Death to "Tramp Stamp"

I was channel surfing today, and stopped at an episode of TMZ.  Some young lady in her early twenties was showing a picture of Jessica Alba and saying what a horrible mother she was.  I had to turn up the volume, to hear what made her so horrible.  Did she leave her baby in the car for an hour?  No.  Did she give her baby a cup of coffee?  No.  Ms. Alba had a tattoo!!  OH MY GOD!!  BUT – not just a tattoo.  She had a tattoo...on her lower back.

This young employee of TMZ proceeded to go on about how Jessica Alba had a “tramp stamp” and that no mother should ever have a “tramp stamp”.  She said it was sad for anyone over the age of thirty to have a “tramp stamp”.

Now, I have to address this for a few reasons.  Number one being the language we use.  Tramp Stamp.  That label right there: Tramp Stamp is one of the most disgusting terms I have heard to describe a woman.  I am sick of this language we use that completely objectifies and dismisses a woman in one foul swoop!  Women are not cattle.  Women are not stamped, or branded.  As a feminist, I will speak up to anyone who uses that term in my presence!

Number Two: tattoos last forever!  There are thousands of women out there with lower back tattoos that got them years – hell, decades ago – before this disgusting term was ever created!  Now – these perfectly respectful women are branded by society as having “tramp stamps”.  There are grandmothers out there with tattoos, and to call a woman a whore simply because they have body art is outright sexist.  No one over thirty should have a back tattoo??  And what happens at thirty?  All those tattoos they got years before shed off in a layer of skin?!  Damn – I wish people needed some kind of intelligence to be heard on television!

My goal with this post is to convince every reader to STOP using the term “tramp stamp” – and to speak up when others use it as well!  If you find it offensive, like I do, say so!  The language we use is very important in the world.  Little comments can make a huge impact.  Here are some phrases we commonly hear, but often don’t really notice their meaning: “Tramp stamp”, “wife beater”, “throws like a girl”.  Little comments carry meaning, and we need to be aware of what messages we send when communicating.