The familiar buzz of the tattoo gun radiated through the vast halls of the Seattle Exhibition Center when I walked in on the second day of the Seattle Tattoo Expo, hosted by Hidden Hand Tattoo and Connors & Company. Over a hundred artists from all over the country had gathered for three days of live music, contests, burlesque performances, and of course, tattooing. The venue was swarming with artists and fans alike, all grateful to be together after a two-year hiatus.
The large exhibition hall was packed with rows of shops and artists looking to showcase their best work. As I searched around anxiously, wondering where to start looking around, I was surprised by the number of women tattoo artists. For an industry that is notorious for being predominantly white and male-dominated, it made my heart flutter to see this change in front of my very eyes.
When asked about diversity and inclusion within the industry, artist Nicole Roar from Studio Arcanum said that while things may be trending upward, the industry is still far from perfect. "Honestly, I feel like it's still a little too white, but it does seem like maybe that landscape is changing a little bit," she said. "There seems to be more POC and Queer tattooists that are coming up, which is really great to see."
As I continued wandering the rows, looking to for an artist to tattoo something Bisexual on my arm (shoutout to Rae at the Laughing Buddha for coming through), I was disappointed in the lack of rainbow flash tattoos to choose from. For many members of the Queer community, myself included, "tattoos and body modification in general are a very self-affirming thing," said Misha Dumois, an artist at Electric Kitten in Ballard, a safe and inclusive space for Queer people to get tattoo.
"Feeling comfortable in a space where you are appreciated and understood is a big factor for Queer people," she continued, which is why Queer tattoo shops are more important than ever.
When it comes to queerness in the industry, Castro Tattoo in San Francisco is one of the first places to come to mind. With artists across the gender and sexuality spectrum, it is known for being a safe space for all.
"When I first started in the tattoo scene, you had to be a lot more closeted," if you wanted to succeed as a woman in the industry, let alone as a Queer person, said Haley Adams, one of Castro's many Queer artists.
But now, thanks to finding a home at Castro, Adams can lead by example and help bring up the next generation of Queer and POC tattoo artists. Adams is also one of the founders of the Queer Tattoo Alliance, an SF-based organization dedicated to the unification of the Queer professional tattoo community. While that's still in the works, Adams was excited to share that they are working with a team to host the very first Queer tattoo conference, a weekend of seminars, education, and entertainment tentatively to be held in New Mexico in March 2023.
"I think it's going to change the world, especially for Queer artists who are interested in tattooing," Adams said about the potential impact that this kind of educational event could have.
Asked about the importance of Queer inclusion in the tattoo community, Jim Blundell, 57, a self-proclaimed tattoo collector who has been attending the expo since its inception more than 15 years ago, said, "When I was in my twenties, there weren't a lot of Queer tattoo people. It wasn't mainstream back then... Now you see so many Queer tattoo people and artists, and it's great to see the community supporting each other."
As a Bisexual tattoo lover, I am also excited to see more Queer artists showing up in spaces that are traditionally resistant to change. While the industry has a lot of work to do to make it a truly safe space, the fact that there are more Queer artists and shops shows that change is coming.