Gay tattoos
Art
How valuable is self statement if you don’t feel allowed to be true to yourself? Cory Harris, an artist at Loyalty Tattoos, has had an astonishing journey—from coming out as gay and going to jail for his art before finally coming to terms with himself and feeling comfortable to design art how he wants to.
Harris had an early fascination with tattoos; his father and grandfather were in the military, where he was first exposed to them. “Up until the ‘90s, you either had military tattoos or prison tattoos,” says Harris. “I recall visiting my grandfather—he had an eagle on his forearm and a dagger through a heart—and I was completely blown away. At the time, it was like evidence out you could play God and decorate your body with artwork. From then on, I was obsessed.”
“I keep in mind visiting my grandfather—he had an eagle on his forearm and a dagger through a heart—and I was completely blown away.”
Feeling prefer an outsider, Harris soon was enthralled with another shape of art that, like tattoos, existed on the fringes of acceptable verbalization. “When I was 13 or 14, I saw that somebody had tagged ‘Love’ on a building with a peace sign for the ‘O.’ I was like, ‘
Gay Sailor Tattoos
It wasn't always a breeze to come across lovers on the steep seas, and we don't have many sources about sailors who desired their shipmates. But what we do have are tattoo designs—still recognizable in today's traditional tattooing styles—which sailors used to communicate their origins, status, and sexuality while on ship or shore. Gay Sailor Tattoos gives us a look into the lives of gender non-conforming men, who, despite the dangers and difficulties of the sailing life, set up freedom in their relationships and bodily expression. This thoughtful and well-researched zine brings together historical and visual details about the lives (lustful and otherwise) of sailors at the height of the seafaring profession, and their enduring cultural influence.
.
.
.