Researching a story on the activism of female circus performers in the suffragette movement, I learned about the history of women and tattoos. At the height of its popularity in the mid-19th century, the circus was one of the few places where women could earn an independent living as sideshow performers. They took advantage of the public’s fascination with body art to tattoo themselves. Ink also became an expression of independence for Victorian women outside the circus, particularly socialites who used it as a form of rebellion. Required by custom to keep their bodies covered, they brought tattoo artists into their homes to ink them in places that could be hidden. Even royals got in on the act. Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother, had a snake tattoo on her wrist, handily covered by a lace-trimmed sleeve or camouflaged by a bracelet. By the turn of the 20th century, three-quarters of New York City’s society ladies had adopted the fashion, favoring tattoos of butterflies, flowers, and dragons. You could say the first edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves was written on women’s skin. Discover more facts unearthed while researching the reality behind fiction in BEHIND THE STORY.
