Fox tattoos are not main stream tattoos, but there is a popularity for the tattoo. Fox tattoos can be worn by both men and women.

The use of animal images in the art of tattoo is not only age old, but it was used because it was believed that by etching the image of a particular animal, the characteristics would be partly imbibed into the person itself. For this reason, animal tattoos like those of lions, tigers, serpents, eagles, falcons and foxes, were etched onto the skin. And the researchers who have been working on primitive culture had found that the fox was one of the animals that were not overtly physically powerful in its own species. And yet it was one of the most widely used symbols.

The silver fox also appears as a symbol on the Prince Edward Island coat of arms. In the late 1800s, the rare silver fox was native to the region, and its pelt was highly valued around the world. It was on the island that the art and science of breeding furbearing animals was developed and refined. Consequently, fur farming became an important part of the 20th century economy of the province. The silver fox has come to symbolize the wit and wisdom of the islanders. In regards to its fur breeding history, it has come to symbolize the ingenuity and perseverance involved in industry. Similarly the silver fox has often been represented on totem poles.

Chinese folk tales tell of fox-spirits called huli jing that may have up to nine tails, orkumiho as they are known in Korea. In Japanese mythology, the kitsune are fox-like spirits possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.

In Arab folklore, the fox is considered a cowardly, weak, deceitful and cunning animal, said to feign death by filling its abdomen with air in order to appear bloated, then lies on its side, awaiting the approach of unwitting prey.

The animal’s cunning was noted by the authors of the Bible, and applied the word “fox” to false prophets (Ezekiel 13:4) and the hypocrisy of Herod Antipas (Luke 13:32).

Ruth Deckard was an American pinup artist, known only as Deckard for many years and thought to be a man. It wasn’t until The Great American Pin-up was published in 1996 that the world knew she was a woman. She was a Chicago-based artist. Most of her paintings were published by Louis F. Dow Co. of St. Paul, Minnesota. She painted from the mid-1930s into the 1950s. Her art was not as refined as Alberto Vargas or Petty, but it had a great appeal to the masses. One of her best is named Pin Cushion, a woman lying on her back with a white top and skirt, her legs draped over the top of a round cushion, and four bowling pins leaned against the cushion.

Imagine this time in American history. The 1940s through the 1950s in the United States may just have been the “Greatest Generation’s” glory days. The G.I. bill made the possibility of home-ownership a reality for the average family. Consumerism became the religion that drove the economy. The “baby-boom” created an aura of possibility that permeated the society.

This was the time of the American pin-up illustrators. America’s girl-next-door was reprinted on millions of magazines, calendars, and bill-boards. Inside locker-room doors, G.I.’s barracks, in every garage, restaurant and night-club, movie-house and theater, she was there. Before political correctness existed, the pin-up artist created an image that permeated the popular culture. It wasn’t long before the burgeoning advertising industry recognized the power of the illustrator’s drawings on the American public.

Women found sexuality a new source of power. Clothing became skimpier in the 1940’s, until World War II broke out. Feeling the “American tradition” threatened, families reverted to more conservative values, but the pin-up remained a staple of popular culture. For which I say “Hooray!”