The collation of these queer tattoo patterns, neatly organized in Vorlagenbücher, came to form a kind of iconographic program, a pictorial code that the savvy researcher or police officer could use to identify and survey men who had sex with other men. The tattoos were not always explicitly erotic, however inked drawings of clasped hands often denoted homosexuality, as did daggers and snakes. Many of these tattoos were obscene, they noted, and were often found in places where tattoos ought not go (namely, the penis or the buttocks). Both writers, in addition to noting that tattoos typically were found on individuals of a certain ‘sensual’ nature, highlighted the prevalence of the custom among pederasts and other queer men. Respondents to Lombroso’s theories included the Austrian criminologist Hans Gross and the German sexual scientist Albert Moll, who included many reproductions of Lombroso’s illustrations in his “Handbuch der Sexualwissenschaften” (1912).
The pioneering criminologist Alexandre Lacassagne maintained an interest in criminal tattoos, as did Cesare Lombroso, whose 1876 text “L’uomo delinquente” (“The Criminal Man”) included numerous illustrated charts filled with line drawings of the tattoos that he observed on the bodies of murderers, sex workers, and homosexuals.įollowing its translation into German in 1896, Lombroso’s text ignited debate amongst German-speaking researchers and physicians. Indeed, tattoos were at the forefront of early scientific attempts to identify and typify ‘criminal’ individuals. The study seems to contain an implicit admonition, which, for scholars of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century sexuality, reads as eerily similar to scientific writing on tattooing practices from over a century ago. As parting advice, the researchers suggest that “dermatologists, healthcare providers, and public health advocates should recognize that having (a) tattoo(s) is a potential marker for mental health issues and risky behaviors.” They were also, according to the study, far more likely to be homosexual than their non-tattooed counterparts. Timming) conclude that individuals with tattoos are more likely than those without to have mental health issues, spend time in jail, and engage in “risky” behaviors, such as smoking and having multiple sexual partners. In January 2019, the International Journal of Dermatology published a report entitled “Are tattoos associated with negative health‐related outcomes and risky behaviors?” In it, the authors of the study (Karoline Mortensen, Michael T. Scientific Perspectives on Queer Tattooing
Historically, the relationship between sexuality and tattooing was of central importance to scientists concerned with defining homosexual identity, and for good reason: tattoos were a cornerstone of queer European visual culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For many, these images represent a small fragment of LGBT history that was repressed and concealed for so long.What is queer about tattoos? Can sexual identity be inked onto one’s skin? Since at least the mid-nineteenth century, researchers have been asking similar questions. There is little information about the individuals in the photos and it is quite extraordinary that these images still survive - as many old photos of homosexual couples are believed to have been purposely destroyed by family members.Īlthough it is unknown whether the people in these unique photos were related, gay or just friends - the tender and close relationship between the men pictured is poignantly evident. The images, taken from various websites, capture Victorian and early-twentieth century males in intimate positions - and showing a daring amount of openness with one another for the time. At a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence and harsh sentences were brought down upon gay men, these images of male affection from the 19th century are truly remarkable.Įmbracing each other, holding hands and reclining together, these incredible black-and-white photographs provide a rare glimpse into men showing physical love to other men in the 1800s and early 1900s.