Tattooed women are definitely fetishised. Like the whole "tramp stamp" thing. The lower back is a FANTASTIC piece of real-estate!

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Omg yes this!!

@Kakmanmartinez666

2 жыл бұрын

I've always wanted something on my lower back bc, hey, free real estate! But I was worried about people saying it's a tramp stamp and that I'm trash for getting it. I have loads of other tattoos tho, so my placement literally shouldn't be any issue. People are just buttholes. I will get one now lol.

@tdelioncourt1268

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not even tattooed and have been asked out of nowhere if I had any, because my hair was blue at the time. People are werid lmao.

@notsaying3745

2 жыл бұрын

I look forward to someday getting four chickens there

@christinanull2435

2 жыл бұрын

I have a lower back tattoo, I got it when I turned 18. I am now 33 and still love it. But my mother and sisters, anytime they see it the only thing they say is... " I bet you regret getting that tramp stamp!" and they'll laugh and be really rude about it. But, I absolutely do not regret it. If I didn't think it was beautiful i wouldn't have had it done. but, i will admit that it does hurt my feelings when they say things like that to me.

Trans guy here. I’ve walked through the world both being perceived as a tattooed “woman” and a tattooed man. I can say it is very different. Before I transitioned, I’d get weird looks and sometimes comments from people about my tattoos, usually from men. Now, I get a lot of “love your tats bro”, etc and never the weird comments/looks I got before I transitioned. I was fortunate to be tattooed pre-transition by an artist who was never like the ones in this video. The most he ever said about my body was how he wanted to adjust the stencil so the tattoo would flow better with my muscle definition on my arms and that’s how it should be. The only pictures he ever takes with someone showing underwear/partially nude is if the piece requires it and then it’s the same poses for men and women, nothing like the crap these guys are posting. As you said, the art should speak for itself in the pictures/videos.

@Fightingsquidtattoos

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your unique experience

@Itri_Vega

2 жыл бұрын

Another trans guy here, did muscle growth from testosterone/working out distort your tattoos much? I will start T soon and am trying to figure out how long i should wait until I get tattooed.

@transnightwalker7973

2 жыл бұрын

@@Itri_Vega It hasn’t affected mine. Really if you have any definition when you get tattooed, the artist should be able to set the tattoo based off that I would think. Im not the best to ask because I haven’t bulked up on testosterone. Thanks to the pandemic and other stresses I’ve put on a lot more fat than muscle since transitioning but I can say going that way it hasn’t affected my tattoos at all to lose that definition. I would just make sure they don’t line up something like a face along any strong lines in your muscles and you should be fine. For example, the tattoo I referenced my artist lining up is of a banshee and her face is on the outside of my arm where the muscles never get super cut. It was the lines of her hair he was trying to line up with my tricep so when I have more definition it looks like her hair is flowing with my muscles and not against them.

@Itri_Vega

2 жыл бұрын

@@transnightwalker7973 Thank you so much!

@sarahwithstars

2 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear your tattooing experience was positive, even if your life as a tattooed person has not been free of objectification xxxxx

Lauren, this is such an important discussion. I am glad you decided to speak against this disgusting behavior. All people have a right to feel safe and comfortable!

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much my love 💖

@alexkillagain1638

2 жыл бұрын

the woman have agreed to be filmed, you do know that, they can say no. disgusting have you fucking been to a tattoo convention or to a female shop they are sexual as fuck. half them around in nearly nothing at conventions.

@profaneinthemembrane6301

2 жыл бұрын

Yet these same girls be having onlyfans lmao. Women love being objectified, when it’s on THEIR terms 🥱

I've met multiple women with half-finished tattoos because the tattoo artist made her uncomfortable or tried to negotiate sex as payment for the work. It's honestly so predatory

There’s a tattoo artist local to me who posts the creepy sexualized pictures. He had a really public falling out with this apprentice and she posted about how uncomfortable he made her and how often he said if she wanted to succeed she needed to accept sex sells. He got dragged in google reviews so he took down the shops page and is apparently moving to a new state. Former apprentice opened her own shop with her girlfriend.

@paoladoman9150

2 жыл бұрын

Ah.... I love happy endings like this one 🤩

@strider260

2 жыл бұрын

Good for her. I hope she goes on the live her best life

Minor here(turning 18 in a month). I was searching for a tattoo artist to do my first tattoo and as everyone these days found someone on Instagram. I followed him(a guy, it was his professional account, focused only on his work), because I really liked his style. After a few hours he followed me back and started flirting with me from his PROFESSIONAL tattoo account 😃. Now I'm looking only for female artists just because I don't think I can trust a male touching me after this ;-;

@lilscenechick1995

2 жыл бұрын

That's really inappropriate and disgusting. I'm sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately 18 is the age where predatory men target you, especially online if your age is on display. Please stay safe (and don't use dating sites, trust me you're not missing out lol) ❤

@tk-im9vn

2 жыл бұрын

honestly ill probaly do the same thing and go to a women's tattoo shop. whatever you get is going to look so good thoo

@jnieve9350

Жыл бұрын

Take screenshots and report!! Even though police won't be able to do anything about it this time they'll be aware of this guys potential as a paedophile. That kind of thing should be on their record

@Ixc795

4 ай бұрын

Ewwww ! You were not even 18 yet, and I bet he was way older.. 🙄 predatory and disgusting pedo! I hope you found a good artist who gave you the tattoo and experience you wanted ^^

It's the way these men make women feel like slabs of meat... it's disgusting, and anyone who doesn't see how wrong it is with this extreme sexualisation of women, is part of the problem. Thank you Lauren! this topid can never be brought up enough.

@profaneinthemembrane6301

2 жыл бұрын

Yet these same girls be having onlyfans lmao. Women love being objectified, when it’s on THEIR terms 🥱

@Shelldrakeaus

Жыл бұрын

I feel this is the same with how the artists on ink master talk about their clients. It's very slab of meat sort of thing

you mentioned it but I feel it's important to emphasize: *_a tattoo artist has no business posting pictures/videos of clients like that, regardless of how the client feels about it._* a client could ask for a photo to be taken in poses like these for themself, but that should *_NOT_* be the one posted by the artist. even if there was zero potential harm, it would still be _incredibly_ unprofessional. add back in the potential abuse aspect, and it's absolutely inexcusable.

