Monday, April 21, 2014

Body Mod Chicago moves to Chicago Now

Body Mod Chicago has moved to Chicago Now. All future posting will be on that platform. You can follow me on Chicago Now here.

You can still follow me on Twitter, under the same handle.



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Tattoo project strengthens Ky. community

the Lexington Tattoo project founders, Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde hope to exhibit the final video product of the project in galleries, Gohde said.

A lot of people wouldn’t think of Lexington, Ky. as a place with a vibrant community, according to Kremena Todorova, artist and professor at Transylvania University.

But the town was home to the Lexington Tattoo Project, a community-based art project produced by Todorova and her colleague, Kurt Gohde.

The two artists had been thinking about creating artwork that involved tattoos and community pride for awhile, but they weren’t sure exactly what to do, Todorova said. 

“It was obvious to us ... that people just loved the community and the town, and were very committed to each other. ... We wanted to figure out a way to somehow capture that love for Lexington,” Todorova said. 

Bianca Spriggs, a local poet, wrote the poem that provided the foundation for the project.

Todorova and Gohde had worked with Spriggs before and it was at a poetry reading in 2012 that they decided to ask her to participate in the tattoo project.  

“There was something about hearing her voice ... that made both of us have pretty much the same realization that we should ask Bianca ... to write a poem as a love letter to Lexington and then find enough people to have one word from the poem tattooed on their bodies,” Todorova said. 

Todorova and Gohde divided the nearly 500-word poem into single words, phrases and punctuation marks that would be the tattoo options. They posted the options to the project’s Facebook group and participants submitted their top three choices. 

The process worked surprising well. Of the 253 participants, only 17 people didn’t get one of their choices, according to Gohde. 

But the tattoos aren’t just text. Every tattoo also has a number of circles and dots as a part of the overall image the poem was laid over, Todorova said. 

The image is based on New Circle Road, one of the main, landmark roads in Lexington, Todorova said. 

The project created a new community, Gohde said. 

Many people met at the project’s meet and greets, the tattoo or photography sessions, and “in the wild,” as it’s sometimes referred to, Gohde said. 

 “When they spot someone else with a tattoo that's part of this project that they don't know then they kinda connect with each other through that,” Gohde said. 

People said that the project made them proud to publicize Lexington as their home, Gohde said. 

“It gives them a way to ... say that Lexington is a really exciting place,” he added.  

The project was funded by local, private sponsors. That fundraising model has had a big impact in terms of people realizing what’s possible for community artwork, Gohde said. 

“It’s enabled other people who are interested in doing community projects ... to realize that it can happen,” he said.

The preview can be seen below.  



NY Assemblywoman sponsors bill to ban tattooing of pets


Tattooing and piercing pets is cruel and should be illegal, according to Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, who is sponsoring a bill to outlaw the practice.

Rosenthal introduced the bill in 2011 after she learned of a woman selling kittens online. 

“Those kittens had been pierced on the face, on the neck and down the length of the spine. ... She was selling them as gothic kittens,” Rosenthal said. 

“I did a little more research. ... I learned that it’s much more commonplace than one would think,” she added.   

A recent case involving a Brooklyn tattoo artist who inked his dog has added to the bill’s importance, Rosenthal said. 

“Why should an animal be subject to the owner’s whims in terms of how the owner wants to ‘decorate’ the animal? It’s really horrible,” Rosenthal said. 

Tattooing pets could potentially be considered illegal under animal cruelty laws, but Rosenthal said she wanted to make the ban explicit. 

The Humane Society of New York supports the bill, according to Sandra DeFeo, executive director of the society.

Animals should only be tattooed for a medical reason, such as identification, DeFeo said. 

“If you have a medical reason to do it, you say the medical outweighs the risk because you’re trying to make an animal better or you’re trying to help an animal,” DeFeo said. 

But cosmetic tattooing has no benefit, according to DeFeo. 

“An animal doesn’t necessarily think ‘Oh, I want to have a tattoo of a star on my shoulder.’ ... You’re imposing your will on them to do that,” DeFeo said.

Sedation risks must be considered, too, DeFeo said. 

