BODIES OF SUBVERSION
A SECRET HISTORY OF WOMEN AND TATTOO
MIFFLIN, MARGOT
Bodies of Subversion was the first history of womens tattoo art when it was released in 1997, providing a fascinating excursion to a subculture that dates back to the nineteenth-century and including many never-before-seen photos of tattooed women from the last century. Newly revised and expanded, it remains the only book to chronicle the history of both tattooed women and women tattooists. As the primary reference source on the subject, it contains information from the original edition, including documentation of:
Nineteenth-century sideshow attractions who created fantastic abduction tales in which they claimed to have been forcibly tattooed.
Victorian society women who wore tattoos as custom couture, including Winston Churchills mother, who wore a serpent on her wrist.
Maud Wagner, the first known woman tattooist, who in 1904 traded a date with her tattooist husband-to-be for an apprenticeship.
The parallel rise of tattooing and cosmetic surgery during the 80s when women tattooists became soul doctors to a nation afflicted with body anxieties.
Breast cancer survivors of the 90s who tattoo their mastectomy scars as an alternative to reconstructive surgery or prosthetics.
