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The Lesbian Tattoo

The other night I was talking lesbian tattoos with comedian Kelli Dunham. She’s fucking hilarious; you should seriously check out her CD. So, we’re talking tattoos and she shows me the dolphin tattoo on the back of her hand. She claims that when she got it, she had no idea that dolphin tattoos were a lesbian staple. I’m not buying it. Come on, that’s like claiming you’ve never listened to Ani DiFranco.

Kelli says she figured out the dolphin lesbian tattoo thing the day she was fist deep in some lucky girl’s vag and noticed her dolphin brushing up against the dolphin tattoo on the lady’s thigh. She had a lesbian-fisting-dolphin-frottage-frenzy A-ha moment. I can only imagine. I think that kind of tattoo kismet is the universe telling you to propose.

I don’t know what’s up with dykes and our tattoos. Have you ever had the urge to get the interlocking women’s symbols tattoo? Maybe in rainbow? You have. You’ve had a lesbian tattoo urge, just admit it. You’ve, at some point in your life, in a frenzy of either love, gay pride or bipolar mania, probably wanted to get some sort of lesbian signifier tattoo. We all have. I heard about two fabulous ones the other night: a Trompe l’oeil gash on the back of a woman’s leg oozing rainbow blood and the piano/tree image from Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival done in rainbow. Yes, rainbow. Personally I think rainbow is overkill, but hey, it’s a personal choice.

I have my own version of a lesbian tattoo; it’s a heart-shaped antique lock on my left arm to which my partner got the key. I got it about a year and a half into my previous relationship. Eric, my tattoo guy, teased me about it, and sure enough we broke up shortly after. The lock stayed, the girlfriend didn’t. I figure I can always have copies of the key made. Now I have a glock tattooed on the other arm — to discourage break-ins.


So do you have a lesbian signifier tattoo? Fess up.

 

61 Comments

I don't have any tattoos,

I don't have any tattoos, beacuse I don't want one unless it's an imagine really special to me, in a time just as special.

But I've started thinking about one I want, though:
It's a chinese luck-dragon and a Koi-fish forming a circle (You know, the dragon raches the Koi's tail, and the Koi's head reaches the dragon's behind) and there's smoke around them, and inside the circle there is Yin and Yang.
Not like, there's a circle inside the two animals, more as if they're on top of it, so it doesn't look totally circular, but it still is...

I've been told that my

I've been told that my Beatles tattoo is very lesbian since it's geometric and imposing

I have a feminist tattoo that many people mistake to be a lesbian tattoo, too

dykes on bikes are better

dykes on bikes are better then chicks on sticks. I have one tattoo, it matches the one my ex-girl got of a dragon on my left arm (What a mistake) I would like to get one of a lybris like Gina Gershon had in the movie Bound on my right arm, I would also like to get a red ribbon on my right shoulder in memory of my mom.

Me too

I have 4 tattoos but the one closest to being a lesbian one is on my right hip. It is of a rose that is done but not complete. When and if I ever find my life love I well get it completed. If interested you can see them on http://lwordwiki.sho.com under my profile with the same user name.

"Never make someone a priority if they can make you an option."

Guilty.

I admit, I've had that lesbian tattoo urge =]

"I'd rather be a fuckup than a liar." -Shane.

I have two

I've got two tatoos... one of them is a small dragon I got when I was 18...
A year ago I got a new one much bigger...flowers on my shoulder inspired by the flower power movement in the 60's...I like to think it's a little gay hhehehe

wow

this is a very interesting topic! hey i'm from Chile and i love the l word, really it has changed my life :) ,talking about tattoos ,here in my country "cherries" are very related with gays! my girlfriend has one of those ,i'll upload a picture of it tomorrow . sorry about bad english i'm just learning it :) , kisses

and

besides the gay tatoo i have another two...

a little gecko on my low back and a strange symbol that I designed.

gecko represents protection, and the meaning of the term in my life is a big one, but it's a reeeeally long story so i don't think i should write it here...

and the other one has a long story as well so... hahaha no new info for you...

either way, no more tatoos for me... 3 is the limit

--Mon--

well..

well i have a gay tatoo but not a big one... it's a very discreet tatoo...

i have 6 tiny dots, each one with the corresponding color of the rainbow..
i had that tatoo done since coming out of the closet made a huge change in my life... my coming out was a very hard one but the thing that has made me happier in my whole life.. so that's the meaning for me... but of course, everybody has a different story, different meanings... for some others there's no meaning at all...

every head is a world

--Mon--

I have quite a large number

I have quite a large number of tattoos, but none of them are like.. rainbows or anything.. but not many straight girls go for back pieces and sleeves.

It's my feminine empowerment/lesbian tattoo

Place: just above my hipbone (right-side)
Description: An angel with a feminine figure holding three butterflies

At 26, it's my first and probably last tattoo ;-)

I have a tattoo on the back

I have a tattoo on the back of my neck. I didn't get it as a display of lesbianism, trust me, but I have to admit it - women love it (straight AND gay).. men like it too!

