We’re in Japan, and we are walking through the streets, and I just had to stop and take a picture of this beautiful sight: a man with a” Queer Eye” tattoo on his neck. A friend told me about this tattoo that he had seen on an older man. It was nothing like the tattoos I saw on my friends’ bodies in California, or even in Colorado, let alone on my own body! The resemblance was truly terrible.
So, it was back in Japan: that I learned about this wonderful art form in all of it’s glory. When I did, I could not but help but think about how similar it was to tattooing, because I too had seen it done when I was younger. But then, I didn’t know anyone who had it, and so I searched online for more information. After a while I found some wonderful websites, which had profiles of these incredible artists, and I printed out a bunch of them to take home with me.
Some of them were rather explicit: with pictures of people having their bodies tattooed. Others, however, offered gorgeous works of art that would astound you. One site, for example, featured an entire page of people having their eyes tattooed in Japanese style, along with detailed explanations of the process. There were also beautiful paintings that looked like they came straight from an anime cartoon.
I have to tell you: the quality of the art wasn’t the only aspect that surprised me. Japan is also a culture that tends to be quite secretive about its culture, especially the ones that it has to proud of. When you’re in Japan, you need to learn to be careful whom you associate with, especially if you want to pursue tattooed skin. The conservative community that abides by the Shinto religion does not accept openly into their circles any who practice the art of body piercing.
So, when I found this wonderful website: which offered so much beautiful work, I knew I was entering the world of beautiful Japanese tattoo art. In fact, there are so many wonderful things that I could write about this site. Something about the queerer eye tattoo itself just screams “unburdened”.
The fact that I never felt comfortable in my own country: or in the communities that surrounded me, made me realize that I am not alone. Being able to find such acceptance amongst the tattoo lovers of Japan simply takes a little more awareness and hard work. This site allowed me to see for myself that being a “queer” is a choice, a lifestyle choice that I can live with.
And I feel so very grateful that I can be a part of such a fabulous tradition. Thank you so much Japan!
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