Words by Emily Chudy
Design by Yosef Phelan

“Why does literally everybody have tattoos of the moon?” Taylor from the TV show Sex Lives of College Girls decried after a sapphic speed dating event.

I immediately turned to my wife, feeling embarrassingly seen. My Instagram history at that point had been filled with searches for “moon tattoo inspiration”. I had wanted one for ages, picturing a dainty little crescent near my elbow to complement my larger pieces.

Wondering if this - plus my new “wolf cut” hair - made me the least original queer woman in the world, I asked a few sapphic friends if they would consider getting a celestial tattoo, and received roundly the same answer: “Oh my God, lesbians love the moon”. Queer icon Miley Cyrus sports a crescent tat, and while I sit in La Camionera typing this article, I can see at least two people dotted around the small queer venue with beautiful moon designs. 

@fruitytreehuggers #wlw #moon ♬ lovers’ carvings - Bibio

Ro Bataille, owner of Cherry Bomb Studio in New York, confirmed my curiosities, claiming celestial imagery is popular in their queer-affirming tattoo studio. 

Bataille said the moon “has been associated with femininity, transformation, intuition, and independence for centuries”, and that figures like Artemis, a Greek moon goddess, represent “a kind of femininity that exists outside traditional relationships with men”.

“That symbolism can be particularly meaningful to queer women,” they explained, adding that celestial imagery can be appealing as it isn’t “explicitly gendered”.

A moon can be feminine without being traditionally girly

“A moon can be feminine without being traditionally girly,” they explained. “It can be romantic, mysterious, powerful, or androgynous. People have a lot of freedom to decide what that symbol means to them.”