Pupa Tattoo recomienda: Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo, 3rd Ed.
Bodies of Subversion was the first history of women’s tattoo art when
it was released in 1997, providing a fascinating excursion to a
subculture that dates back to the nineteenth-century and including many
never-before-seen photos of tattooed women from the last century. Newly
revised and expanded, it remains the
only book to chronicle the history of both tattooed women and women
tattooists. As the primary reference source on the subject, it contains
information from the original edition, including documentation of:
•Nineteenth-century sideshow attractions who created fantastic
abduction tales in which they claimed to have been forcibly tattooed.
•Victorian society women who wore tattoos as custom couture, including
Winston Churchill’s mother, who wore a serpent on her wrist.
•Maud
Wagner, the first known woman tattooist, who in 1904 traded a date with
her tattooist husband-to-be for an apprenticeship.
•The parallel
rise of tattooing and cosmetic surgery during the 80s when women
tattooists became soul doctors to a nation afflicted with body
anxieties.
•Breast cancer survivors of the 90s who tattoo their
mastectomy scars as an alternative to reconstructive surgery or
prosthetics.
The book contains over 100 new photos and FULL
COLOR images throughout including newly discovered work by Britain’s
first female tattooist, Jessie Knight; Janis Joplin’s wrist tattoo; and
tattooed pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. In addition, the updated 3rd edition
boasts a sleek design and new chapters documenting recent changes to the
timeline of female tattooing, including a section on: celebrity tattoo
artist Kat Von D, the most famous tattooist, male or female, in the
world; the impact of reality shows on women’s tattoo culture; and,
therapeutic uses of tattooing for women leaving gangs, prisons, or
situations of domestic abuse.
As of 2012, tattooed women
outnumber men for the first time in American history, making Bodies of
Subversion more relevant than ever.
“In Bodies of Subversion,
Margot Mifflin insightfully chronicles the saga of skin as signage.
Through compelling anecdotes and cleverly astute analysis, she shows and
tells us new histories about women, tattoos, public pictures, and
private parts. It’s an indelible account of an indelible piece of
cultural history.”
—Barbara Kruger, artist.
Margot Mifflin
writes about women, art, and contemporary culture. She has written for
The New York Times, ARTnews, Entertainment Weekly, The Believer, and
Salon.com, and she lectures about body modification at colleges,
museums, and universities nationally. Mifflin is an associate professor
in the English Department of Lehman College of the City University of
New York (CUNY), and directs the Arts and Culture program at CUNY’s
Graduate School of Journalism, where she also teaches. Her book, The
Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman was published by The University of
Nebraska in 2009.
www.pupatattoo.es