@XmadonaX

2 жыл бұрын

I feel like artists who take such kind of pictures excuse themselves by calling it artistic choices and saying the client agreed to do such posses

@lilscenechick1995

2 жыл бұрын

@@XmadonaX Yep. Using "artistic expression" to defend the sexual objectification of women is a very common thing.

I just want to say thank you for addressing the 'not all men are like that' comments right off the bat. It always rubs me the wrong way when people bring up "Well I'D never do that" as if they're accomplishing something. Like you said, you shouldn't brag about being a decent person. And yes, not all men are like this. But having people focusing on "Not all men do /blank/", it almost seems like they're burying the lead on the actual issue. Like they'd rather campaign for the ones who aren't, instead of stamping out the ones who are.

@alexlio

2 жыл бұрын

Yess!!!! 100%

@nataliepaad1869

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely. Of course, not everyone in any group will behave the exact same way. When they lead with that, it sounds like they're immediately taking offense and hijacking the conversation to make it about themselves. Why get defensive if you don't participate in said behavior?

My friend/boss/artist has told me horror stories about male clients or a clients boyfriend. I've never been tattooed by a male tattoo artist for 2 reasons. 1: I want to support woman in a male predominate career field. 2: I've had men tell me that I'm fat, ugly, too loud etc. and then grab me inappropriately. I don't feel super comfortable having a male tattoo artist because of that reason.

@CharliePace1

2 жыл бұрын

I'm searching out women tattoo artists for those reasons too. Plus girl power! 😀

@XxAdamPyrexX

2 жыл бұрын

I’m the same. Supporting women in the tattoo field and I generally feel kinda uncomfortable around strangers, especially men

Absolutely agree with everything, and people that are mad you are the problem. But not only men, women and other people should be ashamed if you're doing things that make others uncomfortable. We need to talk about this kind of things.

@singingwolf8997

2 жыл бұрын

This this this. As a woman, I've personally met more women that made me uncomfortable than men, usually because they think it's fine because we're both women. Like one 'friend' back in school who would always grab my breasts out of nowhere, then laugh about it and act like it was totally normal because 'We all have them'.

@mr.fettesq.7705

23 күн бұрын

​@@singingwolf8997100%.....I'm a Guy, and I've always been physically built well, I'm tattooed and I'm tall. I've been sexualy harassed countless times at my places of work as well as really anywhere...by WOMEN, who thinks it's just fine because I'm a guy and therfore I must want it or be fine with it. I can't stand the stories of all the creepy dudes in the scene doing these things to women. It's pathetic. I just wish this Girl making these kids would calm down on the overt feminist man bashing explicitly l, and open her. Losed mind to the bad behavior of Women as well. There's loads of crazy people. It is what it is. It's certainly not specific to men, as I've seen women act and behave just as bad and just as disgusting. And more times then not it's treated as acceptable. Women don't get a free pass on this stuff.

A few years ago there was a huge scandal in the Calgary tattoo scene because an Instagram account began exposing stories of seedy artists (manipulating young girls and other disgusting stuff). Speaking up on this issue is so important to keep others safe.

@lulucanpy3513

2 жыл бұрын

I remember that account

@jessikarabbid4720

2 жыл бұрын

I still find it crazy that the owner of the former Black Owl, opened another shop.

@AVspectre

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this.

sometimes the artist does not even have to post something specific like these weird videos you showed; if you look at their Instagram's all of their clientele has a certain body type and you can quickly see they hand pick the women they tattoo based on their looks. I wanted to get some work done overseas and I noticed not one woman was plus size, all of their pics were pretty much half naked models, I quickly jumped into the conclusion the session would be awkward and I rather not go through that.

I recently found out an amazing tattoo company was near by and asked my friend if they knew about it. Apparently there's constant sexual harassment with co-workers. Rule of thumb - if there's not a women tattooist in the company, there MAY BE a reason why.

The person that did my first tattoo was a massive creep and I’ve heard the same story from multiple people: him using tattoos to basically brand women with how attractive he finds them. When he is tattooing young women,that are under the influence, at parties. (He is also a cocaine dealer) So say, he thinks you’re hot, you get 5 little stars in your tattoo. He doesn’t think so? You get 1 star. And I’ve heard this from multiple people! Luckily, he’s wasn’t massively inappropriate with me. But that experience made me a long while for my next tattoo.

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Oh Jesus Christ that is awful!! 😫

@gloriazaragoza3349

2 жыл бұрын

Terrifying.

@Kakmanmartinez666

2 жыл бұрын

I heard a guy in my town who will do discounted tattoos on who he finds attractive and it's free if you screw him. My friends went to see him and when they messaged him, he told them one price, but in person it was more than what he quoted bc of how she looked.

All my tattoos were done by men but luckily they are all extremely professional. My go to artist literally cropped my boobs and hips out of the pictures he posted of my sternum/underbust tattoo. He apologizes and warns me every time he has to rest his arm on a vulnerable part of my body while tattooing me and he does everything he can to keep me covered. I couldn't imagine an artist fondling and massaging my body like that first video🤮 and if you stand up to them they could permanently ruin your tattoo.

It's a damn shame that this is a constant problem. It's our responsibility to keep calling it out and make them want to not do this anymore - especially us men or masculine presenting people, who can apply more peer pressure to sexist male artists. If we're doing our part to make it known that we won't accept this either then it gives support to everyone else when they make their feelings known. We can - and must - fight this together. Great video, and glad to see tattoo etiquette come back. Have a great day, Lauren! ❤️

@allana1997

2 жыл бұрын

While men shouldn’t be awarded for being a decent human being it’s definitely appreciated when they step in on a women’s behalf, we gotta leverage our privileges to help those who don’t have them, being a white women I always try to say something when people are being racist (so long as it’s safe) because people will listen to me when I call it out rather than dismissing it

Thank you for bringing light to this issue. My friend is a tattoo artist and was assaulted by another male tattoo artist. The culture is fucked. I dread to think what he was like with clients

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

This hurts my soul hearing this. I hope she’s ok 💖

@veneficusveave8522

2 жыл бұрын

@@treacletatts his arse is in prison. Which is pretty rare but thankfully he’s no longer tattooing for the moment. I really think tattooists should have DBS clear certificates or at least any convictions or non cons relating to dv or sexual assault they should not be allowed to be a part of the industry.

