How local female tattoo artists are breaking down barriers, stigma and gender norms

Adorned in ink with heads held high, modern-day ink queens are crushing gender norms and empowering women everywhere.

Suzen Tatoozen-Tanton, a 28-year veteran tattoo artist, is just one woman of a female empowerment movement sweeping across Eugene: More women are becoming tattoo artists, opening their own shops and taking on a traditionally male-dominated industry.

While tattoos are much more common and accepted in society, stigma still exists. There’s a notion that people sporting ink on their skin are unprofessional, or that only criminals and societal rejects get tattooed. Those taboos are worse for women with tattoos, who often are judged more harshly or thought of as rebellious or promiscuous.

Although viewpoints are evolving and women with tattoos are much more accepted, female tattoo artists still face negative stereotypes — often being flatly told to stay out of the industry.



But female tattoo artists are steadfastly emerging, using what some would call gender-stereotyped traits thought of as making women weak — nurturing, gentle and motherly — as strengths to further their craft and ability to bring a personal touch to their art.

“Because I'm a woman I tap into my feminine and flowy powers and I tattoo a lot of women," Tattoozen-Tanton said. "It's important to me as a woman to tattoo other women to help them feel better about themselves and empowered."

For the most part, the Eugene area and Oregon in general are very supportive and empowering for women artists. After being in the area for so many years, Tattoozen-Tanton said she believes the people here are more accepting of creativity.



“Here, you’re an artist,” Tattoozen-Tanton said. “Everyone is just more accepting of you as an artist and it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.”

The empowering presence of female artists is what led Tattoozen-Tanton to open her own shop, Whiteaker Tattoo Collective, in Eugene. But, she isn't the only one who recognized the welcoming atmosphere surrounding female artists. Terrah Wilmot, a local tattoo artist, said being a female tattooer is the best job in the world.

Wilmot's deep-seated love for art led her to the tattoo industry and eventually to Queen Bee Tattoo Salon in Springfield. She's been in the industry for the past five years and said having the ability to not only express herself as an individual, but also make others feel good about themselves is a gift.



“It’s not about women are better than men or men are better than us,” said Wilmot, who is proud of the women standing up for themselves and saying they can do what a man can. “It’s about us coexisting and doing this together.”



The tattoo industry is increasing in popularity — and revenue. For example, the industry will generate an estimated $2 billion in 2019 — and women have a big role in that, according to the market research firm IBISWorld.



Tattoos date back thousands of years, but the first female artist didn’t emerge until the early 1900s. Maud Wagner, originally a contortionist and acrobat in the St Louis World's Fair, is said to have agreed to date the tattooed globetrotter Gus Wagner in exchange for tattoo lessons. The pair later married.



He taught her the art of tattooing by hand — a form he perfected — and was known for being one of the last artists to work only by hand. Having learned how to tattoo other people and adorning herself in tattoos, Wagner laid the groundwork for the female tattoo artists of today.



Modern-day artists such as Kat Von D and Ryan Ashley Malarkey, the 2016 and first female winner of Ink Master, are proving that female artists are here to stay. More women are breaking through industry barriers and earning the opportunity to be recognized for their art.



Tattoo expos and conventions are becoming one of the best places for female artists to showcase their work. These events bring together hundreds of artists, spectators and collectors for a weekend of live tattooing and entertainment. Events range from local gatherings to high-profile events with famous artists from around the world.



Female-only conventions also are gathering speed and taking place around the world, including “The Other Side of the Ink,” taking place in Rome later this year.



Fortunately, Lane County residents don’t have to travel far to experience a convention. The Evergreen Tattoo Convention occurs annually in Eugene. It was established in 2016, by husband and wife teams Joshua and Nichole Carlton and Riley Smith and his wife Erin Smith, artist and owner of Queen Bee Tattoo Salon. The convention brings together more than 200 professionals from 30 states and four countries, but is invitation only.



Erin Smith said while they don’t go out of their way to find outstanding female artists, they are looking for the best of the best and many of them happen to be women.



“For Evergreen we seek out both established and up-and-coming artists that are less well known,” Smith said. “There are so many amazing women out there, and with social media they are even easier to find.”



Smith and husband Riley also own a local tattoo school — their connections from the school allow them bring in world-class artists to give classes and training for the artists at both of their salons, she said.



However, when it comes to her own journey, Smith said it didn’t come as easily. She said she never felt as if she was a true-born artist like her husband Riley Smith, owner of Lifetime Tattoos in Springfield. She broke into the industry in 2008, and after taking art classes at LCC, Smith found her passion in cosmetic tattooing.



In a search for a place to hone her passion, Smith said it was the perfect opportunity to bring in an all-female crew. In 2015, she opened Queen Bee Tattoo Salon.



