Breaking the Glass Ceiling – Female Tattoo Artists

In the late 1800’s, tattooing was starting to become more mainstream. It wasn’t uncommon for sailors or seafarers to have tattoos at this point in time. They are credited with bringing the art form home after observing various indigenous cultures in their travels. However, many people still viewed tattoos as taboo. In it’s infancy, some believed that only sailors or criminals had tattoos.

Women faced even higher scrutiny at this time. Female skin that was inked were considered scandalous and improper, some even went as far as to call them lady’s of the night. That didn’t stop some women from taking interest in the art form.

America’s First Recorded Female Tattooist

In the early 1900’s, tattoos were a common sight at side show attractions and freak shows. Maud Stevens was a skilled aerialist and contortionist at one such attraction when she met Gus Wagner. Augustus ‘Gus’ Wagner was the self proclaimed “most artistically marked up man in America” (Gus Wagner | Tattoofilter, 2020) at the time. He had traveled the world as a merchant seaman and returned to America covered in tattoos from the cultures he had met along the way. Gus went on to do tattoos, using the same ‘hand poking’ methods he had learned on his journey even with the recent invention of electric tattoo machines. Gus agreed to teach her to tattoo, in exchange for a romantic date. Maud is acknowledged as America’s first female tattoo artist, helping to pave the way for many more female artists.

Apo Whang Od

The Philippines are lush with culture, dating back thousands of years. Many subgroups held special regard to tattooing, as they

often symbolized a rite of passage or life accomplishments. Apo Whang Od was born in 1917 in the Kalinga area. Her father was a masterful tattooist that used the traditional practices of the Butbut people, called mambabatok. At 15 years old, she learned the skill from her father – it was very uncommon for females to tattoo at that time and region. She works by securing long thorns to a reed or piece of bamboo, and then manually taps hand mixed ink into skin to create traditional designs. since her humble beginning, Whang Od is now world renowned and acknowledged as one of the first female mambabatok of the Philippines. Whang Od is still in practice to this day, so she is also the oldest working artist at 103 years old.

UK’s First Prominent Female Artist

With the end of WWI, many European countries were beginning to adopt different cultural norms. Many young men got symbolic tattoos during their military

service, but soon it wasn’t just men. Young Jessie Knight came from a hearty lineage of male tattoo artists. At the age of 17, her father began teaching her the skill. Knight went on to continue her lessons from the famous Charlie Bell Sr. Knight’s career began in a time period known as ‘the dark ages’ of tattooing. Many people still held tattooing as a stigma reserved only for the deviants and heathens of society. Knight’s own husband did not approve of her profession, but it was her life passion. She opened and operated her very own tattoo parlor during the midst of WWII, where she tattooed soldiers and civilians alike. Jessie Knight is coined as a pioneer in the industry and Britains first professional female tattooist.

Lubitz, R., 2020. The Untold Story Of The Badass First Female Tattoo Artist In The United States. [online] Mic. Available at: <https://www.mic.com/articles/145315/the-untold-story-of-the-badass-first-female-tattoo-artist-in-the-united-states> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

Tattoofilter. 2020. Gus Wagner | Tattoofilter. [online] Available at: <https://www.tattoofilter.com/artists/guswagner> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

Bell, C., 2020. Biography: Maud Wagner – Tattooist – The Heroine Collective. [online] The Heroine Collective. Available at: <http://www.theheroinecollective.com/maud-wagner/> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

Preston, D., 2020. 10 Female Artists Who’ve Changed The Tattoo Industry–Women’s History Month. [online] Tattoo Ideas, Artists and Models. Available at: <https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/tattooartist-womenshistorymonth#:~:text=Maud%20Wagner%2C%20born%20in%201877%2C%20was%20America%27s%20first,tattooers%20and%20tattoo%20attractions%20in%20the%20sideshow%20scene.> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

Barnes, S., 2020. 102-Year-Old Tattooist Is Keeping An Ancient Philippine Tattoo Tradition Alive. [online] My Modern Met. Available at: <https://mymodernmet.com/whang-od-tattoo-artist/> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

Dawson, R., 2020. Jessie Knight: Britain’S First Female Tattooist. [online] Tattoodo. Available at: <https://www.tattoodo.com/a/jessie-knight-britains-first-female-tattooist-150026> [Accessed 25 November 2020].

macherito