Let me start by saying I have had brilliant male tattoo artists but when I was younger my mum got me a neck tattoo for by bday, this was 16 years ago. He said he wanted a tattoo model to advertise his shop and he’d do a back piece for free. I was delighted and I’d pop in the shop to see the design and the conversation always ended up being seedy and I laughed it off (I’d never now but when your young) but then this tattoo had to be done at his house after hours and I just got such a bad feeling about it I backed out. I might have been over reacting but I believe in trusting your instincts.

@lu-cthecynical

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely not an overreaction! Him trying to get you to his place sounds like a bad situation just waiting to happen. You did the right thing walking away, great instincts

Even if these women consented and were comfortable with posing this way (which I hope all of them wholeheartedly were), it still affects other women and men´s behavior towards them. Someone young might see it and think its normal and she can´t say "no". Other male artists seeing that and thinking: oh great idea! and might even show that to their client to proof that others do it to. I think there were even studies where men thought less off their female coworkers just because they viewed sexualized pictures of women before comming into work. So even seeing a sexualized women on a screen, leads to men seeing us as lesser. All this does is normalizing this kind of content and behavior. Especially because these accounts are not specifically made for nude or sexual or erotic purposes, which would let people who aren´t interested in seeing it know to stay away. The sexualization of women is just shoved in what should be showing off art, generating only profits for the men posting it while the women is an annonymous slap of meet, that reminds that in every situation of our lives (even after sitting still for hours and enduring pain) that we should still be pretty and sexy and there is no escape from being viewed as an object. So in my opinion these women consenting to it still doesn´t make it okay to post it and hinding behind the excuse of "being art" or "sexual empowerment". The women are shown as faceless, obedient and not in charge. Even if they felt confident while shooting, it still looks completly like a men´s fantasy. Like Lauren said: Some of these poses hurt to hold, presumably they just have been tattooed. I absolutely feel not empowered or inspired by men posting this content. It makes me feel like I have to be on the lookout all the time and can never relax.

@caturation

2 жыл бұрын

100% agree

Thank you Lauren! I do agree with the issue of not being able to say no. But even if all of those videos and pictures were fully consensual, a tattoo artist should NEVER even think of asking their PAYING CLIENT to do something like that to begin with. It’s so fcking disgusting and I’m so happy that there are platforms like yours that talk about this shit.

I got really lucky with my first tattoo. The studio I went to was very "manly", but everyone was sweet and caring. My tattoo artist only spoke, like, maybe three times during the process (which was great, I hate small tall) to ask how I wanted something to look. But again: I got lucky and it's very important to adress this topic!

Gotta applaud Lauren for bringing up this topic and having a discussion about it. Waiting patiently😌

"You don't get a party for being decent" - Fucking preach !!

As a woman, if an artist posted pictures like this i would avoid at all cost

This is a much needed conversation. Unfortunately as with everything, there's good and bad. My tattooer, is SO respectful, he actually left the last shop he was at because he walked in on an extremely wrong situation. He went to his room, took down and packed up his things, while calling the cops and the client he was supposed to be tattooing and walked out.

@laurenreinhold7266

6 ай бұрын

A king

Im quite uncomfortable with touch, social contact etc. As a "male" i"ve felt quite scared being tattooed, very creeped in some moments, positions. Just thinking of being a woman and another big af layer of anxiety on top of what I experience... maybe im overthinking this but if something touchy or mouthy happens I'd feel VERY uncomfortable, probably sad as well. Might even ruin future tattoo plans and wanting to go for another piece. Basically trauma which can start with a remark

The comparison you made with a hairdresser is so fitting. I had ones a discussion with a male tattoo artist who made primarily sexy photos of his female clients. His argument was that it was “artistic”. I also got a comment from someone, who I think was female, stating that I whit my comment sexualized the body of the female client instead of the artist who took the photo

@sisisi255isis

2 жыл бұрын

This is also quite the interesting take on the matter, thanks for sharing!

I really appreciate this discussion being had. I actually refuse to be tattooed by men due to experience. Mainly them being rough, rushed, being uncompassionate or insensitive, aggressive, shall I go on?

TW: Abuse I'm fortunate that I've never felt uncomfortable during a tattoo session and it terrifies me to end up with an artist that makes me uncomfortable. Kinda related to this video, but on the opposite of the spectrum, there a tattoo event that I've donated to for the past couple of year called Still Not Asking for It. It's a tattoo flash fundraiser and all proceeds go to organizations that deal with sexual and domestic abuse. It happens during the month of June. Maybe you could do a video on it?

If I ever saw anything like this in a portfolio/Instagram profile I would look for a different artist. So far all my tattoos have been done by the same man and its been a pleasant and respectful experience. Honestly its one the reasons I want to just keep getting tattooed by the same person. I have trust issues and anxiety and imagining myself in this situation ...honesty I would probably go cry in my car after I left the studio.

As someone who has issues with being touched by men due to 10 years of trauma, I made the decision to get tattooed for the first time, both male artists. Thank you for talking about this. This has made me feel so much more comfortable about my boundaries and boosting my confidence to say no if these people act inappropriately. Luckily they have passed all of these red flags looking at their IGs!

Not completely related to the topic of the video, but the thing you said at the beginning (for men not to comment "not all men") got me thinking. And I think I have a unique perspective as a trans guy. I think a lot of men may say "Not all men!" because they know that they are not like that, and since they don't understand the experience of being a woman, they just assume that women are over exaggerating. They don't see the sexualization and they don't live it in their day to day life like women do, so when women talk about how common it is it seems like an exaggeration. This is not an excuse, just a reasoning. I like to think about others perspectives

@maddiebear9304

2 жыл бұрын

That's a really interesting point. Ive had many conversations with people who were born male at birth and I hear very often "not all men" but when I have conversations with trans men I NEVER hear it. They always are so understanding and have similar views about this sort of topic as me and other women. I'd never really thought of it before but that's actually really interesting the more I think about it.