“It had been a dream of mine to have an all-female shop since I got into the industry,” Smith said. “It’s an amazing time to be an artist and a female artist. It’s much more accessible here.”



While working with all women can be very empowering, Queen Bee artist Jexica Lee said it took some getting used to.



“I grew up and always worked around men,” Lee said. “This was a change for sure, but it’s been amazing. It’s really symbiotic.”



Lee went through a series of difficult life events, and finally decided to give her passion a try. While supporting her three children on her own, she put herself through tattoo school and established a strong clientele during the past few years.



“Tattooing helped me change my future,” Lee said. “I did it not only to empower and prove to myself that I could do anything I wanted, but also to prove to my children that they could too.”



Oregon is one of the only states nationwide that requires artists to attend a tattoo academy or school before getting their license. Prospective artists attending these pathway schools must complete 360 hours of theory and practical training, as well as show documentation for 50 completed tattoos during their education.



After completing their education, and required health certifications and passing the state examination, artists can then become licensed. Because of this, the tattoo industry in Oregon is much more accessible to women.



Traditionally, prospective artists sought out apprenticeships with licensed artists in order to get their own certification. Unfortunately, because it’s often up to artist discretion, women were often turned down simply because they were women. Heather Maranda, artist, teacher and owner of the Oregon Academy of Tattoo and Fine Art in Eugene, said she knows that experience all too well.



“Being a woman, I felt that I was not taken seriously,” Maranda said. “I decided I was not going to let anyone gate-keep what I was doing. Instead of relying on the fact that I'm female, I’d rather let my work speak for myself.”



After dropping out of design school she traveled around in hopes of securing an apprenticeship, only to be laughed at, have doors slammed in her face and be offered secretary positions.



“Tattooing was still the wild west in the 90s,” Maranda said. “They didn’t want any females working in their shop. It was very misogynistic.”



Despite being constantly turned down, Maranda went on to make a name for herself. She married, started a family and opened her first tattoo shop in 2007 in Haines City, Florida. Eighteen months ago, she started developing the curriculum for her tattoo academy. She has finalized her licensing and hopes to accept students this September.



“My school is a reflection of myself,” Maranda said. “I love seeing that spark in other artists and I love lifting people up.”



Maranda said being a woman in the tattoo industry is hard, but being a mother of three comes with it’s own set of challenges. She said tattooing is her life, and it can get in the way of raising a family. She spends almost every day building and maintaining her business, which includes answering emails and running social media accounts.



The tattoo industry is thriving through social media, and is a place where many female artists are making their mark. More women are able to share their work and gain name recognition because of the social reach these platforms have. But social media is no stranger to trolls, making harassment of female artists that much easier.



A fellow tattoo artist and soon-to-be teacher at Oregon Academy of Tattoo and Fine Art, said he’s seen female artists attacked, sexualized and put down on social media, just because they’re women.



“The idea that any man can do this job better than a woman, just because he’s a man is a complete and utter falsehood,” said Fuzzy, who prefers to go by a single name. “Men who feel they can exploit them just because they’re women, are tearing these artists down."



Fuzzy said it shouldn’t matter if the artist is male or female, but rather the focus should be if the art is quality art. As an artist in the industry for 10 years, Fuzzy said he’s worked in many different shops including those run by women. The woman-owned shops were often cleaner, more organized and the communication level was much better, he said.



Fuzzy said he’s honored to work at the academy and learn from Maranda because he believes she’s a better artist. He wants more men to realize it’s about the art, and they should be willing to learn from women. Men in the industry need to support women as artists rather than hindering them, he said.

“Women don’t always need a hand up,” Fuzzy said. “They are already contenders at or above our level, we just need to stop dragging them down.”



Struggling with gender norms is something Tattoozen-Tanton said is unfortunately very common for female artists. Because tattooing is such a male-dominated industry and women have only been accepted in it for a short period of time, some people think they can take advantage of female artists, she said.



Despite having been in the industry for almost 30 years and working hard at developing her craft and reputation, she still faces doubt because she’s a female. She recalls experiencing people stealing from her, people trying to break into the shop while she was inside and having to lock the doors for her safety.



Tattoozen-Tanton credits her ability to handle negative interactions to being raised on a farm with older brothers.



“No one ever expects me to be the owner of my shop,” Tattoozen-Tanton said. “I’ve learned to just be that tough outer exterior. It’s about being stoic but polite.”



She entered the world of tattooing in 1991, and has since used her platform to give back to the community. Her main passion project is called Transformation Ink, an effort to help survivors of sex trafficking by covering up their “pimp brands” or tattoos forced on sex trafficking victims by their perpetrators as a mark of ownership. Tattoozen-Tanton funds the project with help from the community.



“We’re standing on the shoulders of other women that have spearheaded this movement,” Tattoozen-Tanton said. “It’s really important for women to support and empower each other and themselves through art.”