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Imagine being sexually abused or harassed by your tattoo artist; not only do you have to go through it, you’ve also got a permanently-inked reminder of it on your skin.
Newcastle tattooist Alex Bage is a young artist who’s not only passionate about the industry he works in, but the overall ritualistic experience of getting inked. He understands that the relationship between artist and customer is sacred, and the artist should always do his or her best to create a comfortable and trustworthy environment for their clients. However, Alex has witnessed his colleagues doing the opposite, and he can no longer stay quiet.
You hear stories, some of my customers asked me “what can be done?”, “who can I tell?”, “his words against mine.”
I’m not a martyr, but I hate bullies and manipulative people and this is my attempt to stand up to them and show that people will back those who want to make a difference.
The cases Alex has witnessed range from verbal harassment to assault. Any person with morals would find this toxic behavior completely unacceptable, especially in the workplace, but in the tattoo industry, it’s all the more personal.
Alex posted some evidence on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/p/Beddnx4HmBJ/?utm_source=ig_embed
https://instagram.com/p/BeyuxVPn25S/?utm_source=ig_embed
These dudes are for real. They actually have the audacity to ask for sex in lieu of payment within their professional jobs.
Alex goes into further detail:
It’s been heartbreaking reading people’s accounts at times, as a lot of these girls sought their new tattoo and a change as a way out of, or away from, emotionally challenging or restricting situations, and into another sordid and upsetting place.
I’ve had reports of around 20 “incidents” relayed to me in messages and verbally in my shop. ‘Imagine feeling like you’re blossoming from being a self-harmer or dealing with the loss of a relative, the end of a relationship, and finding yourself at the mercy of a controlling sociopath who wants “nudes” in return for tattoos.
Having this BS consistently going down in his own shop absolutely justifies why Alex is the right man to call out these abusive low life a******s and put an end to this extremely harmful culture.
More from Alex delving into the motives of his sociopathic co-workers:
Some of these tattooists are morally questionable and see a vulnerability with what is often their “captive audience”, like those who tattoo in lockable “private rooms” – something I don’t agree with.
And a desire to exploit often young “obedient” clients, eased into in a compliant frame of mind will take advantage, these are not unintelligent or “basic” people invoked in accounts I have, in fact, most show traits similar to psychopathic – and definitely sociopathic – tendencies.
These exchanges are usually longer, more complex, manipulative and controlling, one-sided conversations corrosively pushing vulnerable young women into situations where they are made to feel obliged to comply or embarrassed to refute propositions of sexual activity.
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As the source article stated, sometimes there may be a mutual attraction between artist and client, and that can be totally ok. But for artists to offer free tattoos for sex, for them to violate the women who are unlucky enough to have decided to get their ink from these creeps– it’s never ok.
The sad truth is that there will always be people who do heinous things with zero regard for other humans. They will act like their words and actions are justified and totally downplay the given situation– probably claim the women liked the sexts or didn’t mind the harassment. But people like Alex Bage are making sure that these people are put in their places, that their despicable behavior will not be tolerated by anyone ever again. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who are truly lost, whether they’re completely ignorant of their own selfish tendencies or not.
Good on you Alex for being the change you wish to see in the world, and giving these low life tattooists a well deserved F*ck you.
Check out where these people are getting inked and try not to imagine the excruciating pain it would cause.
