Classy or Trashy: Sex Work and Tattoos

Ancient Egyptian women found to have tattoos were thought by the (mostly) male excavators to be sex workers or royal concubines. Tattooing in ancient Egypt was a practice reserved for women and, of course, Egyptologists examined these female mummies, buried at royal gravesites, from their modern lenses and associated tattooing with "lower," less respected classes. However, this article and others suggest that they may have been priestesses and elite court ladies, with the tattoos not merely serving as adornments to entice men but as protective, sacred symbols. Modern views on sex, women, and class led to tattoos in ancient Egypt being interpreted in a likely incorrect, biased way.

A Holy Experience

This mainstream notion of tattoos as "trashy" and "low class" has held me back from fully covering myself in ink. Yet, inking oneself is a holy experience and holds power. Breaking the skin and drawing blood while creating a new, energetic symbol on our flesh has gravitas and significance, otherwise our ancient ancestors across the world wouldn't have wasted so much time and energy doing it. Tattooing signifies regeneration and manifestation/creation and holds the power of whatever symbol we decide to place permanently on our bodies. A rose, for example, can signify life, protection, love, passion, magic and more depending on the color.

Giving Less Fucks

What would my well-to-do clients think? Will they still want to be seen in public with a woman who has more visible tattoos? My heavily tattooed SWer friend tells me that it's harder for them to make money due to being totally inked but I'm not getting totally inked and am, for now, keeping my tattoos to one arm (full sleeve) and my back. There's a fine line between, "Those tattoos are sexy" and, "It's a bit much," that I personally don't want to cross because, at the end of the day, I'm a businesswoman and want to do well financially but I also don't care if my tattoos scare away a few admirers because self expression and being happy in my body is important to me.

You have to understand that I've been in and out of SW for over fifteen years and when I started in this industry, tattoos weren't as common and the SWers I looked up to were totally bare-skinned. As I explain in this blog, I was surprised to see certain "high end" companions getting more visible tattoos that they feature prominently in photos. The times they are a changing and so have my thoughts on the matter.

As I grow older and give less fucks about the opinions of others, I've decided to throw caution to the wind and get a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm. As we age, we (hopefully) grow more confident in our skin. As a little girl who grew up with a loving mom who, unwittingly, taught her she would never be good enough, it's taken me many years to fully accept myself, a topic I often write about. Although I have some reservations about getting a full sleeve (after a year or so of laser tattoo removal) and large tattoos on my back (after, again, laser tattoo removal of ancient and hideous tattoos), something inside is telling me that it'll all be ok. Not only that, I know that this is something that I must do for spiritual reasons.

Dark Feminine Furry Voids

As discussed in the above article on Egyptian tattoos, breaking the skin and jamming ink permanently into our dermis is, if done with intention, a spiritual exercise. The tattoos I got as a lost and confused 20 year old were unwittingly spiritual in that I had a black panther placed on my back because I love furry black cats. Voids are so damn cute and growing up, black cats have always been drawn to me.

Later in life I began researching more about the symbolic nature of black panthers and discovered that they're a mystical animal that doesn't exist in nature and is actually a leopard whose fur is dark. I discovered their association with protective energies, the divine feminine, mystery, darkness and rebirth/death. As someone who worships Dark Feminine Death Goddess energies, it's fitting that my subconscious mind would gravitate towards this powerful symbol.

Parts of me have died more times than I can count and I have suffered numerous ego deaths that finally forced me to awaken. However, my black panther tattoo is super ugly and faded. The style is tacky so I'm having her removed and replaced by another symbol of rebirth.

Many of my clients seeks me out for Kinky GFE experiences and these types of admirers love tattoos due to their rebellious, powerful symbolism. I've noticed that tattoos are seen more frequently on kink providers. Do kink providers feel free to tattoo themselves because they know it attracts clients or do they tattoo themselves more visibly because they're badasses? It's a chicken or the egg question. We'll never know.

Confidence = Clients

Because I'm a spiritual practitioner and know how to use these tattoos to protect myself and attract abundance, I'm know that they'll actually attract more clients to me. I have heard from somewhat, but not too, heavily tattooed SWers that they attract more clients with more tattoos. Everyone is going to have a different experience as a SWer and whatever makes us more confident equates to more clientele. I am certainly not confident with my current tattoos that are mid-laser removal, an excruciatingly long process that can take over a year and will probably never fully remove my old tattoos so I'm going to distract myself (and the public gaze) by beginning work on the lower portion of my full sleeve.

The prevalence of tattoos is shifting both within the SW world and society at large. As I've said, I still have a slight fear when it comes to permanently inking myself in ways that can't be hidden but we sometimes must rush headfirst into what scares us. Staring the demon in the mirror, face to face, speaking our power into existence.