Stick and poke
{{Short description|Traditional tattooing method}}
File:Philippine Sun (stick and poke tattoo).jpg
Stick and poke, also known as hand poke, is a tattooing method which uses a single needle instead of a tattoo machine. Until the introduction of electric tattoo machines in the 19th century, hand-poking was a common tattooing method,{{cite news |last1=Song |first1=Sandra |title=The tattoo artist healing the stick ’n’ poke’s reputation |url=https://www.thefader.com/2024/03/19/jojo-kim-tattoo-artist-stick-n-pokes-reputation |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=The FADER |date=19 March 2024 |language=en}} alongside incision tattoos and subdermal tattooing.{{cite news |last1=George |first1=Jennifer |title=Ötzi the Iceman had 61 stick-and-poke tattoos |url=https://wired.me/science/otzi-had-61-stick-and-poke-tattoos/ |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=WIRED Middle East |date=29 March 2024}}
Practitioners
In the modern day, stick-and-poke tattoos are often performed by young adult amateurs.{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Linnea E. |title='A real shift in the vibe': The tattoo industry is changing |url=https://www.vpm.org/news/npr-news/2024-08-20/a-real-shift-in-the-vibe-the-tattoo-industry-is-changing |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=VPM |date=20 August 2024 |language=en}} Minors who are unable to obtain parental consent for a professional tattoo may receive stick-and-poke tattoos from peers.{{cite book |last1=Kiuchi |first1=Yuya |last2=Villarruel |first2=Francisco A. |title=The Young Are Making Their World: Essays on the Power of Youth Culture |date=9 June 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9884-0 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ndPIDAAAQBAJ |access-date=2 February 2025 |language=en}} Incarcerated people may also give and receive stick-and-poke tattoos, an association which sometimes gives them the name of prison tattoos.{{cite journal |last1=Arneson |first1=Claire |title=Tattoos and Chopsticks: My Mother and I |journal=Floodwall Magazine |date=18 March 2024 |volume=2 |issue=7 |url=https://commons.und.edu/floodwall-magazine/vol2/iss7/59 |access-date=2 February 2025}} Other groups associated with stick-and-poke tattooing include punks and bikers.{{cite news |last1=Disser |first1=Nicole |title=Body Art: On How Stick 'n' Pokes Entered the Tattoo Mainstream |url=https://www.bkmag.com/2015/03/25/body-art-on-how-stick-n-pokes-entered-the-tattoo-mainstream/ |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=BKMAG |date=25 March 2015}}
Within the tattoo industry, stick and poke is often stigmatized as unhygienic or unprofessional. Other tattoo artists dislike the trendiness of the resurgent practice.{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Maria Del |title=What It's Like To Get A Stick-&-Poke Tattoo |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/my-first-tattoo |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=www.refinery29.com |language=en}} However, professionals who practice stick and poke praise its "softness", intimacy, and transgressive nature.{{cite news |last1=Corsillo |first1=Liza |title=The Stylish Rise of Stick and Poke Tattoos |url=https://www.gq.com/story/stick-and-poke-tattoos-style-rachel-howe |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=GQ |date=18 August 2015}}
Materials
Stick and poke tattooing requires a sharp object and a source of pigment; a handle may be attached to the sharp object for easier manipulation. Primitive tattoos were often performed with natural materials such as thorns or fish teeth, or with sharp implements made from metal, bone, or stone.{{cite journal |last1=Deter-Wolf |first1=Aaron |last2=Robitaille |first2=Benoît |last3=Riday |first3=Danny |last4=Burlot |first4=Aurélien |last5=Jacobsen |first5=Maya Sialuk |title=Chalcolithic Tattooing: Historical and Experimental Evaluation of the Tyrolean Iceman's Body Markings |journal=European Journal of Archaeology |date=August 2024 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=267–288 |doi=10.1017/eaa.2024.5 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-archaeology/article/chalcolithic-tattooing-historical-and-experimental-evaluation-of-the-tyrolean-icemans-body-markings/C19A6B61CEA938FBE6E47B0C81B96FD7 |language=en |issn=1461-9571|url-access=subscription }} Soot was sometimes used for pigment, as in the tattoos of Ötzi the Iceman.
Modern amateur stick and poke often uses a safety pin{{cite journal |last1=Carmen |first1=Rachael A. |last2=Guitar |first2=Amanda E. |last3=Dillon |first3=Haley M. |title=Ultimate Answers to Proximate Questions: The Evolutionary Motivations behind Tattoos and Body Piercings in Popular Culture |journal=Review of General Psychology |date=1 June 2012 |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=134–143 |doi=10.1037/a0027908 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1037/a0027908 |access-date=2 February 2025 |language=en |issn=1089-2680|url-access=subscription }} or sewing needle, and ink from a ballpoint pen. Professionals use tattoo ink, medical-grade tattoo needles, and stabilizer pens.