“Sedation shouldn’t be taken lightly. ...When you have anesthesia ... there’s always risks involved," DeFeo said. 

The bill has bipartisan support and could pass when the legislative session ends, near June, Rosenthal said. 

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Chicago's progressive new initiative might help teen health

Chicago Public Schools will be expanding a program that will provide high-school kids with free condoms.

The teen birth rate in Chicago is 57 per 1,000, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. This rate is higher that the New York rate and higher than the U.S. rate, according to CDPH.

WBEZ had a great segment about the issue this week.



While teen pregnancy rates have dropped in recent years, there are still disparities in terms of race. Latina and African American teens are also two to three times more likely to give birth than Caucasian teens, according to Chicago's Action Plan for Healthy Adolescents.

The issue of STDs and HIV is also still a big problem, particularly among minority teenagers.

But will this initiative actually help protect teens? It worked in New York, so the odds might be good.

Illinois began requiring comprehensive sex-ed in 2013 and to now take it a step further shows a promising progressive future on the teen health front.






Thursday, April 10, 2014

Teacher allegedly calls 12-year-old girl 'sassy slut'


A teacher has been put on paid administrative leave after reportedly calling a 12-year-old girl a “sassy slut.” 

That's right -- call an adolescent misogynistic names in front of her peers, get a paid week off work. 

To apply a word like “slut” to a child barely old enough to menstruate speaks volumes about the way some - for instance, this teacher - think about women, women's sexuality and women's 'place' in the world. Why not simply, ‘brat’ if a derogatory term were in order? Not to advocate that teachers go around taking their stress out on their charges, but why the word choice here? 

From a young age, girls are taught where they stand in the world. This is more subtly done, now. But word choice matters. One blogger has even been trying to promote the Ban Bossy campaign because of the double-standards of the language. Girls are "bossy" whereas their male classmates are "assertive." 

Even dress codes can set double-standards. 

Recently in Evanston, Ill. there was wide-debate surrounding Haven Middle school's dress code which appeared to ban girls from wearing leggings. Some parent's complained that the dress code was also unfairly enforced. The school has since decided against the ban, but the girls still are required to wear shorts or skirts over their leggings. 

Adolescents learn by observation. So, what is the greater impact when girls who are still growing into themselves and figuring out where they fit in, are called bossy, distracting sluts before they can even get their ears pierced? 

Let's all just go buy some GoldieBlox blocks. 




Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Marketing teams take advantage of social issues for LGBT dollars.

Recently, the Supreme Court turned down a case that addresses the issue of freedom of expression and businesses' ability to discriminate against individuals in the LGBT community.

Elane Photography, a wedding photography business in New Mexico, brought the case to the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled that the company was violating the New Mexico Human Rights Act by refusing to photograph a lesbian couple's wedding.

This isn't the first time a company has tried to discriminate based on sexual orientation to little avail.

Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich resigned this week following a controversy on the Web about his donation to the Proposition 8 campaign.



More and more businesses are coming out in support of the LGBT community. Honey Maid, most recently, produced a new campaign with an ad that featured a two-dad family.




 Honey Maid responded to criticism with another pro-LGBT video.





As society shifts on the issue of equality, companies seem to be spotting an new in, if you will. A chance to brand themselves in a whole new way.

This is brilliant, from a marketing standpoint. After all, the 'pink dollar' market can still be tapped.




LGBT equality is an issue that is ever-present in the media and on the Web these days, which isn't a bad thing. These are fights that still need to be fought and if big businesses want to sign on, the more the merrier.

But people might be cheering just a little too loudly for companies that 'come out' as allies, forgetting that at the end of it, it comes down to those dollars. It's not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it's just the nature and necessity of sales. Of course, voting with your dollar is practical in some sense. Almost as practical as equality, though. Rather than "hurrah," the phrase should be "it's about time."



Google stats show top 3 posts on tattoo blog


An analysis of the Google statistics for Body Mod Chicago shows the three most popular posts:  “Chicago nurse discovers her gift for permanent makeup tattooing,” “Widowed blogger honors husband with memorial tattoo” and “Native young people leave behind traditional tattooing customs.”