@sleeplessinscotland2578

2 жыл бұрын

I totally agree with you there - and there’s also the fact that men aren’t afraid when approached by women, even if they’re persistent and not taking no for an answer men don’t have to worry about being followed out of the pub/club and all the things that could then happen. So, their perspective is a much more jovial it’s not a big deal reaction - I remember explaining this to my husband years ago and he struggled to understand why I would be afraid of something like that happening if a guy is just trying to talk to you and I have no way of knowing that he isn’t harmless and that was exactly my point, I have no way of knowing that a man is harmless or if he’s the type to lose his temper at being rejected and lash out. Of course women know it’s not all men, but we can’t tell which men are and it’s always a risk. Same in tattoo studios - a guy isn’t afraid that a woman will be inappropriate with them (and there isn’t a single excuse for anyone who is towards their client). The fundamental difference will always be that men don’t have the same fear as they know they aren’t vulnerable to women in the way women are to men. It’s sad that instead of listening to women telling their experiences and become someone who actively looks out for the women in his life that they spend so much energy trying to dismiss and belittle experiences that can traumatise women.

@jessicataylor3456

2 жыл бұрын

As a trans girl I have to admit, it was definitely an unwarranted surprised to learn the truth in this over the years.

@Letycs

2 жыл бұрын

As a woman, I personally really didn't appreciate that very abrasive comment she made about men simply saying something like 'holy shit, that's terrible, I could never'. That's not the same thing, at all, as someone going 'nOt AlL mEn' just to discredit the issue. There's no reason to jump down someone's throat for saying that. It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't. Men can't really say anything without being told they're toxic and disgusting like these guys just for existing in the world as a man and I'm kind of over people using the past as a way to constantly shame men who have done nothing to anyone. People shouldn't get to use the shit that someone else did to them against people that did nothing to them or anyone else. Whole heartedly dislike the 'guilty by association' mentality like men are some collective hive mind. They're individuals, just like us women. Hold the individual accountable, not the individual categories that individual is a part of. They aren't a piece of shit *because* they're a hockey player, a mathematician or a man. They're a piece of shit *because* of their words or actions. If this video wanted to highlight tattoo artists that abuse their clients, that's fair, but it somehow got turned into 'only men bad' because a majority of the examples she has are men. There are plenty that aren't men, but we don't talk about that, why? It should be even more important to point out that anyone can do this to you, man, women or other. This is exactly how people get away with mistreating young men, too. Unfortunately this video reeks of 'men can't be victims' mentality and I'm not here for it. I know she acknowledged men aren't the only ones, but that isn't really enough when you go 'well, anyway' and continue to make a 20 minute video about only why men are bad/doing it..

@maddiebear9304

2 жыл бұрын

@@Letycs I think this is an awful way to put it and you missed the point entirely. If women go around with the idea that all men are good until proven other wise then WE WILL DIE, we will be r@ped, we will be assaulted, and miss treated. The video didn't "reek of men can't be victims". Never once did she say that and if she did then drop the time stamp. She was bringing light to the over sexualization of tattooed women with minor undertones of "all men". If I treated men like they weren't " guilty by association" (as you put it) I would've been r@ped last Valentine's Day, I would still be being stalked and allowing someone to START stalking me. I know people's intentions, women are trained to be able to tell when something awful is going to happen because so many of our friends and family and fucking children are preyed upon in many different ways. I understand, to some extent, that it does make some men feel bad when they know they are good people. But most men, who genuinely care about women, DO NOT CARE about the all men thing, they are the change we want to see. They PROVE it. Just like women prove they are good too. And she talked very lightly about women doing the things men did in the video because she probably couldn't find any women doing it, and MEN are the biggest issue. They are the ones over sexualizing women in tattooing, that's why she only talked about men and very lightly on women. I'm sure there are women tattoo artists who have done awful things to men and women alike while in their chair getting tattooed, nobody (not even her) is denying that. So I don't see how that's what you got from the video. The video was of a women trying to protect and warn other women, because I'm sure someone is seeing this video and is realizing they CAN SAY NO to being filmed this way. That this behavior is not okay. You missed the mark

Thank you for talking about such an important topic! I just realized, that when I got my first tattoo on my neck 2 years ago (it was on a convention) the tattoo artist's behavior wasn't okay.. Because the tattoo was on my neck, i had to sit in front of him and he sat obviously very close behind me with his legs wide open, so we had to be very close. But he said things like "...oh yeah, I know you want it that way babe ;) ..." and such "fuuunnny" stuff.. I really laughed at that moment but I dont want to be in such a situation again.

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Ew yeah, that’s not ok at all! So sorry you had to deal with that ☹️💖

@asvanara1645

2 жыл бұрын

@@treacletatts thank you! ♥

There’s a tattoo studio that I follow on IG where I got one of my first tats. Apparently they had a creep there that people complained about. Thankfully I didn’t get tattooed by him. The studio publicly fired him and blasted him and offered free coverups for any of the women who were tattooed by him. Props to the studio.

I got really blessed that my first tattoo experience was at a tattoo studio run by a man and his girlfriend. They’re both very sweet people and I feel so comfortable going there. My sister in law had a creepy experience at another place years ago and I wish I could have been there to defend her.

I’ve luckily never had an inappropriate experience with a male tattoo artist but from my own experience they are much more heavy handed than female artists and it’s much more painful

@sleeplessinscotland2578

2 жыл бұрын

Ouch - that sounds awful. Maybe it’s just hit and miss, I’ve had 5 different tattoo artists work on me, 3 guys and 2 women, the tattoos from the guys are all smaller but hurt a lot more, whereas I’ve got two really big ones from women that I barely felt - one from my shoulder to my wrist and I genuinely barely felt it, I even fell asleep. I don’t mind getting tattoos that hurt really, I’ve yet to have one we’re I was anywhere near close to tapping out, but if I’m going for something bigger I’ll always go to the one woman who I just adore as she’s gentle and her work is beautiful

@honeymoon3645

2 жыл бұрын

THIS IS SO TRUE. Both of my first tattoos were from women and tickled or stung a little bit. I got tattooed by my fiance when he finished his apprenticeship I thought my arm was on fire like wtf 🤣😭.

