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President-elect Donald Trump may be a disaster for America. He's a boon to Portland tattoo artists.
Several tattoo studios tell WW that the week following Trump's victory has seen a rash of election-inspired tattoos. Kelly Dawson, manager at New Rose Tattoo, says customers have come in requesting symbols of human rights: safety pins, the twin yellow bars signifying LGBTQ equality, and rainbows.
"They let people around you know about you without saying anything," Dawson says. "It's a way to take a strong stance against everything he has stood for and all the negativity as a consequence of his rhetoric."
Related: How Donald Trump's presidency threatens Portland—and why you must fight back.
Here are four post-Trump Portland tattoos, with explanations from their creators.
"The overall message is that even a broken heart can be healed. The pieces are separate; they are joined on the bottom. And even though they are ripped, they can come together."
—Olivia Britz-Wheat, tattoo artist, oliviabritzwheat.com
"I did this tattoo for a fellow tattoo artist. He's very supportive in general of women's rights and all human beings, and I felt very honored to do that and to show solidarity."
—Britz-Wheat
"They wanted a permanent reminder to not choose hate and to choose love when you can. And that was powerful."
—Sarah Carr, Blue Ox Tattoo
"I felt really strongly about the election, and I had a little girl and I want her to know without a shadow of doubt she is deserving of all the things the world has to offer. Having her see those words on my body as she grows up is going to be really important. And I want to tell all the haters to go suck it."
—Meredith Elliot (tattoo by Carr)