The top two posts are the oldest on the site, which may explain why they have the most views. 

“Widowed blogger honors husband with memorial tattoo” has an audio segment that's been played 15 times.  

“Researcher: ‘Earliest tattoo was cosmetic,’” has an audio segment played eight times. This post consistently rises in page views. 

Another post that gets more traffic than others is “Native young people leave behind traditional tattooing customs,” which was based on an interview with the tattoo expert featured in “Researcher: ‘Earliest tattoo was cosmetic.’” 

Sources of traffic were largely referrals from the home page and Google searches. 145 page views were referred by social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Some readers clicked over from the  LifeAfterSteve blog, owned by Karen Marcus featured in "Widowed blogger honors husband with memorial tattoo," 

The audience for this blog is based primarily in the United States. Of Body Mod Chicago’s 738 page views, 707 views came from U.S. readers. 

Thirty-one views came from other countries including Germany, 11 views; the United Kingdom, eight views; France, six views; Netherlands, three views; Poland, two views; and Japan, one view. 

Fifty-one percent of visitors used Safari to view Body Mod Chicago and two percent used mobile Safari. Twenty-five percent of views came from users with Google Chrome. Eleven percent used Firefox to access the site. The remaining percentage of readers used Internet Explorer and non-Safari mobile browsers. 

Sixty-five percent of readers used Apple operating systems to view the site, including Macintosh, iPad and iPhone. Seventeen percent used Windows, 11 percent used Linux and the remaining three percent used Android. 

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Tattoo technology evolves as ink becomes more mainstream

Recently, a group of students developed an innovative way to use 3-D printers as tattooing machines.

The use of technology for taking over human tasks is nothing new in our culture. In fact, an article recentely outlined how robots might take over certain jobs including pharmacy techs, store clerks and drivers. Humans are becoming increasingly reliant on technology as more than a tool to get work done. Now, we've having technology do the work, period.

Will tattooing become a lost art as the 3-D printing technology phenomenon develops?

Tattoos have historically been a way for cultures to communicate, to tell stories and even to remedy medicinal or cosmetic complaints. The earliest tattoo was, after all, cosmetic.

Granted, there have been many different meanings and techniques throughout the history of tattooing, particularly when you consider tribal or native peoples.

Consider what Lars Krutak, tattoo researcher, had to say:







So, could our technology-obsessed culture simply be re-creating our own meanings of what tattoos and tattooing mean to us through technological advances?

In a way, it's sort of a shame because tattooing is such an intimate and ancient process. In essence, you are allowing an individual to make their art a part of you. There was even a recent controversy surrounding tattoo copyrights that speaks to the issue of tattoos and artistic ownership.

Of course, generally prior to getting inked, you have some input on the aesthetics behind your tattoo. It's an artistic collaboration of sorts and one that wouldn't necessarily be diminished by the use of 'robot' tattoo artists -- someone has to draw the design, unless robots become adept at graphic design as well.

Who knows, that may be next.

Tattoos are mainstream now. A Harris Interactive poll found that 1 in 5 adults  are inked. Gone are the days where only the degenerate drifter or motorcycle gang member sports a tat. Maybe this fact is pushing our generation to begin to think more outside-the-box when it comes to tattooing technique and culture.

This might not be a bad thing, but it will certainly be interesting to see where this -- and other tattoo technology -- will take us.











Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Naperville tattooing restrictions cause free speech concerns

In Naperville, Ill, it is illegal for anyone other than a licensed physician to own or operate a tattoo establishment. Troublingly, it is also illegal for anyone to perform a tattoo procedure without the supervision of a licensed physician


But many courts including the Arizona Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Massachusetts Superior Court have ruled that tattoos and tattooing are forms of speech that are, or should be, constitutionally protected.


"I think there is no question that a tattoo is symbolic speech. ... they are the classic form of symbolic speech, and the government ... ought not to be in the business of trying to determine what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in terms of having a tattoo," Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at the American Civil Liberties Union, said. 