@mg8278

2 жыл бұрын

Omg yes this is so true!! They’re so much more heavy handed

@sophieschueler5920

2 жыл бұрын

OMG Yes! I try to support women in this industry and have only 1 tattoo from a male artist. My god the scarring is horrible and during the session I almost passed out

@honeymoon3645

2 жыл бұрын

@@sophieschueler5920 SAME I literally saw stars when I closed my eyes I was like wtf is this looney toons!?

I've not seen tattoo artists share these type of lewd pics before, but I've personally experienced male tattoo artists being too gropey and doing the type of "unnecessary undressing" while working on me :/ So recent as last week! (The more I think about our session, the more creepy stuff I remember) This has happened with 2/5 artists. I'll eventually make my own video sharing my experiences. I've been through sexual harassment in the workplace before as well, so at this point I just sort of expect stuff like this to happen and have learned that there's not much you can do about it because it's always word against word and cases with no physical evidence... Makes me so sad, and has definitely put me off tattoos for a good while.

When I was 19 i traveled to a well known tattoo parlor and my artist was tattooing the side of my thigh and my butt was facing him. He got very handsy and started rubbing my butt before he put his gloved hand in my ass before he started tattooing again. I NEVER went back there.

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Noooooo! Ugh I’m so so sorry you went through that! 💖

As someone who has been abused and gaslit before, I have a hard time saying no and feel quite uncomfortable being touched by (cis) male strangers. So I decided not to get tattooed by cis men. I've also wanted to get scarification done for a long time and when I learned that only the male piercer/body mod artist at my local shop does it, I decided not to get it done there. I know he's a good guy, but when he pierced me before, I couldn't stop shaking. When his female colleague pierces me, I sit like a rock. There's just so much fear of being taken advantage of again. I've read so many stories about abusive tattooers, seen so many pictures like the ones you shared on Instagram. I might be limiting myself to a smaller pool of artists, but there's less of a chance of getting a permanent reminder of a bad experience that way. And there are lots of great tattooers who aren't cis men, too!

@sleeplessinscotland2578

2 жыл бұрын

I fully understand all of this. My ex husband was an abusive, nasty, manipulative shit - so much so that I still get nerves if I have to tell my current husband anything he may not like even though he has never and would never abuse me in any way. But it stays with you, I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully shake off the effects of my first husband and I really hate that it still effects me. But, like you, I won’t put myself in situations that I know will make me uncomfortable or fearful. If I’m getting a tattoo or something why would I ever do it in a way that makes an already fairly uncomfortable thing even worse? I’ve only just now realised that I’ve never went to a male tattoo artist alone, I’ve either went with my sister to get matching tattoos (we’ve 2 matching ones) or my husband tagged along - but the female artist I go to I’m more than happy to be on my own with her even though in that studio every artist has their own private room, so technically I’d be more vulnerable than in a room with several artists and their clients. Literally hadn’t even occurred to me until now, weird.

@HonestMagpie

2 жыл бұрын

Your concerns are valid, and I hope you find someone you're comfortable with to do the art you want! Your soul knows the truth of your lived experience. Anyone who would try to change its truth should be eaten.

My most recent tattoo was the best tattoo experience I've ever had. All my tattoo artists have been men at this point and while they haven't all been creepy or weird, a few definitely have. My most recent one however was super cool and easy to talk to and he runs his shop with his daughter. It was the safest and most comfortable I've ever felt while getting tattooed. My first tattoos were when I was 18 and were on a pretty sexy area of my body. That guy creeped on me and on my friend who came with me. I always excused it like "who can blame him? I was half naked" etc but 10 years later I have a completely different mindset. I'm a licensed massage therapist and I touch strangers bodies all day- I would never do anything to make my clients uncomfortable or feel sexualized. In fact, I make a point not to make any comments whatsoever on their bodies. Even something like "oh that's a really cool tattoo" or whatever. I make a point to stay 100% neutral about their appearance so they feel comfortable on my table.

@Froggele

2 жыл бұрын

That‘s really cool of you! I saw this video and immediately had to think of all the other professions that include working with a person‘s body. It‘s honestly insane what you experience sometimes from doctors, physical therapists etc. and I‘m really happy that we are finally starting these conversations.

I think, on a subconscious level, this is partly why I always bring someone with me to get tattooed. No one can fuck with me with a witness!

I remember a tattoo artist who got shut down because he asked a girl to send a photo on Snapchat of the area he was tattooing knowing it was the girls butt and aparantly he does this and brags and keeps them almost like nudes, how creepy..

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Ughhh 😫

No matter what is going on in my life, it’s nice to know Lauren is out there hoping I am doing very well.

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Always ❤️

Not all men sure, but if I gave you a box of maltesers and said one of them is 💩 you would be cautious of them all ✌️

Already applauding at 1:10 so ready for this Lauren

I'm so grateful for my artist and the studio I go to, as I got a vagina tattooed on me and even then no uncomfortable jokes or anything were made. Been to them many times and always go out of their way to look after you. My heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with any of these creeps.

@lilscenechick1995

2 жыл бұрын

I'm very interested in what that tattoo looks like. I've seen the vagina flower design and honestly considered getting it myself

@sewnnotthrown

2 жыл бұрын

@@lilscenechick1995 it's a vulva cupcake from the TV show sex education! It's a cupcake with a vulva on it.

I'm sitting here waiting for my old artist being featured 😂 There is a massive power imbalance. Like you said, when you are your first appointment into a massive piece, you are scared of speaking your mind. You just want to have a good relationship with someone who can change the way you look. You don't want a half finished piece and being scared of anyone tattooing you.

As a plus size person this is why I typically go for female tattoo artists - not only because I appreciate supporting women tattoo artists since it’s a male dominated profession, but because it makes me feel more comfortable and less likely that I’ll be put in a situation where something gross happens. It’s unfortunate, but true.

