either that I’m interested loosely in what it is – I have one that is just makeup and my arm is an under the sea theme.

Do you ever notice yourself conforming to a certain environment/social setting?

Sometimes yes, especially because I’ve been working in law mostly. There are some jobs, like my job right now; they don’t really care what you look like as long as you can get the job done. I had one firm where we didn’t even have a casual Friday, which most firms do. In that case, I always wore shirts that covered my tattoos. When I get them, I think about where I’m going to put them as a way to cover them up if I needed to, as I’m thinking of work post-graduation.

Have you ever had experiences that were either positive/ negative that stemmed from having tattoos?

I feel like one negative one that regularly happens, that a lot of women already get, is unwanted attention from a guy.

I feel like a lot of them use tattoos as a way to segway in to a conversation and then be creepy. I feel like that definitely happens a lot more since I’ve started getting more tattoos.

Kids are always interested by it. They are less used to it and if you have a lot of tattoos or different hair, they love it. There was one time that I was on the subway going to work and my hair was purple and I was wearing a skirt with no jacket and you could see all of my tattoos and this girl kept staring at me.

Her mom told me that she just wanted to say that she really likes my hair and my mermaid tattoo. Kids are really pure and that always brightens my day.

Would you consider yourself to be part of a deviant culture or deviant past? Do you think any of your tattoos could link you to a deviant culture?

I feel like it’s hard to answer. When I think of that, I think of people either having negative stereotypes. In that sense, no because as a teenage I know I made life super hard for my grandmother and was constantly getting into trouble – but at that point, the only tattoo I had was my knuckles. I feel like a lot of people have it in their heads that tattoos make it hard to find a job or that you must be somebody who parties a lot. I feel like that’s not the case. A lot of my tattoos are feminine and use bright colours and pastels, whereas I feel like if someone was to look at somebody that had skulls and “darker” tattoos – they might be more prone to make a negative assumption.

If you could pick your favourite tattoo, what would it be?

There is one I got a few weeks ago that I really like, but I also really like my half sleeve because it took me a long time to do and I spent over 5 years thinking about it. I don’t feel like I have one over-lying favourite.

“if someone was to look at somebody that had skulls and ‘darker’ tattoos – they might be more prone to make a negative assumption”

Thank you to Madison, Kaylie, Buddha, Randalin, Maythe, and Lora - many who I didn’t know before these interviews.