Uncover Tattoo History
COVERED exists because when I went looking for context, for history, for queer and femme voices in tattooing - there was nothing. Men’s stories filled books. Women’s were footnotes. Queer tattooers were erased. Nobody was asking the questions that needed asking.
So I started asking.
COVERED is the love letter born from that obsession. It’s here to document, preserve, and amplify the voices of women and queer tattooers - before they’re lost. Because history is bleeding out every day. Another memory gone. Another legend unrecorded.
This isn’t about me. I’m not special. I just asked the questions - the same ones already answered for every man who held a tattoo machine before 1990. The difference is, I’m asking them of the women, the queers, the outsiders who were actually inside. The ones who lived it.
COVERED is tattoo history’s revenge arc. It’s the archive they said didn’t exist. It’s proof that tattooing has always belonged to women, queers, and the marginalized - even when the history books refused to write our names down.
If you have information, corrections, or stories, we want them. Correcting the narrative is the point. COVERED isn’t finished — it never will be. It grows every time someone speaks up.
This is history. This is legacy. This is a conscious choice to never forget.
COVERED is tattoo history’s revenge arc. We’re here to rewrite the story the outsiders got wrong — centering women, queer artists, and the voices erased from the archive they swore didn’t exist. This isn’t nostalgia, it’s truth: tattooing through AIDS, through bans, through being told “you don’t belong.” If we’ve missed something or gotten it wrong, we want you to tell us — because correcting the record is the whole point.
Our Commitment
Celebrating Tattoo Artistry
At COVERED, we’re committed to unearthing, preserving, and amplifying the voices of women, queer, and marginalized tattooers whose stories have too often been erased. Tattoo history belongs to everyone — not just the loudest, straightest, or most powerful voices.
Our work is grounded in truth, representation, and respect:
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We fact-check and source rigorously to honor accuracy over myth.
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We spotlight queer, femme, and trans artists across history who carved space when none existed.
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We tell these stories to empower, educate, and inspire — never exploit.
And because the archive was never finished, we know this work is ongoing. If you have more information, corrections, or new leads — we want to hear from you. Correcting the narrative is the point.
This is more than history. It’s legacy. It’s survival. And it’s our responsibility to keep it visible, accessible, and unapologetically queer.
Meet the Voices
Our dedicated team is driven by a shared passion for preserving and promoting the vibrant tapestry of tattoo history. Get acquainted with the individuals championing the narrative of tattoo artistry.
Memphis Mori
Founder, Researcher & Host/Writer
Hi, I’m Memphis Mori — queer, autistic, retired-tattooer, historian, and chaos Barbie with a mission. I started COVERED because every time I Googled queer tattoo history or female tattoo artists, the internet acted like we didn’t exist. Spoiler: we did, we do, and we’ve been here all along — carving out space in an industry that often didn’t want us.
This project is about more than ink. It’s about honoring the women tattooing when shops didn't want to tattoo women. It’s about the gay men who kept working through the AIDS crisis, tattooing their friends while they buried them. It’s about artists who worked underground when tattooing (and being out) was literally illegal.
COVERED is tattoo history’s revenge arc — the archive they said didn’t exist, built for the Girls, Gays, and Theys who deserve to see themselves in the story.
905-746-4746