Of course, from a public health and safety standpoint, tattooing regulations are, to a certain extent, a necessity. It's doubtful that anyone would argue that everyone should be able to pick up a tattoo gun and begin administering ink to the general public without some sort of license or at least blood-borne pathogen training.

Full disclosure: My first tattoo was done in a filthy studio (studio apartment, that is) by one of my alcoholic friends.


It's a wonder I didn't develop some sort of flesh-eating disease.

But over-regulation of tattooing can effectively shut out establishments all together, as seen in Naperville.

"Once you define something as being a matter of expression, once you define a service as being something that is constitutionally protected. ... government has a right to regulate it for health and safety, but not in a way that attempts to regulate it out of existence. I think that's the balance that you have to strike," Yohnka said.

"In terms of regulating the cleanliness, the sanitation, the types of services that are provided, et cetera. I think that's a legitimate governmental function, but it should never go so far as to overwhelm or to over-regulate so that you're in effect choking off access to a safe and legal procedure," he added.

Downtown Naperville is a quaint and cute area. You can stop in at any number of parlors for an ice-cream to enjoy while feeding the ducks or walking hand-in-hand with your darling on the Riverwalk. A tattoo shop might not fit into the overall scene.

Of course, you can also go a town over to get inked.

But, if anyone should want to exercise their rights to tattoo in family-friendly Naperville, they are in for a legal battle and might want to give the ACLU a call.










Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Doctor helps raise breast cancer survivors' self-esteem with restorative tattooing


Restorative tattooing is a procedure that lets breast cancer survivors revive their self-esteem and self-image, according to Dr. Linda Dixon, president of the American Academy of Micropigmentation and owner of Wakeup with Makeup, a cosmetic tattooing practice in Hawaii. 

“I call it the final step in the fight. It’s the one step that gives women back their dignity and it makes them feel whole,” Dixon said. 

The procedure for breast cancer survivors involves tattooing areolas and nipples on women who have had mastectomies or other breast surgeries. 

Restorative areola tattoos helps clients feel less self-conscious about their breasts, in part because of the added color, Dixon said. 

“If you see a breast without an areola and a nipple, without that color ... there’s just these two mounds,” she said. 

Dixon said she began practicing permanent makeup in 1995, when no one was teaching how to tattoo areolas naturally. She said she learned by asking around her professional network and doing some research.  

“I just started researching natural colors. One thing that helped me a lot was if they had one breast remaining so at least I had something to compare with for color and for size,” she said. 

Dixon says she uses a digital tattooing gun, but the procedure can be performed using a hand-tool as well. 

“Sometimes the skin is really fragile. It’s very delicate and some ... have gone through radiation, others have the implants right there ... you want to just be sure to protect the skin,” Dixon said. 

Areola tattooing is an artistic thing, Dixon said.

 “I ... went to a local tattoo artist who I made friends with 16, 17 years ago and I said, ‘Hey Jim, let’s draw areolas and nipples,’” Dixon said. 

“We started drawing ... coloring them in, different layers of color. You sort of layer the color and then you want to see how they heal,” Dixon said. 

Layering, highlighting and shading are techniques Dixon uses to achieve a 3-D look.

“You want to highlight the nipple because light hits from the top down and then you shadow it underneath,” she said. 

Dixon said she has always provided her restorative tattooing services at no charge. 

“It’s my way of giving back. These women have been through a very difficult time in their life. A lot of them are depressed and they have a poor body image now. ... I would be uncomfortable charging them,” she said. 

Dixon said she wanted to find a way to let people know about the free services, so she created the Survivor Academy Action Volunteer Effort (SAAVE) with the American Academy of Micropigmentation. 

“The Academy just said, ‘Hey, if you are willing or if you’re available to do these at no charge, then let us know and we’ll post you on our website,’” Dixon said.  

Providing these services is a rewarding experience, Dixon said. 

“These women, ... they are overjoyed. ... They’ve been through chemotherapy, they’ve been through surgery, they’ve been through reconstruction. A lot of them have been through radiation. ... Finally they have a bright spot,” Dixon said. 

“I guess you could call us the light at the end of the tunnel,” she added. 

You can see the list of SAAVE participants here