The power of Instagram has undoubtedly changed the face of tattooing in recent years. Like with most things the internet has produced, this has its pros and cons. Perhaps the ideal place to showcase your aesthetic, the social media platform can draw clients and a cult following from around the world. However, stylistic trends are more prominent thanks to the spread of imagery online – meaning what you choose may not be the most original and personal – and the democratic nature of Instagram means anyone and their aunt can call themselves a tattoo artist, to the detriment of trained professionals.
One thing that’s changed for the better, though, is that more women than ever before are tattooing. So what is it like being a woman in the tattoo industry? Of course, every experience is multifaceted and unique. From those who refuse to qualify their work as ‘female’, to the change of pace that comes with becoming a mother, to having customers question your proficiency, there’s no one way for women to navigate this typically male-dominated profession.
We spoke to five talented artists currently owning the field about how their style has changed over time, the impact of Instagram on their career, sexism in the industry, and what they wish you knew about being a tattoo artist.
Hope Plescia-Buchi, co-owner of Sang Bleu
When and how did you first get into the world of tattoos?
Growing up on the West Coast, I was always exposed to tattoos and tattooing. I'd give and receive them in my younger years, but it wasn't until I met my husband (tattoo artist Maxime) that I became really submerged in the culture.
What is it like being a tattoo artist and a woman in the industry?
Being a woman who is so involved in the tattoo industry without being a tattooist is a unique role that I probably only share with a handful of other people in the world. I own two tattoo studios, publish our tattoo magazine TTTism, and co-curate our Instagram pages. I'm constantly meeting new interesting and talented individuals who are often open-minded and offer a great deal of insight and inspiration. I doubt I'd find this rare combination as easily in another work environment.
Have you ever experienced sexism or discrimination in the tattoo world?
I wouldn't say I've faced any open discrimination, but instead deal with a great deal of assumptions and ignorance. I'm addressed in male pronouns online, and when meeting someone new in person, often mistaken for any male standing next to me. People are consistently surprised to learn my roles.
What would you change about the industry?
I'm lucky enough to be enacting all the changes I'd like to see by carefully curating our publishing choices to reflect the world in which I want to live. I find that the way women have been – and continue to be – portrayed in the world of tattooing is almost always as a hyper-sexualised tattooed object to sell magazines, convention tickets, or gain Instagram likes on a tattoo fan page.
Perhaps that's why more women didn't take up tattooing in the past, maybe they read these visual cues as direction for how women can fit into the world of tattooing and rejected the industry entirely. I see many female tattooers trying to work this dilemma out. Some use their sexuality, some completely refrain from posting images of themselves, and some have no idea what to really do about it. When a female tattooer shows herself on social media it becomes much more complicated than a male doing the same thing.
What's up next for you?
We have the second issue of TTTism coming out in autumn, as well as a photography book with Maxime Ballesteros, and the seventh issue of Sang Bleu shortly thereafter.
Tati Compton
Have you always illustrated?
Yes, I've been drawing since I was a little girl. I wanted to be a fashion designer and drew girls every day.
When and how did you first get into tattooing?
When I was 21 I got and gave my first stick 'n' poke. My friends used to do them often and it was pretty common among everyone I knew in San Francisco at the time.
Tell me about the best tattoo you've ever given and why...
Probably an upper back piece on my friend Justin, because it's the biggest one and a little more loose, like the ones I used to do at houses with friends. He has another one that I free-handed of a woman's backside with weed leaves in her hair that might also be my favourite. Brooke Candy has a lot of my favourites too, because she always chooses the best ones and is open to anything that I just draw on.
Do you feel like tattooing is a male-dominated industry?
I feel like the society that we live in is a male-structured and -dominated system – but I don't really pay much attention to it.
What is it like being a tattoo artist and a woman in the industry?
I never cared to be in an industry nor do I care to differentiate myself by being a woman – I regard it as having a great job with likeminded friends.
How has Instagram played a part in your personal brand? Do you like it as a platform?
Instagram started taking off just as I started to make a career of tattooing so it has been helpful. I like it fine but would be completely happy and fulfilled if the internet died.
Hannah 'Pixie' Snowdon
When and how did you first get into tattooing?
Aged 15 I was hired to start a traditional apprenticeship in the small town where I went to college. My closest friends and colleagues then went on to open up their own studio which I worked at with them for a few years, called Holy Mountain Tattoo.
Have you always tattooed in the same style, or has it developed over time?
Bold, black, feminine. It's developed over time and constantly shifts and develops still, I'd like to believe. I'd hope it would continue to.
What is it like being a tattoo artist and a woman in the industry?
Honestly, it's however you spin it. I see and use it to my advantage. I'm a very emotional and sensitive person, I'd like to think I'm in the right kind of job. I have a degree of empathy for the people I'm tattooing and I think it can be important to use and acknowledge feminine energy just as much as the powerful male energy that's necessary when you're tattooing someone. I really take pleasure in creating an experience for someone. With that comes a balance of being supportive and nurturing as well as doing everything in your power to deliver the best tattoo you can for someone.
