Flying the Colours

tattoos as testimony & reclamation

I was talking to my friend Elinor Cleghorn recently and she mentioned the time when a reader had tattooed the cover of her Unwell Woman book onto their body. There must be no greater testament to the power of words and their ability to transform us than to carry them, visibly and permanently, on our skin.

It prompted me to think again about tattoos and our reasons to choose them and etch them onto our bodies. Tattoos have always carried a particular social charge. Historically, they’ve been linked with rebellious outlaws, pre-literate tribal societies, criminals, triads, gangsters, prisoners, gang members, bikers, and musicians. Knuckle busters are embedded in our cultural memory of punks and bikers who wore “love” and “hate” tattooed across their knuckles.