What the hell is taem?

What the hell is taem?

i have a tiny lambda on the

i have a tiny lambda on the side of my right breast. its a low key lesbian symbol and its in a low key place so only select ladies get to see it! i think its a classy alternative to the rainbow interlocking female symbols. the only way i'd regret getting it would be if i woke up one day and realized im totally straight, i think im probably safe!

I don't think I'd ever get

I don't think I'd ever get one with a partner, those things are such painful reminders >< but I'd love to get a symbol of the last character of my Chinese name. It means "poem", and it's a very nice character in a girls name.

weird!

so for the past week i have been thinking about a tattoo. if its gay i don't know. i wouldn't think so. but maybe you could see it that way. its a heart in flames with a blindfold around it. i see it as meaning "true love is blind". i love it i just don't know where to put it. ha!
as for the dolphin. i know that is an animal for a certain sorority but i won't say which one. but i know a lot of those girls have gotten a tattoo of the dolphin and aren't gay. haha! its a good thing i didn't hit on them. :)

To those straight girls w/ the dolphins I'd say either

caveat emptor (buyer beware) or Freudian slip.

Maori culture

Ive been thinking about getting some kind of Maori design
Something that signifies where my roots are
I just haven't found one that fits who I am

i like snowboardgirl & taem's tats! =)

this is hilarious! i never thought animals can be a name tag saying "i'm gay!"..

i do think of having a tattoo but my place & soon-to-be-profession used to strongly suggest not having one..they've all this messed up idea that tattoos would give you a hard time finding a job..well, that's in my conservative place..

anyway, i like the snowflake & dragon fly idea of snowboardgirly & taem's tattoo..hmmm, seems cool to me..

anyway, i'd wanna announce i won't get online that much anymore..i'm just lucky tonight finding a computer..i've moved again from New York to Texas..anyone interested to contact me, i've left a blog about my contact numbers..=)

ciao everyone & good luck with your tattoos!=)

-khuriel-

around here, dolphins are a

around here, dolphins are a key indicator of a swimmer more than a dyke, as far as I understand. I'm an ink virgin, but have been contemplating something related to what appears to be my totem... But I'm afraid of it being super cheesy, so I haven't taken the jump yet..

Tattoos I want

Half a scale on my arm, a Darwin fish, and maybe 'A grain of salt will save the world' None of those scream lesbian signifier to me and I have no desire to get any kind of dolphin or rainbow tattoo. Heh, guess that shows how far down the line 'lesbian' is when I define myself

My dreams have voice overs. I win. Period.

violin & rose

i've been obsessed with violins since i was little and started playing when I was three. and a womans body is made of the same perfect curves. i have a rose because a violin maker crafted a violin with a rose engraved in it of ivory. my body is just a mirror.

oh my

..is THAT why im obsessed with them too??thanks :):)
i hope THAT's why the bond chicks play them so welll too..they are just yum

Hi Jenn.....

"a womans body is made of the same perfect curves"

What a beautiful statement.........

The rose, an awesome choice. :)

Not les, but

Lately I've been seriously considering a dragon fly. It's a spirit guide/protector thing for me. Thing is, I really feel like it needs to go on the top of my right hand or forearm, and I'm not sure I want it that public. Or maybe its just that I don't want to have to explain to people why I feel I need it. When I try to imagine it somewhere else, it doesn't feel right. I recently met someone with a really big, confident, colorful one with the wings at her wrist that I think is amazing. I would love to be able to sport something like it as an outline in black or Siana, but know I would never be that bold. I also suspect, though I haven't checked it out, that my school district may have rules. More and more lately i feel like the squiggly peg shoved into a straight hole.

Taem?

I don't know....

I've seen a lot of dragonfly merchandise on gay sites. (Caught my attention because my first email address was dragonfli333.)

http://www.cafepress.com/dynamik_dezigns/1538823

http://www.rainbowdepot.com/search.asp?keyword=dragonfly&search.x=0&sear...

http://www.dragonfliesofdallas.org/about_usv2.htm

Just a couple of examples.

I assume the link has something to do with the fact that homosexuality is relatively common among many types of dragonfly.

Then again, it's common among chimpanzees as well, but you don't see as many monkey tattoos or other links to primates (well, other than Jenny's monkey vs. pony theory).

For the record, I wanted a monkey. :)

marked

i'm very attracted to tattoos. the person i marry or decide to be with forever must have or at least appreciate the form of tattooing. i currently have 10 and have plans for more. of course i have a lesbian tattoo. my best friend and i got matching rainbows. nothing says homo like a good ol' care bear like rainbow. haha.

A lotus flower

A lotus flower on my lower back- unoriginal, but I love it. And it is very gay :)

never had...

OK i don't have any tattoo but i'm thinking of having one this year...probably a dolphin? oh, not too original...but i'm a lesbian so i guess i'd have it! :)

Scorpio...

