A fascinating excursion into a thriving subculture, this book explores the feminist significance of tattoos, noting that women's involvement with tattoo accelerated in both the suffragist '20s and the feminist '70s. Author Margot Mifflin uncovers the subversive relationship between women and tattoo, from society ladies who want to sever their identification with "natural" beauty, to the healing powers that tattoo's color and symbolism can provide for a mastectomy survivor. 100 photos, some in color.
Margot Mifflin writes about women, art, and contemporary culture. The author of "Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo," she has written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Believer, and Salon.com. Mifflin is an associate professor in the English Department of Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY)and directs the Arts and Culture program at CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism, where she also teaches. Her book, "The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman" was published by The University of Nebraska in 2009.
Mifflin has appeared as a lecturer and keynote speaker at dozens of colleges, universities and museums, including Barnard College, Parsons School of Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Los Angeles MOCA and New York University. She appeared in MSNBC's documentary, "Women and Tattoo," which first aired in 2001, and CNN's "Women of the Ink," which first aired in 1998. She lives in Nyack, New York.
