Authentic Faith ~ the Lola Lamore Interview

Not all tattoos are as straightforward as they first may seem. Icons tend to be interpreted and then quickly shelved under the labels given to them by the collective society and the on-looker. It is through an individual’s personal story that the icon shifts and forms a new meaning. A skull isn’t just a skull. Not all crows fly in the same direction. And a sexy lady doesn’t always represent a particular woman from the past. Tattoos are as unique as the person who is wearing them. 

My next guest on Tattoos: the picture's story, is a perfect example of this uniqueness.  

Raised mainly by his grandparents, David is no stranger to the harsh realities and hard work of the farm life. He grew up on a farm just outside of Holden, in Central Alberta. At first glance, David seems like a normal big guy who you could imagine had tended to the homestead for much of his life; but for those who get to know David a little deeper, realize there is much more to him than just an Albertan farm boy. David is a minister; a minister known as Lola Lamore. 

Tattoo:tps:  Tell me about yourself.

David: Well, I was born in Drayton Valley, Alberta. My mum was a teenage mother so I was raised mostly by my grandparents. We had a farm near Holden Alberta. We had a mixed farm of grain, cattle, and a little bit of everything. My grandfather was an amputee. He lost both of his arms in a bailer, but he continued to be a farmer even after that. He could keep up with an auger or shovel with his feet faster than what I could with my arms. (laughs)

Tattoo:tps: Who was the biggest influence of your life?

David: My Grandmother. I see her as a strong independent, take no shit from nobody kind of person. She has always been supportive of me and still is. 

Tattoo:tps: Do you think that she knew you were bisexual or a drag queen before you knew?

David: No. 

Tattoo:tps: When did you discover that part of yourself?

David: I knew I was gay when I was around sixteen. 

Tattoo:tps: When, or how did you first discover Lola Lamore?

David: It wasn’t until I was in my twenties. I discovered Lola after being in an abusive relationship. In that relationship, I was emotionally and sexually abused. When it ended I was a mess. I was depressed and couldn’t interact with anybody. When I discovered the ISCWR, I bought shoes and raided mums closet. Lola was born. The minute I turned into Lola, I was turned into a different person. 

(Laughs) The first time I let a real girl do my makeup, it was not pretty. It was horrible! I looked like a football player in heels. I looked like I had fallen out of a semi-truck and into a pair of heels. 

So the first clothes I put on were my mothers. It was what I had available. But when she found out, she was like you can’t raid my closet, but I can raid yours. LOL  My mother was not supportive of who I was. She wanted to pray away the confusion. 

Tattoo:tps: And yet your grandparents did except you. 

David: My grandfather never had the privilege of meeting Lola as he died on the farm in 2008. Long before I came out. 

Tattoo:tps:  (My condolences). Your grandmother, a religious woman, how does she rationalize one being bisexual or a drag queen, and a minister? What do you think she would tell people?

David: She believes it’s not her job to judge, only God can judge. So she would tell people to shut the hell up. (laughs)

Tattoo:tps: One of your tattoos is the Star of David. Why did you choose this?

David: My tattoo is a representation of my Jewish ancestors. I am a Jewish Christian, that’s how I equate the two. As Christ himself was Jewish this to me makes me feel that much more connected to my faith. 

I grew up in the church. Ministry was always something I strived for. In fact, it’s why I went to Bible school. When I graduated from college in Eston, Saskatchewan, I knew I was gay. I also knew I couldn’t be fully authentic so I struggled for years to figure out how to do ministry as a Gay man.  I’m now able to do this authentically because of one simple verse of the Bible; John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” I believe that everyone is created by God and that he loves all his creations. 

Tattoo:tps: You also have a black rose tattoo on your leg. Do you have a fondness for roses, or is there a significance for this tattoo? 

David: The rose tattoo is in memory of the founder of the international court system. The ICS is a charity organization throughout Mexico, USA, and Canada. We raise money for scholarships and other various charities unique to each chapter. The founder is Jose Julio Syria, Empress 1 the Widow Norton (commonly referred to as Mama Jose). I got the tattoo the year he died after the Queen Mother Nicole of the Americas made a proclamation that all title holders wear a black rose that year. Now, I proudly wear a black rose all year long to honor his memory. 

Tattoo:tps: Tell us more about your role of Lola Lamore as a Minister. Is there a particular church that you work with?

David: No there isn’t. I just send emails out and see what happens. They invite me to their church. I’ve been to at least six of them now. 

For years I would do Christian music as that’s predominantly what I listen to. I discovered people enjoying it so I kept at it. Recently, I was given an opportunity to partner with a church. So for the past two years, I’ve been working at bridging the gap between the LGBTQ2 and the community. The church has done a lot of damage to the LGBTQ2 community and I am kind of that buffer zone between them. I get the backlash from them and the church. And at the same time, somebody's gotta be willing to do it.  I feel that it is my gift to do so.

It’s no small task but I consider it a calling.

Tattoo:tps: Thank you David.

David:  My pleasure. 

If you would like to know more about what David is up to, you can visit him on his Facebook page: Dave Lola Copeland. 

#dragqueen, #drag, #gay, #christiangays, #gayrights, #gayminister

Happy Lunar New Year

One of my favorite photos I took at the Muttart Conservatory while admiring the Chinese New Year display.