I'm a Scorpio (almost my bday! Yay!) For those of you who do not know the symbols, my symbol is an "M" that has like a triangle looking scorpion tail coming up on the end of it. I made the triangle pink. I'm very much a Scorpio and a lesbian so it fits me perfectly. I'm considering little rainbow stars around my wrist = ) Cute but still a little punk. lol.

Okay, okay.......lol

I have too many tattoos to list, BUT....I do have the interlocking woman symbol with DYKE underneath it, The NY Yankee logo filled in with the rainbow....and a Melissa Etheridge symbol thing from I think the "Yes I Am" CD....her initials making a key kinda thing.....and enough ex's names to make a phone book.....lol
Is that les enough?????

N!k

I've never listened to Ani

I've never listened to Ani Difranco!! But I'll hit itunes up later and see what I think =)

I'm continuously tempted to get a subtle lesbo tattoo... or maybe not that subtle haha... One day.

I don't think I would ever get matching tattoos with a partner, but my best friend and I have decided that on the 10year anniversery of our friendship (so in 3years) we will get something matching-ish =)

Well...

I am a Leo, so I have a lion tattoo on my left shoulder. I have one huge tattoo that covers my back from my shoulder blades to the small of my back. That one is of a water scene with dragonflys, flowers, reeds, blue sky, and a few other little critters. I think it is beautiful. Gay? I don't know.

Only got one and it's a

Only got one and it's a couple of snowflakes behind my ear :)

Don't think i could ever go the rainbow route.

yeah

I laughed when i read this because i have had the urge, more than once, to get the interlocking girl symbols. and in pink of all colors. i never wear that color.

hmmmm

I have a pin-up style mermaid on my arm. (gay?) i plan on adding to the piece with fish and an anchor. no dolphin, though. i always associated dolphin tattoos as straight up cliches, but am now entering this newfound knowledge into my gaydar.

I'm so gay....

I don't need a tattoo that says it for me. lol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
walkin through the streets of Soho in the rain."

I love tats!!

nope never have...and never will..although my ex has one of me...its my symbol inside a four leaf clover on her hip...lol when we broke up I totally rubbed it in her face that she is seriously an idiot for having it done. It left her sorta speachless...as I walked out the door.
epic.

-joey V

WHOA...

Apparently I need to be educated in the art of lesbian tats, because I had NO IDEA!! Dolphins?! Seriously?! I have always had an affinity for Dolphins! I-I just thought they were beautiful and intelligent creatures! So DID NOT know there was that sort of significance to them... Where can I learn more?

*** ***
"The most important quality essential to success is perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."--Unknown

Re: Mmhmm...

yeah I thought the same thing....I've always liked dolphins for being such smart, fascinating animals....and I know girls who have the tattoo and are not gay ..... :P

S

almost...

my ex and i were planning to get matching bird tattoos on our necks right before a breakup. sooo glad we didn't, but i did end up getting a dove just for spite.

also have matching rainbow butterflies with my bff. so at least ive got the gay :)

editor

I've only considered hippie

I've only considered hippie tattoos. I still really want to get the archaic glyph for the planet Pluto, for astrological reasons.

To Find your Perfect Woman.

I picked out my first tatoo from a book about Goddesses, one for every day of the year. That should have been the first clue. It was a moon and star (think of the Turkish flag, only with some facial expression and detail), a header for the month of February I believe. As soon as I saw it I knew I was going to put it permanently under my skin.

Many years later (and after I got my celtic star pentagram, ie woven star, which I wanted to get in rainbow colors but instead went with blue highlights...) I tried to research what exactly this symbol meant. I mostly found myself reading about the Turkish flag....

Then I got my pagan cataloge in the mail. You could buy pendants, caldrons, herbs...etc. And I found a pendant similar in style to my moon and star. Only this charm said it was meant for Men... and it was to aid you luck in finding your perfect woman. And to think I got this tatoo when I was still in denial (so deep in the closet I didn't even want to know!)...

I'm so gay. But it worked, because I found her...

I think trees are definately lesbian...

I just didn't realize this untill AFTER I got my tree tattoo.

no tree tat but...

I do love to hug 'em. First time I remember seriously communing with a tree I was 4 or 5 years old. It was about the time I was seriously wrapped up in a girl who reminded me of the safety of earth warmed by the summer sun. Les?

Taem?

SCARY

butch (key) femme (lock) imagery, Diana. you can always have more keys made. and you can change the lock. but that poor key, what's it good for?

author

There are plenty of locks

There are plenty of locks out there. I'm sure she's already found another keyhole.

haha

haha

it's not gonna fit

you can't take a key to a locksmith and ask to have a lock made for it... unless you've got a skeleton key

Yup

I have my homo tattoo. Its a small rainbow band around my ankle with a pink triangle in the center. Yup.. pretty gay.

I have six tattoo's and a dolphin one!! I never realized dolphins were gay either! Mine is in a medicine shield because of a vision I had (that changed my life) and I was so compelled to honor this vision I got the tattoo. My latest is a perty asian dragon on my calf. I think I have a pic of it in my pics here.

How do you not know that getting tattooed for your partner is the kiss of death?!