Is there lesbian symbolism in nautical star tattoos?

Answer 1

As a professional tattoo artist, I am very happy to tell you that many and most tattoos are simply whimsical and fun or aesthetically pleasing. They don't all mean things. Also, different designs mean different things to different people. There isn't an end all . Try asking the person it's on what it means to them. Nautical stars, specifically, are vastly overdone in the tattoo world. The have no specific association with ANY group or meaning. I have personally applied these designs to people from ALL walks of life on ALL areas of the body. The only meaning you should ever concern yourself with is the meaning you yourself place on these images.

Like previously stated there is no end all to the symbolism of tattoos. A lot of people design their own tattoos with their own symbols to mean something. But there are certain general symbols that are universally recognized to have a distinct meaning, and the nautical star is one of these, though it is slightly different. Tattoos like koi fish and phoenix birds usually have the same general meaning, whereas people from different walks of life use the nautical star to represent their own group that they belong to. Nautical stars are now a symbol of the "punk rock" world and you'll find many punker girls wearing them. However, the nautical star has a lot of other unique meanings as well. The nautical star was also very popular amongst sailors, who were the first to sport these tattoos. In the 1940s, when homosexuality was looked down upon, homosexuals (mostly lesbians) would get a nautical star on their body to indicate their sexualty. Often times they would place it on their wrist, where the tattoo could be covered by a watch to hide, but also easily visible if they wanted it to be. The best way to find out what a particular tattoo means is to ask the person that the tattoo is on.