My most meaningful tattoo is a Peter Pan shadow with the quote, To live will be an awfully big adventure. It’s a tribute to my brother, etched during a painful two-hour session at a Baltimore tattoo shop, my friend’s hand clutched tightly in mine. When my editor noticed it, I shared its significance, and thankfully, no further explanation was needed. While not my newest piece – acquired five years prior to the one on my foot – it’s often the most remarked upon, likely due to its placement: my lower back, infamously known as the “tramp stamp” zone.
All my tattoos reside in locations that demand intentional exposure. The thought that my back tattoo might be reduced to “tramp stamp” by those close to me never crossed my mind. When I revealed it, my intention wasn’t seduction, but personal expression. Yet, jokes and comments persisted: “Pretty sexy, eh?”, “Nice… for a tramp stamp,” or the unsettling, “Is it weird your tattoo turns me on?” These remarks, framed as compliments, often felt like uncomfortable criticisms, a sentiment echoed by many women with lower back tattoos. Seeking to understand if my experience was unique, I interviewed other women with similar ink, and their stories revealed some common threads.
1) The “Tramp Stamp” Cliché: A Product of Fashion and Time
The term “tramp stamp” gained traction in the late 1990s, coinciding with the rise of low-rise jeans. These jeans, sitting low on the hips, often exposed lower back tattoos, leading to a societal perception that these tattoos signaled promiscuity. For women who chose lower back tattoos during this era, the unintentional visibility under trendy jeans was often a source of frustration.
Jennifer Block, author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, recalls getting a self-designed Celtic knot tattoo in 1998 during a trip to Ireland. “I spent hours at the library researching the images. I picked out a knot that is made of four closed shapes, symbolizing the friendship and individuality of myself and the three other women,” Block explains. “I chose my lower back so as not to offend my Jewish family, but the low-rise trend blew my cover.” The placement, intended for discretion, became inadvertently public due to fashion trends.
Gabriella Garcia had a similar experience in 2005, opting for a pinup girl tattoo on her lower back. “There were definitely not high-waisted jeans at that time, unless you were going vintage,” Garcia notes. “And honestly, going vintage or thrift wasn’t as easily accessible in the early aughts.” Her choice was driven by a desire for a larger, easily concealable tattoo. “My choice to get it done on my lower back was really because I wanted to have a large tattoo that I could cover up easily. I didn’t know that this was a ‘tramp’ thing — my lower back just happened to be the largest part of my body that I could tattoo something that wouldn’t be visible.”
It wasn’t until the movie Wedding Crashers (2005) that Garcia recognized the stigma. In a scene, a character jokes about lower back tattoos being a “target,” a sentiment echoed by Garcia’s boyfriend at the time. This moment prompted Garcia to reconsider her clothing choices, abandoning low-rise jeans to conceal her tattoo from unwanted judgment. Fortunately, the fashion landscape has shifted. High-rise jeans are now dominant, with fashion authorities like WhoWhatWear.com declaring their staying power. This shift, alongside the increasing acceptance of tattoos, marks a significant change in how lower back tattoos are perceived.
A woman subtly reveals a lower back tattoo while wearing low-rise jeans, highlighting the fashion trend that contributed to the “tramp stamp” stereotype.
2) Reclaiming the Canvas: Tattoos as Female Empowerment
While tattoos gain social acceptance, for many women, choosing to adorn their bodies remains a powerful act of self-assertion. For the first time in decades, women are more likely to have tattoos than men. A 2013 poll indicated that 47 percent of women under 35 had tattoos, compared to 25 percent of men in the same age group. This surge isn’t just about trends; it’s about women reclaiming their bodies.
In her Guardian essay “Painted Ladies: Why Women Get Tattoos,” Jenn Ashworth argues, “If skin is a screen, and a woman writes on it, she is telling the world (or even just herself) that her own standards of attractiveness are more important to her than the standards of anyone else who might cross her path. She is taking ownership.” This perspective aligns with feminist viewpoints that see tattooing as a rebellion against societal expectations of women’s bodies as pure and unmarked.
Feminist discourse has long recognized tattooing as a form of agency. In “On Ownership, Marking the Body, and Tattooing as a Feminist Act,” s.e. smith writes, “Women are generally taught that tattooing and piercing are not ladylike. They are repeatedly reminded that tattoos on women are not socially acceptable, that women who want careers or want to be taken seriously need to think carefully before they get a tattoo. … Women, in other words, are not supposed to mark themselves, or to stake out their bodies as their own property.” This societal pressure highlights the radical nature of women choosing tattoos, particularly in visible locations, as it challenges traditional notions of femininity and decorum. While men also face societal pressures regarding masculinity, the tattoo stigma for women carries a unique layer of gendered judgment.