You have 905k Instagram followers. What do you think of it as a platform?
I do like it as a platform, and I'm grateful for all the people who read my shit because it means that it could be one more person willing to get tattooed by me or be willing to contribute to a worthwhile cause I stumble across and may be rallying for – but honestly in this day and age it's hard not to be somewhat flabbergasted by the attitudes of people on the internet.
I swear, in my day-to-day life I never meet people who so openly project such fear onto others. It's like because it's the internet it's a different set of rules. Everyone passing judgement on everyone else, in a virtual world, instead of spending their time taking real action to support some real positive change. I have the capability right now to do something good for a group of people who are really deserving of it, using my large number of followers – so I may as well give it a go!
What's up next for you?
We're off to Nepal later this year to donate the funds raised from our charity project, Love Shakthi Om, to Raksha Nepal, a humanitarian organisation that works with sexually exploited girls, women and their children.
Sarah Carter Schor
When and how did you first start tattooing?
I started learning in 2006. I approached the owner of the shop initially to do a collaborative art project, and got blindsided by my unexpected interest in tattooing once I started hanging out there. I eventually got the assistant job at this shop and became the apprentice soon after. Less than a year later, I was tattooing full-time.
How has your style developed over time?
I’ve been tattooing for over 10 years, so naturally it's progressed in that time. When I started apprenticing, I just wanted to absorb traditional Western and Japanese imagery like a sponge. I also did a lot of walk-ins which helped my tattooing immensely. When I began, I was way more conscious of refining my basic drawing and tattoo execution than I was about pushing my own style. I worked predominantly in colour with a bold traditional line which is what I was surrounded by. Naturally, you start with what's on your own doorstep. I found my own aesthetic interests crept in little by little, to the point where I find myself today.
Now I tend to work mainly in black and grey with a lot of Latin/LA and religious influence. The visual arsenal I’ve acquired through my artwork outside of tattooing definitely adds a more surreal element, too. My parents were both scientists so I grew up around a lot of medical imagery, hence the cells that crop up in my work.
Is there a tattoo you're particularly proud of?
I don't feel I have a 'best tattoo'. However, I can say the tattoos that fulfil me the most are the ones which I feel have come from a more personal place. A marriage between the craft and aesthetic of tattooing, and all the weird shit from inside my head.
What is it like being a tattoo artist and a woman in the industry?
I can only speak from my own experience, but when I began tattooing I didn't notice any differences. I feel I got involved once the fight had already been won and the men I was surrounded by were generally enlightened and progressive. I actually always rejected participating in anything 'female only' such as interviews, art exhibitions or conventions. I didn't want my work to be seen as 'female'; I just wanted it to be seen as my 'work'.
While I still agree with a lot of the sentiments I held back then, I do feel my view has changed since getting married and having a child. I find myself realising there are differences and I have to now adapt and fight if I want to 'keep up'. We're told we can have it all, yet the general family dynamic still includes the mother taking the dominant role at home and therefore the career taking at least a temporary knock. This is a massive subject and one which interests me greatly. I’m actually in the process of gathering interviews with other creative women out there in similar positions, as I feel a lot of us who don't particularly have a very 'feminist' background suddenly find ourselves with something to say but lack the language, the outlet or platform.
Ruby Quilter
When and how did you first get into tattooing?
I've always painted, mostly in oils. I studied fine art at school and continued to draw in my spare time until taking it into a career with tattooing. I've been getting tattooed since I was 15, and knew a lot about different tattooers. There wasn't Instagram at that time, so I would visit shop websites to look at different artists and different styles. I had toyed with the idea of tattooing for a while as it's a massive commitment to make, and finally I went ahead and found an apprenticeship. Luckily a great shop took me on, and I began tattooing there about four years ago.
Describe your style in three words...
Detailed, fine, beautiful.
Tell me about the most memorable tattoo you've ever given.
In terms of the experience, then I would say some of my older customers have been a lot of fun. I tattooed a 74-year-old lady a couple of years ago. She was lovely and sat great. We stopped for lunch midway and she had brought me some homemade sandwiches – the best!
Have you ever experienced sexism or discrimination in the tattoo industry?
Once by a guy who I used to work with – he would make comments about people only wanting to get tattooed by me because I was a younger girl. And in that same shop a customer asked me if I was sure I could actually tattoo! But now I work in a more serious shop, never. I actually find being a woman in tattooing an amazing thing. People want to get tattooed by you because you do nice tattoos, usually they don't care about who or what you are. I work with some lovely women and lovely men, no one is bothered about what you look like, just as long as you're good to be around and do your job well!
What do you wish people knew about being a tattoo artist?
That it's not something you can just dip in and out of – it's hard work, mentally mostly. You always want to get better and put more time into it, so it's very hard to switch off. I wish people knew about the history of tattooing, that it's an incredible industry with a rich and fascinating past. People think it's about Instagram followers or tattooing celebrities, but it's about belonging to a family of people who all love one thing.
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