Since allegations of sexual abuse against media mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2017 unleashed the #MeToo movement on the world of film, we’ve seen many industries come under a similar spotlight, and the world of tattooing is one of them.
I’m fascinated by the tattoo industry and get tattooed regularly, but over the last couple of years countless women have come forward with stories about men in the industry harassing and abusing their female clients. Yet because tattooing is largely kept away from mainstream media, a lot of the time the only people who know this is happening are those who are involved in the industry in some way.
This is a problem if you are looking to get a tattoo but aren’t part of tattoo culture. You won’t know the ins and outs of the process of being tattooed, which will make it easier for these predatory tattoo artists to abuse their positions of power. A young girl getting her first tattoo on her leg may not know that she is being asked to undress more than necessary. She may also not know that the way an artist is touching her isn’t acceptable and may think it’s merely part of the process.
In response to the number of abusers being outed, women within the industry have taken it upon themselves to help make tattooing safer – by working to end the “boys club” mentality that has become pervasive within the tattoo community.
Since 2020 an Instagram account operating under the username ‘rhamnuusia’ has begun to collate stories of alleged abuse by male tattoo artists, and by doing so acts as an informal guide to unsafe tattoo parlours. Originally the account was operated under the real name of the woman behind it, but after threats and abuse the name had to be changed.
The page features endless accounts of abuse at the hands of at least 30 male tattoo artists – some of who are very successful, and sometimes famous. The account is followed by over 66,000 people, including many female tattoo artists. However, not everyone is on board with the idea.
Amongst the responses to a recent post warning people to stay away from an alleged abuser are critical comments, with some posters likening the account to a “witch hunt”. Supporters of the account hit back at by requesting that these posters “go away and let women keep each other safe in peace”.
Given the nature of tattooing, safety and trust are paramount. Clients trust a tattoo artist to permanently mark their body with their art. For any artist to abuse that trust is horrific for obvious reasons. But this behaviour also plays into the stereotypical image that many people outside of the community have about tattoo artists – as macho blokes.
Thanks to the outing of abuses, changes are taking place in the industry. These include greater care being taken by studios to only offer workspace to artists ho don’t have the “egos” associated with a certain type of male artist who has let success go – dangerously – to their head.
Tattooing should be a safe industry for women. The “Boys Club” mentality has to end, and this is only the start.
Picture: Creative Commons licence via Pixabay