3) The Gendered Double Standard: No Male “Tramp Stamp” Equivalent
Notably, there’s no male equivalent to the “tramp stamp.” A man’s upper arm tattoo carries no more erotic connotation than one on his elbow or leg. In fact, a widely recognized, derogatory term for men’s tattoos is conspicuously absent. However, when a man gets a lower back tattoo, it’s often seen as an adoption of a feminized, and often ridiculed, aesthetic.
The How I Met Your Mother episode “Wait for It” illustrates this perfectly. Character Ted, attempting to provoke jealousy, ends up with a butterfly lower back tattoo. Barney, the epitome of hyper-masculinity, immediately labels it a “tramp stamp,” using a string of derogatory synonyms: “ho tag,” “ass antlers,” “Panama City license plate.” The storyline then revolves around Ted’s tattoo removal, implying that such a “feminine” tattoo is incompatible with traditional masculinity and being taken seriously, especially in romantic pursuits.
This demonization of femininity is precisely what makes terms like “tramp stamp” so damaging. Julia Serano, in her Ms. magazine essay “Empowering Femininity,” explains, “Demeaning or dismissing people for expressing feminine qualities is often condoned and even encouraged. … Much of the sexism faced by women today targets their femininity (or assumed femininity) rather than their femaleness. It is high time that we forcefully challenge the negative assumptions that constantly plague feminine traits and the people who express them.” The “tramp stamp” epithet is a prime example of this, using a tattoo placement to demean women through the lens of negatively perceived femininity.
4) Beyond Sexuality: The Real Reasons Behind Lower Back Tattoos
The lower back, in the eyes of some, might evoke notions of sensuality and submission. However, women’s motivations for tattooing this area are far more diverse and personal than simply seeking sexual attention. Like my own memorial tattoo, many lower back tattoos carry profound personal significance.
Cynthia Shulak, for instance, chose her lower back for a tattoo memorializing her grandfathers. Aware of the “tramp stamp” slur, she initially disregarded it. However, an ex-boyfriend sexualized her tattoo, detailing fantasies of “defiling” it, despite her explaining its deep personal meaning. “We eventually broke up … but that really stuck with me, and has left me in an uncomfortable position ever since, like when I’m at the beach in two-piece, or even when being intimate with a new partner. Like, are they thinking what he thought?” This experience highlights the lasting impact of the “tramp stamp” stigma and how it can intrude on personal experiences and relationships.
Sharon Haywood got her lower back tattoo fifteen years ago as part of her healing process after an assault. “The tattoo and its location hold special significance for me, and I find it frustrating to have to field comments by men who ‘jokingly’ refer to it as a ‘tramp stamp,’ as if the reason I chose to get inked was to seduce men,” she shares. For Sharon and many others, tattoos are not mere decorations but powerful symbols of personal journeys and reclamation. “Tattoos are not superficial accessories but rather powerful symbols that can be used to reclaim one’s body. My tattoos are part of my identity, part of my body, and my body is mine and mine alone. When a man calls my lower-back tattoo a tramp stamp, I don’t view it any differently than someone commenting on my breasts. It’s unsolicited, unwelcome, and clearly sexist.”
5) Practical Considerations: Choosing Discreet Placement
Beyond symbolic meaning, practical considerations often play a role in tattoo placement, especially for women. My own lower back tattoo location was partly influenced by personal inhibitions and societal expectations. I worried about professional implications and unwanted attention in more visible locations.
Concerns about career prospects in conservative environments, avoiding constant questions from strangers, and even the potential impact of pregnancy on tattoo appearance are valid factors. “Choosing the right placement for a tattoo is complicated enough,” says writer Joy Martin. “Women who are considering having children have the additional issue of choosing a location that won’t be stretched beyond recognition or damaged due to pregnancy/birth.” The lower back offers a degree of privacy and control over visibility that other locations might not.
While some embrace visible tattoos as a form of self-expression and defiance, the desire for privacy and personal space is equally valid. There’s a preference to be recognized for accomplishments and personality, rather than having a personal tattoo become a subject of public commentary. Choosing a lower back tattoo, while potentially inviting “tramp stamp” jokes, can also be a deliberate choice for those seeking a balance between self-expression and personal discretion. It’s time to challenge the stereotype and recognize the diverse and meaningful reasons behind women’s lower back tattoos. Moving beyond the outdated “tramp stamp” label allows for a more respectful and nuanced understanding of women’s body art choices.