Great video! I was nervous to get a tattoo because of this. My first tattoo was with a woman artist. And she is so talented. Just a gem. My second tattoo I wanted in color. So I had to go to someone else because she doesn’t do color tattoos. And I was so nervous about it. Luckily, my tattoo artist (who is a male) was honestly so nice. He was just so focused on his job and proud of his work. I’m grateful that both experiences were positive. It sucks that this happens to people.

And there is a distinct difference between objectifying a woman’s body and empowering a woman’s body through tattooing. There are countless posts on Instagram that are flagged for being “inappropriate” when it shows tattoos on women’s breasts that were meant to be something that was empowering for that person. Not to mention the countless posts that are flagged and taken down that show tattoos that were done over mastectomy scars. Tattoos are meant to be something empowering and uplifting, not objectifying and harmful.

In england we need to add tattoo artist to jobs u cant do if ur on the sex Offenders register i dont want no r-ist close to me especially my body

I only go to male tattoo artists if they’re recommended to me by very close queer and/or female friends or if they’re recommended to me by my female tattoo artists, and I’ve been able to avoid these bad experiences. I recommend going by that rule of thumb!

There's a guy in Brisbane who's widely known for tattooing underage girls, sexually assaulting them. Refusing money for tattoos wanting woman to pay in sex. To make it worse he takes fucking joy in scaring these people. I see so many of his tattoos around in the city. Raised, scarred to fuck, people that have these tattoos can't even get rid of them with laser because they're so butchered. Worst part is he's still tattooing and assaulting woman.

@lilscenechick1995

2 жыл бұрын

Wtf? Nobody is doing anything about this fucker?

I'm really glad that I found a professional tattoo studio with very respectful tattoo artists.

when my friends and i all started getting tattoos we went to a local guy who would thank his clients for wearing tight clothing and spend the entire session discussing their body and/or directly proposition them. absolute garbage human.

@treacletatts

2 жыл бұрын

Ughhh 😫 not cool

Lauren, pls do not underestimate your influence. Ofc, one video won't change the industry by tomorrow. But it helps to not normalize this behaviour and shows at least your audience that this is not the norm and it's absolutely okay to say no if you do not want to show your whole body. Because if newbies & people pleaser (I'm one myself :D) only experience half naked sleeve photos online they will be more vulnerable to manipulation & doing it under pressure 7:42 WTF...how does this artist manage it to show more skin & boobs on a sleeve photo than my artist doing a photo of my armpit while i had no bra on and holding both arms above my head (one side of my tattoo is sliiightly on the boob / area where the side of the boob begins...but he chose an angle that gives the impression of a flat area, so you can't tell where the boob starts if this makes sense. You can only see the armpit & beginning of the ribs)

I love tattoos, but I’m feed up with male artists. It’s so difficult to find one, who doesn’t give you the feeling that he is in charge and things will go his way

It’s just appalling that a tattoo artist, someone who is literally going to put something on your body for forever, such an intimate and personal thing, would take advantage of their canvas. Like that’s so fucking low and so disgusting. I’m thankful that all my tattoo experiences, especially with male artists, have been so professional and awesome. Got me riled up on a Wednesday morning 🤜

So good to see you Lauren you are a goddess you are such a good person any tattoo artist male or female that does things inappropriate should be shut down especially if they are re offenders awesome video love you Lauren interesting video

Ever since I was little I have love tattoos but the industry is so toxic. I only have 4 tattoos because I can’t find artists who make me feel extremely comfortable in my area that do style I like. I’m mostly like American and Neo Traditional which as a lot of white males. Usually they don’t know how to tattoo black skin or the are typical macho guys. My goal is to find women artist in my area and style that make me feel safe.

I appreciate this video so much. I have avoided a tattoo artist whose work I really liked because after perusing their instagram.....almost all the pictures were of young thin attractive women in unnecessary positions to showcase the tattoos. It just made me so uncomfortable. I sincerely hope all the women in the photos are happy with their tattoo's and weren't pressured to have photos taken in that way but I imagine that's not the case.

My studio is all female artists it’s a much nicer of an experience than I used to have

My first tattoo was done by a male artist when I was 19. It was by far the most uncomfortable experience I’ve had getting tattooed, but I thought it was “normal” because it was my first tattoo. I’ve only ever been tattooed by women after that and the experiences have been night and day compared to that one male artist.

I am glad that you did this video, because I have the third session on my back piece next week, and I now realize from watching some of those videos of other folks' back pieces that I also need to be mindful as a female client. We got the linework done for my toad in the lower middle of my back during the last session, and it was just placed beautifully, and when I raise and lower my hips in sequence, it looks like my toad is climbing up my back towards my shrikes, which is a very cool effect, and it just makes me happy. (My shrikes also turn their heads and their tail move with my arms and shoulders, which looks really neat as well, and I did do a hey, look at this for my shrikes). I now realize that I should compliment the layout and placement of the different elements of my back piece with my words instead of doing a hey, look at this!, because my tattoo artist is always very mindful to keep me informed about what's going on and ask and wait for an answer if something needs adjusting or he's going to be working near a more personal area, and I do not want to accidentally make him feel uncomfortable by shaking my booty with my top off because my toad is cool and I wasn't thinking about how that looks. It's a great shop, and I feel very safe and comfortable as a client, but I don't want to be acting so comfortable that I am inadvertently making other people uncomfortable, or giving folks the wrong impression of my artist, if that makes sense.

I'm a trans man who got my first tattoo from a woman, who was incredible. Sadly I can't really afford getting tattoed by her regularly because she moves between studios a lot, so I strictly talk to my female or nonbinary friends with tattoos about who they recommend locally to make sure they're both good artists and don't do shady shit.

