Contact – Butterfat

Consultation appointments and other queries (please first see Services for more info, if inquiring about a tattoo): esther@butterfatstudios.com

butterstinker

After receiving some legitimate and serious critiq $After receiving some legitimate and serious critique about being a white tattooer teaching a class about tattooing brown and black skin, I have decided to cancel this class, as well as the color theory 1 & 2 classes. I made a classic mistake: I made the remedy about myself, and again failed to center BIPOC in what was supposed to be a conversation about how to support them. I thought I knew better than this, but here we are. I wholeheartedly apologize.  In making the brief class description, I failed to properly share to what lengths I had gone, in an effort to incorporate BIPOC voices and experience. In truth, it wasn’t enough anyway. Regardless of how much time and effort and study I put in personally, I understand that it is still inappropriate for me to offer such a thing without \actually/ centering the people who will be affected. You just can’t do it, it doesn’t make sense and it is insulting in so many ways. From education to legislation, any conversation is not complete or even valid unless those whose rights/ oppression /benefit are in the room and empowered to have an effect. Sadly, it is perfectly possible to be anti-racist and still do harm. It is frustrating for me (and for sure those around me) that I can believe in the thing, but because I don’t have the same lived experience, the lessons still come one at a time. It would be better if we don’t all have to learn these things so incrementally, it harms and exhausts those who have to deal with this kind of thoughtlessness daily. Hopefully my sharing this will help someone to not make a similar mistake. Thank you to all who have spent energy on teaching me, I am so grateful. In future, I will refrain from placing myself in a position of authority in reference to tattooing melanated skin. Instead, I will continue my own study to support my clients- by learning from, supporting, and promoting BIPOC who want to teach and share their expertise.  (continued in comments)$