Here’s a bit from an inspiring article in the New Yorker about the recent third edition of Margot Mifflin’s 1997 book, “Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo”:

‘…The book is a cultural history, with photographs of tattooed women and female tattoo artists through the ages, beginning with a white Native American captive with a chin tattoo, from 1851. The third edition of the book, released yesterday, includes a hundred new photographs that examine how tattoo culture has evolved over the past fifteen years. As Mifflin writes in the introduction, “Tattoos appeal to contemporary women both as emblems of empowerment in an era of feminist gains and as badges of self-determination at a time when controversies about abortion rights, date rape, and sexual harassment have made them think hard about who controls their bodies—and why.” As we approach the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, this observation is especially resonant.
Though tattoos are an increasingly common, and visible, element of personal style these days, some of the more hidden and historic examples—from Victorian women to circus attractions—are the most surprising…’

Read the full article and see a slideshow of photographs (and backstories) of women featured in the book here.