Lydia the Tattooed Lady Wreck of the Hesperus" (beside it), the red, white and blue (above them); the cities of Kankakee and "Paree", "Washington Crossing the Delaware", President Andrew Jackson, Niagara, Alcatraz, Buffalo Bill, Captain Spaulding (Groucho's character in Animal Crackers) exploring the Amazon, Lady Godiva (with her pajamas on), Grover Whalen, the Trylon, Treasure Island, Nijinsky, Social Security Number and a fleet of ships (on her hips). Alternate lyrics imply that Lydia's buttocks have tattoos of a globe (or a map of the world) and a caricature of Hitler (that she sits on). In 1950, Groucho famously 'stopped' trading at the New York
Tattooed Lady statement reveals that no woman remained safe from oppressive societal standards of beauty. Indeed, a tattooed woman remained especially vulnerable to social commentary concerning aspects of her body outside of her control. With this in mind, how the media treated a tattooed lady ultimately determined her star's ability to rise. In turn, once tattooed women began to change their stories and use the media to their advantage, they experienced more longevity in their careers. Not much is known about Irene Woodward's origins before her career as a tattooed lady. In fact, the "New York Times" claimed that "She was the