This is one thing I look for when researching a shop I wanna try out. The Google reviews. If I find someone was being inappropriate or talking crap about the client or tattoo choice, I don't go there. It's great seeing a lot more shops becoming inclusive and open to all sizes, gender identities and have their shop disability accessible. Someday I hope to own a shop like that. I agree with the creepy dudes acting weird around tattooed or modified women. I have weirdos in my messages asking if I have anything naughty pierced. Like, why does it matter? I'm not yours. It's none of your business 🤦‍♀️ it's aggravating. Or people just stare at you like you're the devil or something

What frustrates me about this conversation is the argument over whether sexualizing women's bodies is "appreciating" their beauty (in the artistic sense), or just straight up sexually objectifying and degrading women. If I had a dollar for every time someone confuses objectification as simply admiring a woman's beauty...If it was about the photography and the art (tattoos), why are the poses so overly sexual and lewd? Especially the one where it's a POV like the woman's face could be in someone's lap, and the camera/viewer is looking down on her. Wink, wink... It's just disgusting how casually men sexually exploit and degrade women. And saying "not all men" doesn't solve the problem, you're 100% right and it's frustrating how people try and shut down the conversation with that unhelpful nonsense.

@tagz3924

2 жыл бұрын

go on Instagram and tiktok women are degrading them selves at record numbers

The studio I go to is family run. Brother, sister and their dad. Of course you can choose any one of them, but if you feel more comfortable with a woman artist, the option is there. Plus she has a separate/private room too, which is great. I'm a man btw and agree with everything you said.

One of my favorite male tattoo artists that I go to says "hot is a state of mind not body" and I love that

I’ve never had a bad experience with a tattoo artist tattooing me but the last time I getting tattooed, a conversation came up amongst the other tattoo artists in the studio about trans/nonbinary issues. Except they were talking about it like “people just want to be offended” and “why does everything need to be gender neutral, like parent/guardian on school papers” (which isn’t even a new thing?). But it was very uncomfortable for me as I was the only nonbinary/trans person in the shop. Kudos to my tattoo artist for trying to argue against them a little bit.

This is why as a woman I only go to female tattoo artists now. The tattoo industry, in my country at least, has a very “brodude” / “alpha male” / “tattoos make you manly and tough” atmosphere that I detest. For my first tattoo I went to a male artist who seemed very good at the style I wanted; but when I went to get the piece done at the appointed date and hour he seemed to be seeing the design for the first time. He started doing the stencil when I arrived. He said he was shocked that a girl would get something so large, that he didn’t expect to have so much work to do for this appointment… I had sent him the design several months before this and gotten a price for said piece - but looking back at it now, I probably spoke to an apprentice or someone working front desk who managed their social media. So the guy must’ve just been shown the design for three seconds, said a price, and the third party probably handled the rest (deposit, name, exact date and time). Anyway. So he did the stencil on the spot (stencil printers weren't a thing in my country at the time). And then when he started tattooing I made a noise, and he said something like “yeah, getting tattoos hurts, doesn’t it, kitty cat?” What should be mentioned here is that “kitty cat” is used in my country as a term of endearment for a “silly”, shallow girl. So basically it was a pejorative term in that context. It felt amazing being pigeon-holed as a "silly girl". I was 22, by the way. Fast forward several years later and a friend of mine (she was 25) wanted a tattoo and decided to message ANOTHER guy who had some awesome things in his portfolio. So she messages him on Facebook (she wanted a pretty large piece on her entire forearm) and when he read “forearm”, before even being sent the design, he said something along the lines of “sorry but I don’t have time for girls who want kanji scribbled on their veins”. She got annoyed and instead of sending him the design said “so you’re refusing my business because I’m a woman? You haven’t even seen the design yet…”. And he responds “And there you go! You women just can’t take no for an answer. You think you can cry your way into getting a tattoo from me when I already said no?”… The conversation went on for a while and got pretty heated. I was getting print-screens during all of this and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. So this guy saw that she was a girl and read “forearm” and assumed that what she wanted was beneath him because… he hated women? I wondered if he hated all women or just the ones who were chubbier and didn’t scream “pick me”. Or who didn't look like they'd take kindly to photos of holding their chest in their arms to display a forearm tattoo. Obviously after the initial response my friend didn’t want to give him her business anymore, but now it was personal; so it all resulted in insults and A LOT of generalizations about "women". Of course not all male tattoo artists are horrible human beings; but there ARE a lot of stereotypes and assumptions that they make about their female clients. And to be honest I prefer to never put myself in a potentially uncomfortable position again. Trusting someone with your skin while being in paint for several good hours makes you super vulnerable with that person. So if you take that vulnerability as an opportunity to belittle me or make me feel like a piece of meat, or like I am by default not worth your time because of my gender; I would rather not have anything to do with you in the first place. After my first tattoo I took my business to three female artists with unique styles - neither of which fall into the “brodude” / “alpha male” category of realistic clocks and lions and hands in prayer and realistic portraits of your wife and son. And all 3 of these ladies have made me feel like their equal. Neither of them has made me feel threatened, objectified, or in any way lesser. Neither of them made me feel like the silly little girl stepping into a "man's world". I also know that some men avoid going to female artists because this is a boy’s club after all, and if we can’t trust women to come up with “worthy” designs, obviously we can’t trust them to tattoo either. So… I will always be super happy to give these talented ladies my business and all the praise and positive reviews on my social media accounts. Support your local female artists, ladies. They’re making it in a male-dominated industry where a lot of prejudice and sexism still float around. And more often than not they won’t look at your body and see it as a sex object. And they won’t assume you’re shallow or stupid because of your gender. If you think I’m being sexist, that’s just my response to the sexism I myself have suffered or seen happen 😊

I'm really impressed with how you adressed everything. I once had an older man ask me if I had tattoos in places he couldn't see, with a weird tone. It was a super creepy vibe. Also my old tattoo artist apparently takes home a lot of women he tattoos. When I used to get tattooeed by him, he would also make long phonecalls and chat with his friends a lot. I was just starting getting tattoos and I didn't think much of it. I'm really glad I have a professional and female tattoo artist now. I feel much more comfortable around her.

Thank you so much for this!! My artist who had done all my work is BEYOND respectful and I try to tell everyone I know that the way he treats me should be everyone’s standard!! The more people should expect this from their artist the more change we can make!!!!

Lauren, thank you so much for discussing this topic! It's so important to talk about issues such as this. Love your videos!!💕

This is totally all important and im not undermining anything I just think its important to also note ladies please respect your male tattoo artist too! My fiance is a tattoo artist and so many girls try to flash him, offer you know what for tattoos, and are just plain inappropriate. Tattoo artists are people not sexual objects! Just like their clients are people not just bodies. Respect your fellow human beings and please act respectfully when being tattooed or are tattooing 💖💕.

