Tattooing and the Feminine

By Madame Lazonga

What has tattooing got to do with the Goddess or the feminine for that matter? Well, probably a lot more then you consciously know but intuitively do know. That’s why I’m here to give my opinion about how the feminine permeates every aspect of life, especially tattooing, whether conscious or unconscious.

So many people ask me why there’s all those horrific images tattooed on the skin. I think it’s always been a deep unconscious calling to visually interpret those symbols that make up our material world. For generations our world has been filled with the horrific, as we see daily on the news. Equally important, however, are the images of the peaceful, natural world, which conjure up a whole different set of feelings for the viewer. These are much older images that don’t often make the front page of the paper.

As far as the modern history of tattooing goes, about 100 years, only the last 20 have explored other kinds of images besides the usual sailor, biker, or macho kind of thing. That’s where the feminine side of tattooing comes into play. Like the world around us, the pendulum swings back and forth until it eventually seeks balance.

I used to say a decade ago that one of the reasons people are drawn to tattooing is because of the over technicalization of the world around us. Tattooing is one of the only ways in which a person can embrace their own ritual, symbology and meaning in a truly human, primal, organic way. Now, a decade or so later, I see the intensity of the world changing with its many wars, famine and examples of corporate greed all available for us to experience 24 hours a day. What I’m now seeing are feminine images that have been slowly and steadily permeating the world around us, especially in tattooing. It’s really just the natural process of balance being awakened. It’s exciting to see the endless possibilities in the world of tattooing and more people seeking the feminine archetypes.

Here is a short list of both the feminine and masculine attributes, as a sort of reference point for the type of imagery I’m discussing:

Feminine:                                            Masculine:

the moon                                             the sun

night                                                    day

intuitive                                               rational

yielding                                               penetrating

nurturing                                             linear

introspective                                        outgoing

flowing                                                angular

As a woman, I’ve always been drawn to the natural world as a source of inspiration. Things that grow from the earth are Goddess related and I always find being in nature has a way of directly speaking to me that concrete and buildings do not. It’s very apropos that certain cultural icons have finally made it into the world of tattooing and goddesses and archetypes such as Lakshmi (the goddess of luck and money), Kuan Yin (goddess of healing) and the Virgin of Guadalupe (the protector and nurturer) are now a mainstay in the world of tattooing.

I know that we live in a world of dualism and extreme opposites, but I can’t help but feel that what I contribute to the world has an effect. Emitting images of destruction only contributes and perpetuates more destruction, just as images of beauty perpetuates more beauty in the world. After experiencing more then 30 years in tattooing, I find my interest is in images that promote healing and the regeneration of the planet. I’m now doing more work for women with mastectomy scars. Someone told me that one in ten women are eventually faced with a mastectomy. I don’t know if that statistic is true but I feel honored to create something that can help them transform the trauma of that experience into something positive.

In my past, I remember having conversations with other women about what feminine meant to them. Usually they would talk about their inner strengths and their approach to maintaining a healthy body and spirit. It seems we would always get into a quandary about why is it that so much emphasis is placed on big breasts, or having a certain body type or maintaining a certain look, no matter how unhealthy it is? It seems that men are more horrified and shocked about a woman losing her breast than the woman herself. Maybe it has to do with these women already dealing with greater issues like survival. They are able to grieve, just let go and come through it more beautiful then ever. Who dictates in our culture what feminine is, or what sexy or beautiful is? You rarely hear a woman who has lost a breast talking about it or the process of going through chemotherapy, or reconstructive work to replace the breast. It’s a taboo subject. Most of the women that I have met tell me about what it takes to rebuild a breast and still there is no guarantee that it will look anywhere like a real breast and, usually, it will take several surgeries. So much cutting, trauma, healing, over and over again. These invasive procedures have always been the norm—or maybe the woman chooses to do nothing.

I don’t think women that had mastectomies ever knew there was an alternative. I don’t think they ever knew that they could consciously take part in creating their own ritual, imagery and reclaiming their bodies in this way. They probably thought that tattooing was like it was 50 years ago. To me, these women are the silent heroes of our society, unrecognized, but transformed into a different species. The world of tattooing is once again breaking through forbidden boundaries. I find that people are not going to swallow what the establishment dictates to them any longer. The gospel truth is one of research and compiling bits of truths from many sources and being responsible for your own life and then making a decision.

Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to see a woman who has had a mastectomy but who has chosen to decorate her scar with something beautiful showing it off at one of the tattoo conventions. That would be a real first and a great homage to the Goddess energies re-emerging on this planet!

I’m hoping that by bringing up this subject it will encourage people keep the dialogue going. I’m curious about other people’s stories, ideas or questions and hope you will write to me.

—Your sister in tattooing,

Vyvyn (Madame Lazonga)

madamelazonga@hotmail.com