Tattoos in the Workplace

It really wasn't so long ago that a person with tattoos was asked, "How will you get a job when you have tattoos?" or "Nobody will hire you if you have tattoos." Due to the rapid rise in tattoo acceptance and social approval, I thought that stigma had faded already. But quite recently while at a job training course that prepares unemployed people for upcoming interviews, one of the Do’s and Don’ts was to hide the tattoos and piercings. As I saw this statement in the presentation, I wondered if this material was outdated, or still a fact in the workforce. Especially considering the last person to interview me had inked arm sleeves on both of her arms and lots of facial tattoos. Yes, this was corporate. 

Instead of arguing what I felt needed to be the updated reality of our times, I decided to do a little digging to see what I would find. Therefore, the next day I went to a Summer Job Fair that was being held at the UofA in the Dinwoodie Lounge building. There were about thirty tables hosting different companies and the representatives who welcomed the job seeker. The companies ranged from the government, transportation, sales, research, military, security, education, health & wellness, children’s programs, hospitality, and restaurants. From a bird's eye view, I knew the diversity of employers would give me a great range of possibilities which allowed my inquiry to have a generous outcome of possibilities. 

                                     

With my survey and pen in hand, I approached the tables. “If someone with tattoos and body piercings applied for a job with your company, would you consider hiring them, or would you turn them away.”

The results were quite surprising.

Due to Media Regulations bound to the companies, the representatives did not have permission for comment release and were not able to allow me to take photos. Having said that, they did allow me to take quotes and blanket the companies under sub-types. Fair enough. I’ll take that. 

 Although sailors and war heroes were some of the first to embrace tattoos, surprisingly, I found it was the navy, military and security type positions that seemed to have the most regulations when it came to ink and piercings.

One man said, “Our military career counselors when they do a military interview during the application process, they ask for pictures of any tattoos so there can be nothing offensive, vulgar, pornographic, nothing on the hands, or above the neck. It’s the Department of National Defence policy. Piercing for women are like gold studs, nothing bigger. No facial piercing.” He continued to say, “ It’s not a problem. I have friends who have tattoos and continue to get tattoos.”

Another military type person added, “As an equal opportunity employer, we cannot discriminate against tattoos unless they are offensive.”

A woman at the Security booth said employees were “only allowed one visual tattoo”.  I noticed both she and the other person accompanying her had their quota of ink. 

When it came to the companies that work with children, it was thumbs up all-round. Some of the representatives had visible tattoos. One young woman said, “Companies or careers services that advise candidates or people looking for jobs that having lots of tattoos or piercings is unprofessional and to cover them up or take them out, no one is going to hire you ….that idea is obsolete. I think our world is changing, lots of people have tattoos, lots of people have piercings, and I think depending on the job and the employer those things should not prohibit someone from working a job.”

Helen from the City of Spruce Grove felt that times have changed and referred to tattoo people as  “the more diverse they are the more they can relate to the children”. Yes, you read that correctly. Diverse.  I noticed this idea that having tattoos and piercings was now considered a part of being diverse. It was becoming a collective agreement. I noticed many of the people who I spoke with considered the idea of people having tattoos and piercings were to be amongst the  “diversity opportunities”. 

“In the railway business, pretty much most of the field employees have a tattoo.” answered a railway representative. 

“The way someone looks does not determine their ability to do the job.” said a representative in the service industry.

“In the field of research, most employees are working behind the scenes, so it is not relevant for their job.” said a research company employee. 

By the end of my investigation, it was an unanimous response. Every company representative that I had asked “would you hire a person with tattoos or piercings” all agreed that they would hire the person as long as the tattoos were not offensive or vulgar, and of course, the person needed to be qualified for the job. 

End.

#tattoos  #tattoosintheworkplace  #diversity

The Courtesy of Requesting Permission

One thing I already figured out before I started taking pictures of people’s tattoos was that I needed to ask for their permission first. For one thing, it is a simple courtesy. The other reason is that tattoos can be a form of identity and an unknowing photo could jeopardize a person's safety.

I grew up in the days before the digital age, the days when a person actually had privacy or could make mistakes publically and not too many people knew about it. Back then, cameras were for people on holidays or who were serious about being photographers. Not like today, where everyone has a digital camera in their pocket and obsessively taking photos of whatever catches their eye. And yes, that is totally cool that people can catch the moment and share it with others. The problem is that the value of responsibility did not get inherited with the privileges of having this technology.  

There are lots of reasons why people do not want to have strangers taking pictures of their tattoos. I’ve been told on numerous occasions that the person does not want to have their photo taken. I won’t even ask why, but just respect their boundaries out of respect. Some people find it too personal to share. For others, it is because of their spiritual reasons. Some people are forbidden to have them because of their culture and don’t want their family members seeing them, especially online. And having been involved with domestic violence survivors, I know there are a lot of people out there who do not want to be identified over the internet for safety reasons. I cannot tell you how many times I have had people thank me for asking for their permission. The great part is, there are many people who love to display their tattoos for a photo when asked for permission.

A great example of cause and effect of a tattoo photo going viral is in the story Tattoos lead Thai police to arrest Japanese Gang Member. It’s the story of a 74-year-old fugitive Japanese gang member who was hiding out in Thailand for ten years. He was discovered because someone took a picture of his beautiful bodysuit and it went viral on the internet. This may be a case of the guy’s karma catching up, I’m not here to judge. But I do think it is a great example of how people can be identified by their ink.

So as a gentle memo to those of you who have your personal reasons for not wanting to share your very cool looking tats, remember that when you are out in public, there are cameras everywhere and there are many people who are not going to ask for your permission. But on the flipside, there is lots of opportunity for having your tattoo appreciated by millions and that is pretty fantastic for those who are comfortable with this kind of exposure.

#tattoos #identity #viral