SO glad you made this video!! I'm still very new to getting tattoos, and have struggled to weed out red flags in artists. Your videos have helped me so much when it comes to looking for reputable artists that I'd feel comfortable with.

I had an artist who, upon hearing me talk about the work I wanted done and hearing that finances were why I hadn't had them yet, suggested there were other payments. I agreed and then ran the hell away.

I'm in barber school and throughout the year we've watched tutorial videos on various different haircuts and chemical services and I shit you not, all the male models in their before and after shots have shirts on but all the women models are shirtless in theirs. It's fucked up.

Thank you for speaking up about this issues, Lauren ❤️ here in Mexico there have been countless cases of tattoo artists grooming and SA ing women, being inappropriate and overall gross, and even though there are Instagram accounts dedicated to denounce these abuse, for the most part the tattooers are not held accountable. We need to keep talking about this issues and believing victims

thank you for talking about this and bringing light to it. I've never had an uncomfortable tattoo experience, however I have been in horrible other situations and have always been worried in case an artist makes me feel uncomfortable. thankfully I've not experienced that, but you've now made me feel a lot stronger about speaking out if they do make me feel uncomfortable, so thank you x

@Erin-sk8gg

2 жыл бұрын

also I'm from Norwich, and in lockdown there were many artists exposed for SA against their clients. I don't think any charges were pressed (as people didn't want to come forward and end up having to go through the court process), but if you manage to find any info about it, I think it would be good to speak about so those nasty artists won't be able to build up a client base elsewhere x

Lauren you are SPOT ON with this video. Comparing it to hairdressers was really eye opening. And clarifying that taking saucy pics of yourself is 100% different from someone else doing so-- thank you!!!

I’m obviously either completely naive, stupid or fortunate or all three because I’ve never experienced this at all. My male tattooist is great and he doesn’t tattoo women alone anyway, always has a chaperone

Thank you, sweetie. Thank you for talking about this. This has actually really opened my eyes massively.

This was an amazing video! Thank you so much for speaking out about this topic. It's super important for people to know how inappropriate this behaviour is! More videos like this 👏🏼

This was such an important video to make - thanks for executing it so well!

this is not an annoying topic it is so important and has to change!

This is a really important topic and it needs to be talked about, I hope more people in the tattoo world will speak up about it too.

This reminds me a lot of a tattoo artist named Jai Cheong. His Instagram pictures speak for themselves

@realta140

2 жыл бұрын

@Doc Manhattan typical male response

@goro_majima98

2 жыл бұрын

Seems he make tattoos only on models with 3DD OR MORE 😓

Super early yay 😁 Feeling very lucky that almost all of my tattoos have been by female artists. Do have one by male artist and he was lovely Hoping I do not encounter anyone who does this 🤞🏻

I got I “Job offer” as a tattooed model. It was to work on a tattoo covention, 2 days in a row from 12 to 18 so 6 hours at least. I would be photographed in lingerie 3 times a day and had to walk around in “Sporty sexy lingerie”. They said they wouldn’t pay me for my “service” but I would receive publicity. This reminds me of this video as well. Oh and they also mentioned that they “wouldn’t enslave their models”. Yeah right…

Amazing video 🥰❤️. This is such an important topic

This may be TMI but the last man that did my tattoo told me it would be 100% free……….if I let him eat my butt🤦🏾‍♀️they will do anything to touch us in a way they aren’t supposed to

@christinanull2435

2 жыл бұрын

that is the creepiest thing i have ever heard! the absolute nerve of him to actually say those words to you! disgusting! I am sorry you had to go through such an uncomfortable situation like that.

I’m a tattoo artist and I couldn’t agree more with this video. It’s absolutely not okay at any point. It’s an honour and a privilege to tattoo a person. If you lose sight of this at any point then the artist loses any respect they ever had and should be removed from the industry. Thank you again.

Thanks for making this video! It's important to make people aware that this is not normal or appropriate.

this is actually super helpful aswell bc i dont think i would of even noticed before if i saw pictures like that while looking at a tattoo artists account on instagram

I feel quite “lucky” that I’ve only ever had positive experiences with male tattoo artists. I have a huge thigh piece that goes up the side of my hip/bum area and I was wearing running shorts, and if my artist needed them to be rolled up or moved out of the way, he would always ask me to do it and only ever when I was comfortable. It breaks my heart that there are male artists out there that do take advantage. Thank you for bringing this issue to light.

That is big - when this video started, I immediately thought about one artist that I stopped following because of picture he posts of his clients - and he appeared in your video. Damn.

Great discussion! This sort of topic far too frequently gets pushed to the sidelines by the same people who perpetrate this behavior. Thank you for your thoughts, and for highlighting the importance of more of us consciously considering what others try to pass off as 'normal' or 'acceptable.'

Personally I have only gotten tattooed by women and probably in the future will only get tattooed by women (with maybe a few exceptions) bc while I know that "not all men do this" I never want to get in a situation where there would be even the slightest chance of any harassment happening, but also I feel like the tattoo industry is still, like you said, a bit of a "boy's club" and I want to support female artists, especially bc in my country so far mostly women do the style that I like (and usually I have followed them a longer time on instagram, so I kinda have gotten to know them a bit better) And actually some of the bigger male tattoo artists In my country that I know have been exposed for harassment and being uncomfortable towards female clientele, and one of them even got exposed of grooming a girl and making their "relationship" public pretty much as soon as she turned 18🤢 And sadly before that he was actually a tattooer I kinda wanted to get tattooed by one day (but now I'm happy I never did)

@minnasaraniemi7158

2 жыл бұрын

And also on the sexualisation thing: I kinda feel like it's the same thing that for example East-Asian women experience due to stereotypes and fetishization (for some reason I could not find how that word is supposed to be written) like that they would be more submissive and demure and pure🤢 but with tattooed women it's mostly just gross people associating tattoos with being a rebel or criminal, so they think that if you're a tattooed woman, you must be wild, you must be a bit freaky *wink wink* which is just gross through and through.