Ultimately, these tattooists have more to offer than sapphic solidarity. They’re skilled, unique artists, and because they’ve created their own studios with women and queer people in mind, they have the freedom, power, and agency to develop individual styles. Cassandra DeJesus, a makeup artist, was drawn to Cherry Bomb Studio, a queer-owned tattoo shop in the Lower East Side, because of its inclusivity—but she decided to get a tattoo there because of the artists’ work. “A TikTok about them being a woman-based tattoo shop and also queer really caught my attention. I was looking through their artists, and I found something I really liked, so I got a tattoo from them,” she said. “Girls are just my comfort space, and honestly, I found it really empowering.”
Queer and women’s liberation and artistic liberation are inextricable in these spaces. Jade Caton, a tattoo artist, enjoys working at Cherry Bomb because the studio gives artists the freedom to pursue their creativity. “I think the biggest draw of what pulls people in here is definitely the uniqueness of the artists that we have,” she said. “It’s a queer shop. It’s a safe space for everyone.”