Free the Tramp Stamp

Pulled-down t-shirts obscure a taboo yet common youthful gaffe: the tramp stamp. I’ve seen floral and faunal lower-back tattoos, and, most memorably (and perhaps my favorite), a portmanteau of my friend and her siblings’ names etched on her mother’s lower back. 

Post-aughts, many celebrities opted to remove their lower-back ink, citing their “trashiness” and sexist societal perception of the tramp stamp as “a tattoo for bimbos and empty-headed, spray-tanned starlets of the tabloid era” (indeed, even the very moniker seeks to denigrate women).  

Gone are the times when a lower-back tattoo was cause for embarrassment, however: unleash the stamp! Forgo those cargo jeans for the tightest, lowest-rise jeans in your closet, and boldly reclaim what TMZ once misogynistically dubbed “the new scarlet letter.” 

Concerned about criticisms and misconceptions? Worry not! You’re far from alone in the star-studded tramp stamp pantheon including the likes of David Beckham and Britney Spears. Ice Spice and beabadoobee (among others) join you in paying empowering homage to Y2K’s “messy and magical glory.” Grit your teeth as your favorite tattoo artist begins inking your new tramp stamp- it’s finally time to take the plunge!