Word.
Bat Bracelet, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2010
James Spader, 1987
Russian Criminal Tattoos
The dagger through the neck shows that the prisoner committed murder while in prison, and that he is available to ‘hire’ for further murders. The bells on the feet indicate that he served his time in full (‘to the bell’), the manacles on the ankles mean that the sentences were over five years. ‘Ring’ tattoos on the fingers show the status of the criminal when the rest of his body is covered. The ‘thieves’ stars’ on the knees carry the symbolic meaning ‘I will not kneel before the police’.
I don’t care if you judge me on this. I dream of it at night.
I have always been proud of being ‘one of the boys’. Being able to out drink, smoke, snort most males I know. Talking like them, fighting with them. Being a friend and not being the girls only invited around for sex.
When I was 18 I spent much of my time in a house with three boys who I considered to be close friends. We were STEEL CITY PUNX and spent most of our time watching each others shows and drinking goon in the basement. Our group was about 80% male 20% female and us girls liked it like that. We almost felt superior. “Look I’m like the boys!, They treat us with respect while they treat you other girls like whores”.
I now at 23 I’ve come to realise though that by wanting to be like one of the boys I was saying that there was something wrong with females. I was validating societies view that men are better. That being like them is better than being like me. I can still party with boys, still love my friendships with these males, value their opinions and laugh at their jokes but no longer do I want to be like a boy. Because I’m not. I’m me. I may not be the standard issue version of a girl but whatever version I am, I am a girl and I can do all the things I want to do, I can stay out till 5 am, get in wrestling matches, listen to loud punk rock and not have that to associate these things with testosterone. I can associate them with freedom, with passion and with my own identity as a PERSON.
