The rise of erotic tattoos

It’s 2017 and tattoos are more popular than ever, even if you don’t have one yourself you’re likely to know someone who does, and with jobs and companies becoming much more relaxed and accepting when it comes to body mods it’s not surprising to see tattoos becoming part of everyday life.

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 people out of the UK’s population are inked in some way, pair this with the overall greater acceptance of ink and it’s easy to see how the shock factor and rebellion associated with tattoos has largely died out; move in pornographic tattoos. More and more people are permanently celebrating their love of all things erotic; images once thought of as extremely taboo in public, sexual acts, nudity and erotic behaviour are now cropping up across arms, legs and torsos across the western world.

Erotic tattoos are not a new concept, with ‘pin up’ style tattoos of women gaining famed popularity in the 1930’s and 1940’s with many soldiers getting the ink just before leaving for battle. Nudity and sexual images have been a popular choice within tattooing for a long time, traditionally being most popular among men, the modern erotic tattoo however pushes this concept to the extremes often featuring explicitly sexual images and graphic portrayals of the human body; just as the practice of tattooing or having tattoos has crossed social classes and genders so too has its inspirations.

But it’s not just for shock factor, many of these tattoos are created and chosen because they celebrate the beauty of sexuality, displaying both men and women, independently and together, enjoying being in control of their sexuality and body; the tattoos are a step towards normalising a healthy attitude towards sexuality and some of its extremes.

Tattoo artist ‘Sad Amish Tattooer’ who is currently based in Bordeaux, specialises in tattooing stunning sexual tattoos, which range in content from naked female figures draped in items of clothing to male figures fully nude, wrists, ankles and mouth bound, but what hits you is not the NSFW content but the beauty and intrigue caused by the artwork. His tattoos are graphic, almost cartoon-ish outlined with bold and detailed black linework and shaded with intricate black dotwork; the end result is an erotic, passionate work of art, echoing the common themes of the sexually charged tattooing wave, ‘sexy’ tattoos are no longer just a pin up off a flash sheet, sexuality is not just a naked woman.

Sad Amish’s work has received a lot of attention on social media recently, with his work being some of the most recognisable sexual tattoos on Instagram.

While no longer pushing boundaries with just their existence in most western cultures, tattoo artists and those committing to having these images on their bodies are managing to provoke thought once again and defy the taboo of sexuality.

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