Inked Scene: Jaded Moon

Jaded Moon was born to be a provocateur. Growing up in a nudist household, taking your clothes off once you stepped through the door was the norm. Her avant-garde approach to social conventions would carry into her adult life, bringing erotic art to her tattoo work and never shying away from inking someone’s unmentionables. She’s made a name for herself as one of the most sex-positive people in the tattoo industry and will admit that there’s nothing too raunchy for her to tattoo. After all, normal is simply a state of mind.

Take us through your upbringing in a nudist household and how you developed an interest in art?

As an adult, I look back at my household and think about how you can think anything is normal until you’re told it’s not. Growing up in an environment where clothing was optional never affected me. I didn’t actually ever think it was unusual, in my mind clothes had a place and time. If you left your home you put on clothes because that’s expected of you by society standards of normality. I mean you don’t see people just walking around in public without clothes. So you follow suit. I’ve never thought my household was unusual. I figured everyone took their clothes off the second they came in their door. You are born naked, you choose to put clothes on to hide yourself, for whatever reasons.

My mother was a very sex positive free loving nudist. She was a fun, free spirited, attractive, social person, that was pretty much absent for the majority of time. I was a very artistic child who spent most of my time hidden away from the world drawing and daydreaming. I don’t know when my passion for art began, but I do remember it from some of my earliest memories.

When did you start creating sexual art and where did you find your early inspirations?

I started creating sexual lewd artwork after a very long, oppressing marriage. I’ve always sketched women in the nude, from the moment I started exploring art history in my teenage years. All great artists painted and sketched seductive looking women in full nude. The fetish related art and actual depictions of sex came after my marriage was complete, once I felt free to become the person I wanted to be.

I’ve always had this love for sexual openness and I’ve had many opportunities in life to have intercourse in group settings with many interesting variables. I have no concerns or fear of having sex in public places with lots of spectators. My “No fucks given” attitude doesn’t allow me to indulge in others’ disdainful opinion about my sexual openness. If my art makes you feel uncomfortable, maybe you should look at the reason why.

Much of your art, both in tattooing and modeling, features bondage. When did you personally get into bondage and how does it enhance the sexual experience?

Bondage has been an interest of mine from an early age, I can’t remember the first time I saw a woman bound, but I remember the feeling it gave me. The feeling of a beautiful expression of art created through the communication and understanding between the two people involved. Being able to completely submit and let go, and give yourself fully to another person is a powerful thing. Is it painful? Yes, when Shibari is present, but in the most pleasurable way.

Imagine that you are a strong woman living in a world of male dominated ideas, and your whole life is you trying to accomplish and move forward factoring in you have a vagina and not a penis. Being a strong woman, you rarely have the opportunity in life to feel vulnerable in the trusted hands of another. I don’t always view bondage as a sexual act, for the most part when doing Shibari ties and photoshoots, it comes down to two artists in a safe space collaborating on an art project. The word bondage, with all of its sexual connotation, can heighten the ideals of sex and cause arousal by simply stimulating the mind to provoke fear, discomfort and pleasure depending on the agreement of the people involved. The key to bondage, in whatever form you choose, is communication. Communicating your wants, desires, feelings and expectations before and after the experience.

Female empowerment takes on many forms in your work. How do you think women can be powerful and in control in both dominant and submissive roles in the bedroom?

I use this term a lot, “Dominant not domineering,” because there is a difference. You can respectfully assert yourself and dominate your partner with communication. With every new partner, a new set of guidelines needs to be established. I’m naturally dominant, I do enjoy the moments when I get to be submissive, but that is rare and can only occur with the right partner. Men often say, “Oh I’m dominant, let me dominate you.” A true dominant person will never need to tell their partner that they are dominant, it’s simply understood with actions. And so I say, “Look, this is only going one of two ways. Either you dominate me and that’s cool, or I dominate you.” Someone is getting something in their butt, and it might not be me.

Do you have a dream tattoo that’s been too bold for a client to commit to?

I’ve had tons of things I’ve been wicked excited about and the clients have paid their deposit, set their time and then backed out at the last minute. I had a female prostitute who inquired about a pentagram around her asshole (which would have been super fucking hard, but I was up for the challenge) with an occult theme including a flaming church above the pentagram. She didn’t end up doing it because she was worried about the aesthetic of the tattoo around her asshole and feared what her clients would think. Of course, I understood the decision based on a financial standpoint. Never fuck with your money or with something that makes you money.

Take us through the struggle you’ve had with your Instagram getting taken down and how you’ve coped with that as an artist?

I despise social media, I think it has similar effects on our society as TV—it distracts you and makes you complacent. I honestly try hard to not indulge in TV, movies or the internet, beyond the countless hours of watching porn for my tattoo designs. I feel like I could sit here and go into detail of every account that I’ve lost, how it made me feel or why I think people hate me so much and flag me so frequently, but the truth of the matter is, I actually don’t know. Maybe it’s because people are jealous, because I’m a strong female owning my sexuality, traveling the world alone without fear and having far too much fun.

What are some of the wildest tattoos you’ve done on people’s genitals?

Well I wouldn’t say I’d ever use the term “wild” when describing a tattoo, I guess I’d say it all depends on what you think is wild. To me, everything I do seems normal. I will say, the one that shocks most people is a hyper-realistic vagina I did on a man’s taint. People always have to look at it a few times, because it tricks the eye into thinking the man has both a penis and a vagina.

What are the challenges that come with tattooing people’s genitals?

Well, if I am being honest, genital tattoos are extremely difficult for the client and myself. Not because of the pain, but because of the process. For instance, a male has to be erect for the stencil so that’s a challenge all on its own. A lot of communication is made before the tattoo and explanation of the process and what will be needed to achieve the best outcome. I know what you’re wondering, do I aid in that part of the “fluffing” process? The answer is, no!

Do guys or girls handle having their intimate areas tattooed better and why do you think this is?

I don’t think it comes down to the fact that someone will sit better because they are male or female. I think pain tolerance is determined by will power and the ability to calm yourself throughout the process. Tattoos fucking hurt, no matter what the body part is, and genitals are no different. For the most part, most of my clients sit very well, I think it’s because they have this preconceived idea of the fulfillment they will get from the outcome.

Why do you choose to tattoo topless on occasion and how has this changed your tattoo experience?

Well, I hate to say this, but I can not take credit for the topless tattooing idea. When I started working for Cleen Rock One, I was fully aware of the fact that the guys tattooed the majority of the time with their shirts off. It’s referred to as “Shirts Off Party.” Since, I always deem myself an equal, even though I have more developed mammary glands, I will never shy away from the opportunity to be less clothed, so I was in. The truth is, I just figured that I was part of the crew so I should not be the only one steering away from the customs of the shop.

I do remember the first time I did it at a tattoo convention. I was actually alone, without my crew, but I didn’t care. Being a rather large breasted, fully tattooed female, it did stir up a bunch of mixed feelings. I’m normally fully booked at conventions so it’s not a ploy to get more clients. It’s basically because I’m far more comfortable with my shirt off and normally I’m tattooing next to my crew, so I don’t want to be left out of the fun.

What are you dying to tattoo that you haven’t gotten around to doing yet?

OK, I have this mission that I can’t seem to get anyone on board with yet, but eventually someone is just going to have to do it to shut me up. Do you remember the movie, “From Dusk Till Dawn?” Well, in that movie there was a character that had a tribal sleeve. Every tattooer in the ‘90s and early 2000s was shown that tattoo design a zillion times. Beef cake broskis would flood into shops to get that design or something similar. I want to bring back the ‘90s tribal in a whole new way—on genitals.