Author: Keely

Posted on

#Freethenipple

On Instagram, we recently posted an amazing tattoo of an ultra realistic nipple, which covered a mastectomy scar. It’s by tattoo artist Kerry Irvine.  After posting this image I suddenly thought, “is this breaching Instagrams rules on no visible female nipples?”

How ridiculous is that! Being worried that your page may get shut down due to a tattoo of what 50% of the human population own! Luckily our page is still alive and kicking, but in some small way I wanted Instagram to react to this and give us a warning but luckily they didn’t stoop quite that low.

Instagram have recently updated their community guidelines stating: “We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for a variety of reasons, we don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.”
So we are allowed to keep the Kerry Irvine nipple tattoo… whoop!  But what does “some photos of female nipples” actually mean? Are some nipples more visually acceptable than others? Maybe nipples of the small, pert, “normal” variety? Cara Delevingne has responded to the #freethenipple campaign by posting the below photo on her Instagram with other celebrities jumping on the feminist bandwagon.

But when searching #freethenipple on Instagram the main bulk of images using this hashtag were pages with names like ‘tits and ass’ ‘hotties land’ and ‘bikini shoutouts’ so maybe the feminist message has got slightly lost amongst the smut and “male admin” pages? (One page I found actually states it has a male admin just in case anyone mistook it for anything to do with feminism.) Can anyone tell me why the female nipple is not allowed but crotch shots with a pink thong covering a vagina are ?  Yeah… I’m not sure either!

The latest Instagram backlash came when they removed an image of a woman asleep but showing where her period had leaked through her trousers onto the mattress.  The photo was part of a project by the Canadian artist, Rupi Kaur and actually since then, Instagram have allowed her to re-post this image.

She responded by saying: “Thank you @instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique. You deleted a photo of a woman who is fully covered and menstruating stating that it goes against community guidelines when your guidelines outline that it is nothing but acceptable. The girl is fully clothed. The photo is mine. It is not attacking a certain group. Nor is it spam. And because it does not break those guidelines I will re-post it again. I will not apologise for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be okay with a small leak. When your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified. Pornified. And treated less than human. Thank you.”  Well said!

Posted on

Should Chola style really be that fashionable?

Growing up in the 90s in the UK, we all remember the girls at school who would spend hours gluing  their kiss curls and baby hair down to their foreheads, after rounding them into a precise spiral formation with the use of a pencil… but why we used to ask ourselves?

Lana Del Rey in her music video/short film, Tropico

The Chola style originates from a Mexican American subculture, often associated with gangs and hip hop. The look consisted of a crop bra top, baggy trousers, which were usually Dickies, jeans and,  to top the look off, a plaid shirt with only the top button done up exposing the midriff. Gold bamboo earrings were an absolute must, along with the black winged eyeliner and a nude lip, lined in a dark brown.  There is something about this look that is appealing to so many… maybe down to the nonchalant “I don’t give a shit” attitude that has been played out in movies and music videos over the last few decades. The truth of the matter is that we all love a bad girl and this look personifies that raw edge while still looking ‘sexy’ and ‘glam.’

Nicki Minaj in her music video, Senile with tattoo artist Mr Trigz to her right who was sadly shot dead after the making of this video.

Gwen Stefani in her music video, Luxurious

Rihanna dressed as a Chola for Halloween

But Chola is more than a look and it actually relates to many people’s historical and geographical backgrounds.  The journalist, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd describes Chola in terms of her ancestry: “it was part of our inherited and ancestral culture. Historically, the term was used by European colonisers to refer to full or mixed indigenous populations in South and Central America. But in the 1960s was reclaimed in the US by working-class Mexican Americans and the Chicano Power movement as a way to flip and empower a term that had historically been used to denigrate us.” Shepherd then goes onto discuss the trend in terms of those who can afford to buy into the look that the fashion industry is selling, “privileged people want to borrow the ‘cool’ of disenfranchised people of colour, but don’t have to face any of the discrimination or marginalisation that accompanies it.”

FKA Twigs for ID magazine

Singer, Brooke Candy

Steven Meisel‘s photoshoot for Vogue Italia entitled, ‘Haute Mess’ which caused controversy down to its ‘racist ethnic stereotypes.’

So is it suitable for celebrities and fashion designers alike to be “ripping off” a look that actually holds great cultural significance for so many?  Recently a festival in Canada banned attendees from wearing Native American headdresses with one of the festival organisers stating on their Facebook page, “they have a magnificent aesthetic. But their spiritual, cultural and aesthetic significance cannot be separated. Bass Coast festival takes place on indigenous land and we respect the dignity of aboriginal people.” Pharrell Williams had to publicly apologise last year for wearing a headdress on the front cover of Elle magazine, so maybe times are changing with cultural appropriation becoming frowned upon. Can the same can be said for the Chola trend?

 Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy A/W 2015

Stylist, Anna Trevelyan wearing designer Nasir Mazhar

Posted on

The battlle over tattoos in the U.S Army hits a new phase

A new policy has been introduced within the U.S Army that will no longer limit the size or amount of tattoos a soldier can have in a bid to encourage more recruitment and retain those already listed.  In a press conference last week, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno stated: “as part of the regular process that we go through in reviewing regulations, covering the wear and appearance of the Army uniform, and the appearance of our Soldiers, we will be releasing in the coming weeks, an update to that policy, and the most notable change is going to be the change in the tattoo policy in the Army.”

Tattoos on the face, neck and hands are still forbidden, along with any tattoos referencing racism or hate, but the amount on a person’s torso, arms or legs are no longer restricted.  “We have listened to the Soldiers,” Gen. Odierno said. “I’ve talked to our sergeants major and our non-commissioned officers and some of our officers and frankly, society is changing its view of tattoos, and I think we need to change along with it.”

War Ink also coincides with this new law and is a series of short films showcasing veteran servicemen and servicewomen talking about the relationship they have with their tattoos in correlation to the duty they undertake for their country.  War Ink is a partnership between the Contra Costa County Library, a collective of California’s libraries, and Jason Deitch, a former Army medic and military sociologist.

Posted on

Savage Beauty

The critically acclaimed exhibition, Savage Beauty has turned everyone’s attention back towards the incredible talent that was Alexander McQueen. All of the team at Things & Ink love embracing differing opinions on what the conventional beauty standards are and no better example of this was on the catwalk of McQueen’s shows.

With the incredible talents of world famous makeup artists, Peter Philips, Val Garland and Pat McGrath, the makeup created for these shows was truly out of this world.

Savage Beauty runs until July 19th 2015 at the V&A Museum in London

 

Posted on

Amy – official trailer and your Amy Winehouse tattoos

 Amy reveals an intimate glimpse in to the life and death of Amy Winehouse, who tragically passed away in 2011 from alcohol poisoning after a long battle with alcohol and drug addiction. Her music, look and persona has lived on and the BAFTA award winning film maker, Asif Kapadia has captured the true essence of her tempestuous life in a film that is sure to prove why she was and still is adored by so many.

Check out the trailer on YouTube.

Amy Winehouse has become such a cult figure that many of us are adorning ourselves in memory to her with portrait tattoos, replicas of her own tattoos and personal designs that keep her memory alive on our skin.

Gray Silva from Rampant Ink in Nottingham

Lauren Winzer from Hunter & Fox in Sydney

Unfinished by Aaron Wickham from Horsham

Jocke JP Petersson from Pistolero tattoo in Sweden

 Roberto Euan

 Nico Lavoratori