Tattooed lady

For other uses, see The Tattooed Lady.

Irene Woodward, billed as "The Original Tattooed Lady", was not the first woman to work as a tattooed lady in circuses and dime museums, but she was one of the earliest and most successful performers of the late 19th century.[1]

Tattooed ladies were working class women who acquired tattoos and performed in circuses, sideshows, and dime show museums as means for earning a substantial living. At the height of their popularity during the turn of the 20th century, tattooed ladies transgressed Victorian gender norms by showcasing their bodies in scantily clad clothing and earned a salary considerably larger than their male counterparts. Tattooed ladies often used captivity narratives as a means for excusing their appearance, and to tantalize the audience. The popularity of tattooed ladies waned with the onset of television.

  1. ^ Mifflin, Margot (2013). Bodies of Subversion. PowerHouse Books. p. 11-13. ISBN 9781576876923.